Last month we said goodbye to Amelia Griffiths, one of our pioneering female Young Leaders, as she moved away from Selby ahead of starting university in September. Before she tackles her all-important A-levels and begins the next chapter of her life, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate everything she brought to Vale of York Athletic Community.
Amelia came to us from a dance background and threw herself into athletics with an infectious energy that made every session brighter. On the track and field she competed in the West Yorkshire League winning medals across a whole range of events, and a soon she turned 17 she was a regular in the York and District 10K Road Race 10K too. Who can forget her high fives as she gambolled up Pocklington’s hills?
But it was Monday night circuit training where a lot of us will picture her best. In the centre of the sports hall, leading the post-workout stretches with an expertise that put the rest of us to shame. If you ever followed Amelia through a stretch routine, you’ll know what we mean.
What made Amelia stand out was how quickly she moved from athlete to leader. She started her coaching journey at our summer camp, took on the funetics Leader course alongside Nate and Harry, and was soon taking charge of our U8s on Monday nights with Donna and Jenni. She didn’t stop there: she soon progressed to Coaching Assistant and became a genuine asset to our coaching team.
One of the things we love about Amelia was how seriously she took the job of making sessions fun. When she worried the younger ones might lose interest, she went away and made a booklet of warm-up games tailored to different age groups. That kind of initiative, completely unprompted, tells you everything about how she approached her leadership role.
In 2023, England Athletics published a piece written by Amelia about her coaching journey, and it’s worth reading the article in its entirety. Writing about her Monday coaching sessions in particular, she said:
“Coaching has been such a great experience, and is always the highlight of my week to see the kids enjoy our coaching and to help them improve and follow their passions.”
Amelia Griffiths
That was Amelia in a nutshell. She was young herself so she understood what athletics could mean for young people. She was coaching for our children and for the joy of athletics.
As one of our first female Young Leaders, Amelia helped show us all what that pathway could look like. Every young athlete who has followed her into a leadership role at Vale of York is treading the road that she helped build.
From all of us at Vale of York: thank you, Amelia. Good luck with your A levels, good luck at university, and come back and see us soon. There will always be a stretch routine here with your name on it.
