James powers his way through sprint doubles

James Iles was something of a late developer in sport because he only took up athletics in the 6th form at STP School and now, less than three years later, he is catching the eye as a very powerful sprinter at Bath Spa University and at Pembrokeshire Harriers.
Prior to that James was very well known as a gifted musician and he had played the drums since he was nine years old and was a member of the Pembrokeshire Jazz Band and did lots of charity ‘gigs’ as a member of the very popular ‘Boys on the Bins’ trio which actually created amazing music out of dustbins, brushes and other bits of household paraphernalia! They changed their name to ‘Home Made’ a while ago but have retained their successful format and James is currently in his second year of a degree course at Bath Spa where he is studying Commercial Music.

Early sporting involvement

His first sporting involvement was through football since he played in the midfield and up front for a successful Camrose Junior team which won the league and cup and where he scored a few goals to help them achieve success.
There had been little athletics at junior school because cricket was played in the summer and when he moved to STP he ran on the odd sports day but never really gave athletics too much thought. But in the sixth form, with the encouragement of teachers Med Richards and Jonathan Dodd, he had a bash at the 200 metres and to his surprise won the race – and he doubled up with a relay first play to further whet his appetite. Then it was on to the County Sports and he also did well there to confirm his potential.

County selection

He was selected for the Pembrokeshire team to compete against the likes of Cardiff, Swansea and Bridgend in Brecon and he was chuffed to be part of the Pembrokeshire relay squad which gained a silver medal. In that first year of concentrated training James knocked over a second from his personal best to confirm that all the hard work was well worth it. He also received every encouragement from parents Peter and Jane, plus sister Katie (15) who is a very good dancer in ballet.

Back on track in college

When he started on his degree at Bath it meant that James decided to focus on other things in his first year but is now well and truly back on track (no pun intended!) as he trains with the City of Bath Athletic Club which uses the magnificent new ‘Leisure Village’ at Bath University which cost in the region of £5 million to build. His aim is to make the team which competes in inter-city competitions against the likes of London, Manchester, Cardiff, Birmingham and Bristol, to name but a few, and in the last few months has reduced his time for the 100 metres to a creditable 11.2 seconds and to an even better 22.5 seconds for the 200 metres.

Hard work on fitness pays off

He had a few minor problems with hamstrings and has to make sure that he doesn’t run on concrete in training, just as a precaution, and has worked really hard after also joining the local ‘Fitness First’ facility in Bath where he trains three times a week on the weights to build up his natural power. He has also been working tremendously hard at his starting technique using blocks because he really needed to be more explosive at the start so he can let his natural power kick in. Since he has been able to spend some time at home in Pembrokeshire recently he has also been able to train with Pembrokeshire Harriers and received some very sound advice from Mark Richards and Dai Thomas as sprint coaches, as well as using their starting blocks as a bonus. He is also hoping to represent the Harriers whenever he can and is quick to sing the praises of all involved at the local club for their commitment and enthusiasm.

Final comment

It seems the respect is mutual because Mark Richards told pembrokeshiresport.co.uk that he is impressed by James’ natural power and willingness to absorb advice and expects him to do well in the future. We share his optimism, having seen James Iles scorch around the track - and wish this likeable young man every success for his future in athletics.