Ron Morrison remains a proud coach of his top Fifers

Coach Ron Morrison with some of his leading Fife female athletes.

And the St Andrean says he gets just as much of a kick out of their success as they do themselves.

Ron, who turned 73 this week, was recently recognised for his commitment to the sport by British Athletics who announced him as their Official of the Year.

While still active himself, the award was in recognition of the time he dedicates to coaching and officiating in the sport.

Away from athletics, Ron has played a key part in the development of others in his role as a professor of computing at the University of St Andrews.

And he reckons there are similarities between the uni and the track.

Ron said: “I love helping young people in athletics in the same way I do helping with their PHD.

“I never thought I would get into coaching, but was persuaded into it by one of the other coaches at the club, so went on and got my qualifications.

“Now I just get so much satisfaction out of seeing the athletes do well.

“We can coach them and give them instructions, but to then see them go out there and achieve is wonderful.”

Ron, a keen cross country runner and former u21 Scottish hammer internationalist himself, has worked with countless young Fifers.

But he reckons one or two stand out from the rest.

He added: “Andrew Lemoncello has run at two world championships and an Olympics.

“He’s so dedicated to what he does.

“Derek Rae (Fife Paralympian) is another who trains extremely hard and is easy to coach.

“He does everything we plan for him and that shows.

“One thing Derek is really good at is knowing how his body feels, which is important.”

Ron started Fife AC with others in the 1970s and since then the club has grown into the Kingdom’s leading athletics organisation with training groups across Fife.