Despite never planning to be a coach, Paul Wilson is the man behind two-time shot put world champion Chase Jackson and Commonwealth Games medallist Scott Lincoln.
He has been credited with being one of the finest athletics coaches in the country, helping numerous athletes push themselves. Though he competed to a high standard in discus, rugby league was where Paul originally saw his sporting future.
Having played through his school life, he attended trials to become a professional and suffered a horror injury in the middle of a scrum. Paul suffered a dislocated knee and torn ligaments, requiring major surgery which left him with a 16-inch scar down the middle of his knee.
“It was probably the best point in my career for both throwing and rugby,” Paul told Fen Regis Trophies. “I came back [to throwing] and I was able to keep throwing, but not to the level I was at.”
Transitioning into Coaching
Although Paul made a return to the throwing arena following his knee injury, he completely left rugby behind him. It meant that he focused his time and attention on athletics, learning to enjoy the social side of the sport as well as its competitive aspects.
With little funding available, coaches were few and far between at athletics clubs, including the City of York Athletic Club, where Paul began coaching in 2005. Soon, Paul began working with elite-level athletes around the world.
“I was looking to go professional in rugby league, so that would have meant stopping athletics as there was no funding in athletics,” he explained.
“It’s still classed as an amateur sport, and I felt I would have had a better career in rugby than athletics at the time.
“After the operation, I was doing more for fun and enjoyment.”
“Kids started asking if they could throw with me,” he said. “So, I just started educating myself and that’s how it happened.
“It wasn’t a case of being 18 or 19 thinking I was going to be a coach…I was 31 when I started coaching.”
Coaching Elite Athletes
Having worked with a number of world-level athletes, Chase Jackson and Scott Lincoln are Paul’s two main success stories. Under Paul’s guidance, Jackson has won back-to-back World Championship gold medals in 2022 and 2023, while Lincoln has won bronze at both the 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2023 European Games.
Juggling coaching alongside holding down a full-time job, Paul has no time for athletes not prepared to give him less than 100%.
“I made a decision that I was just going to be coaching Scott Lincoln initially,” Paul said. “Then another girl and a couple of kids at international standard, but you know that they are going to want to train and want to put in the effort.
“A lot of the athletes that were coming down to throw at the club were just coming down as a bit of a social.
“For me, if I am going to give up my time I want the athletes to give me their 100% attention…if I am going to drive an hour-and-a-half from work to get to a training site and they don’t get there on time, or just don’t turn up, then what’s the point?”
Recognition
While Paul has been in the background watching his athletes win trophies and medals, he has also been recognised for the role he has played. In 2016, the Leeds United fan won the Yorkshire and Humber Coach of the Year award, something which Paul describes as being “humbling and embarrassing”.
“It’s nice,” he said. “Because it is the athletes that put you forward – I think I have come runner-up two or three times.
“It’s humbling because you don’t do it for the rewards, I just do it to help the athletes to be the best that they can be.
“For me to get an award, I sometimes treat it as embarrassing, because other coaches are doing the same as me…I think all coaches deserve an award.”
Paul, like most coaches, takes greater satisfaction from seeing those he works with develop and achieve their goals, which is something he will continue to do for many more years to come.
By Aaron Gratton
