Athletic: Daley's masterclass for budding stars; Junior Sport.

YOUNG Coventry athletes Rowena Cole and Robert Ogleby received a masterclass in hard work from Britain's greatest ever allrounder, Daley Thompson.

The double Olympic decathlon champion was offering advice and inspiration to a selection of 14 and 15-year-olds from the Midlands, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and the east of England at a Sainsbury's Futures seminar.

Thompson put his young charges through a gruelling strength and conditioning session, designed to illustrate just how hard any track and field hopeful needs to work to make it to the top.

"This is the second year now that I have been running these coaching seminars, which are all about bringing together some of the most promising young athletes in the country and giving them an insight into what they need to do to take it to the next level," said Thompson, whose own training schedule famously included a workout on Christmas Day.

"There is no doubt that Rowena and Robert have the talent to do that, but what I'm trying to demonstrate is that it also takes an awful lot of hard work to succeed in this sport."

The seminar took place in the state-of-the-art facilities at Loughborough University and also gave the group of junior medallists from last year's English Schools Championships the opportunity to learn about the psychology of sport, lifestyle and nutrition.

As part of its' Active Kids schools programme, Sainsbury's is supporting the English Schools Athletics Association at all levels.

For Ogleby, the chance to be coached and advised by Thompson was an incredible experience. "I wasn't expecting to get so much out of the session with Daley - it was really hard work," he said.

Said Cole: "Daley really knows what he's talking about so it's great to get his advice. I'm sure I'll be using some of circuit training techniques in my sessions now."

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STAR TURN...Daley Thompson with Rowena Cole and Robert Ogleby