Grassroots Athletics
Janice Hendrie
Memories mean more than medals for Inverclyde inspiration Janice Athletics helps young people in life as well as in sport By Gary Keown
T
he medal sits, gathering dust, in a cabinet at home. The memories, though, radiate as much light and joy as ever.
through the presentations of the British Empire Medal to them both.
Jimmy, who served with the Royal Engineers in World War Two, had spent more than 60 years promoting badminton in the west of Scotland. He inspired his daughter, making her own move into coaching junior runners in It is a state of affairs that reflects perfectly the mid-1980s after becoming a PE teacher the attitude which Janice Hendrie still uses to something natural and fulfilling. guide her long and prestigious career as a volunteer coach within athletics in Scotland. Sharing moments that colour lives has always been Hendrie’s motivation. Even now, Memories are the currency by which she with people she has worked with past and measures her success and there are few present at Inverclyde AC, meeting up around more special than the one of that magical the neighbourhood and reliving old tales of day in Greenock’s Municipal Chambers back shared experience serves as her fuel. in August 2015 in which she was honoured for services to sport and wellbeing That unforgettable occasion she enjoyed along with her late father with her father shortly before he took Jimmy ill, finally passing away aged 91, was a celebration of the gifts sport had given to them and others. How it had shaped their existences and honed their relationships.
The medal was nice, as medals always are, but Hendrie has always understood the most meaningful prizes tend to be kept in the heart rather than worn round the neck. ‘My dad died at the beginning of 2017 and that day we got our medals together was one of the last times he was really good,’ recalled the sprightly 65-year-old, who also won BBC Scotland’s Unsung Hero award in 2013.
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‘It is a really, really fond memory for me because everybody was so happy. My
dad actually took not well a couple of days after, stopped driving and just went downhill from there. ‘For him to have had that experience was great and it was lovely that he was able to enjoy it. ‘My dad was a fantastic coach and he was my role model. He set the standard and coaching became a natural thing for me to do. ‘It was really linked up to my profession as a teacher as well. ‘I just get a great deal of satisfaction from seeing children achieve something - and it doesn’t mean getting a medal or anything. Just seeing them feel good about themselves makes me feel good. ‘It’s not even about what they do later on in athletics. It is just about how they are getting on in life. Being happy. When you meet people you dealt with, even if they didn’t keep doing their sport, you tell old stories and remember great times you had together.
