Jack Perry – Athlete Profile
Jack Perry is 14 years of age. He is a sprinter and a long jumper, who has been with Kingston upon Hull Athletic Club since the spring of 2014, when sprints and jumps coach, Steve Wymark, took him into his training group.
He made good progress and made his debut for the club at a Humberside League Meeting on the 23rd of August that year, at the Costello Stadium. This competition saw Jack performing in the 100 and the 300 metre sprints, as well as long jump and shot putt. He had one more outing in 2014, and that was at the Hull International Athletics Festival Meeting, at Costello, on the 31st of August, where Jack was in action in the 100 metres and the long jump.
All focus then moved to strength, conditioning and fitness training, with his coach, to prepare him for the 2015 indoor season, which would commence in the following January.
The first indoor outing of 2015, took him to the ‘John Charles’ Stadium, in Leeds, for a meeting organised by the Leeds City AC. He was entered for the 60 metre sprint, together with the long jump and shot events. Jack was victorious in all three of the competitions. Up to this point he had been pretty much flying under the radar, but this all changed after Leeds, with returning athletes and coaches all asking ‘Who is Jack Perry’.
On the 1st of February he competed at his first major event, at the Northern Indoor Championships, at the English Institute of Sports Stadium, in Sheffield. This saw him entered for three events, the 60 metre and 200 metres sprints, and the long jump. He fought his way through the heats and ran in the 60 metre semi final. The 200 metres saw him go one better, taking 6th place in the 200 metre final. The highlight of Jack’s day came in the long jump final, where he picked up a superb bronze medal.
He kept himself busy in the run up to the 2015 track and field season, competing at ‘Open Meetings’, at Scunthorpe, Sheffield, Grimsby, and Doncaster.
At the East Riding Schools Championships, held at Costello, on the 13th of May, he was crowned a triple champion. He won gold medals in both the 100 and 200 metres sprints, and the long jump. He was the long jump bronze medallist at the Humberside Championships on the 23rd of May.
The 30th of May saw him make his Youth Development League debut for Kingston, at the ‘Keepmoat Stadium’ in Doncaster. He saw action in the 100 and 200 metre races and the long jump, and became a fixture in the team for the rest of the season.
The 13th of June saw him collect two more gold medals, this time at the Humberside Schools Championships, where he was the winner of the 100 metres and long jump competitions.
Jack’s performances earned him selection for the county team, which would travel up to Gateshead, for the biggest competition on the youth athlete’s calendar, the English Schools Championships. Every young athlete in the country strives to achieve the daunting entry standards that are set for ‘English Schools’, and hope and dream of getting the call to go.
On Friday the 10th of July, in Gateshead’s International Stadium, Jack walked out to compete in the long jump final. He was nervous and apprehensive in the warm up, but didn’t let that get the better of him. He put everything into his first jump of the day, a massive new PB of 6.22m, which gave him the lead at the end of the first round. He kept the lead throughout the competition, winning the gold medal, and becoming the English Schools Champion.
His next major event was at the Northern Championships, in Middlesbrough, on the 15th of August, where he took 4th place in the long jump final.
Another County call up came, this time for the Northern Inter Counties Championships, at the ‘Dorothy Hyman’ Stadium in Cudworth, on the 12th of September. This saw Jack competing in the 100 metres and the long jump, taking 4th place in both competitions.
His first full competitive season had exceeded all of his expectations, and Jack was well aware that to maintain his progress, would mean an awful lot of hard work and dedication throughout the coming autumn and winter.
Jack’s hopes and ambitions for the 2016 track and field season are:-
“To get selected for English Schools, and have the chance to defend my title”
“I want to improve all of my PB’s”
“I would love to win a medal at the Northern’s”
