From Possilpark to NSWIS, Andy Burns always aimed up

In 2018, Possilpark, the area of Glasgow where New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) High Performance Manager Andy Burns spent his formative childhood years, was acknowledged for having the United Kingdom’s lowest life expectancies courtesy of its roaring drug trade, widespread alcoholism, and violent criminal turf wars.

While Burns vividly recalls stepping over the bodies of unconscious addicts as he walked to school, he, like some of Possilpark’s other notable citizens, including former world lightweight boxing champion Jimmy Watt, Liverpool FC football superstar Kenny Dalglish, and literary critic, Professor Willy Maley, refused to allow the reputation of his old postcode to define his outlook on life.

“It was a tough place, a lot of crime,” said Burns, who’ll manage Australia’s Para Archery team for the upcoming world championships in the Czech Republic.

“We had family members join gangs and they ended up in prison. I left Possilpark when I was nine. My mother moved to Blackburn [England] because her best friend lived there, giving us a local connection to a place we could go to.

“My father still lives in the Possilpark, and while it has changed slightly, there’s still an undercurrent of gang warfare there. Fair to say it’s quite brutal.”

At 16, Burns found his life’s passion when he was introduced to judo – in the most ‘humbling’ way – during a football match with his friends.

“I ran into my best mate at the time, Joe Burns jnr [no relation], to try and tackle him,” recalled Burns with a grin. “But I bounced off him. Well, I was a bit ‘aggy’ [aggressive] so I got up and ran at him, but Joe just threw me to the astroturf.

“What struck me at the time was I had no control of what just happened. Even so, I climbed to my feet and ‘went’ at Joe again and he threw me again. He just laughed, saying: ‘I could do this all day’.

“I’d never felt so overpowered, but it wasn’t by strength. Joe threw me with movement. I didn’t run at him again. Instead, I said: ‘that’s amazing, how’d you do that?’ He replied ‘oh, it’s just judo, Andy.’”

Burns lived a four minute stroll to the Beach Judokwai that his friend’s father, Joe Burns snr ran. The activities in the old church hall provided Andy Burns with a purpose, and then a path to see the world where he’d compete against some of judo’s greatest exponents.

“Joe Burns snr created an environment so that regardless of what level you were at, you were valued,” said Burns. “There were nine or 10 black belts on the mat whenever I went to training, and while I was a white belt – a complete beginner – I only ever felt welcomed.

“Joe snr is still coaching, and he’s still loving it. He’s someone who instills a love for judo in his students. While I’ve collected a lot of mentors over the years, if ever I was in a crisis I’d go straight to Joe.

“Judo gave me a lot. Blackburn is a rough town, and I didn’t have the best home life. So, while it was a physical outlet for me it also allowed me to learn values that create community. I couldn’t get enough. That was when I was 16, and two years later I was training fulltime at one of the national centres at Bath University.”

Burns trained [and studied] at Bath where he rubbed shoulders with other elite athletes training there, including the swimmer Mark Foster, world champion 100m hurdler Colin Jackson and, closer to home, world champion judo player Kate Howey.

“What struck me was anyone who was anybody seemed to be at Bath,” he said. “I came late into judo, but I thought if I can come here to study, do judo, and get away from Blackburn it would be a win.”

Burns completed an undergraduate in coach education, which put him on course to complete other degrees, and to work in prestigious high performance roles. However, some of his most memorable lessons were on the judo mat.

“It was a few years out from the London Olympics and there was noise I’d be in the mix,” said Burns, who was the reserve for Britain’s team at the Beijing Games. “I was on a good trajectory. Funded by UK Sport, a brilliant coach at Bath University in Darren Warner – he’s a regular mentor who employed me as a coach when I retired – and under him my progress was incredible.

“I had a constant feeling of ‘this is unbelievable’. I was a member of the best under 23 Great Britain team that competed in the European championships when we won five medals, and from there I competed at the highest level.

“European judo is strong. In France alone there’s one million competitors. The Paris Grand Slam was staged in front of 20,000 people and I fought the current Olympic medallist in my first ever fight there. Incredible! We clashed heads and what I remember as the guy taped my head up was it felt eerie to see myself on the big screen.”

While Burns won the 2007 British heavyweight title; two World Cup gold medals in 2014 at Saint Louis and Wollongong; three European Cups, a silver medal at Sarajevo in 2008 and bronze for Scotland at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, he conceded there’s disappointments – primarily, not qualifying for the Olympics.

“Funnily enough, winning the bronze at Glasgow ranks lowly because I under performed. I went into the competition thinking ‘gold,’ but lost in the quarter finals to a South African [Zack Piontek] who came from nowhere. We didn’t even have him in our video analysis, but he caught me clean.

“In judo it’s over if you get thrown – and Piontek threw me clean. I went on to beat an Aussie [Mark Anthony] . . .  sorry about that . . . but it’s going to sound weird, but I preferred to take the bronze by winning the match rather than getting the silver by losing the final.”

“My career landed where it landed. I made some decisions, I enjoyed myself a little bit. You can look back and think ‘these are the things I should’ve done’ and I try to use that in my role at NSWIS to help our athletes.”

Burns started coaching at Welsh judo when he retired in 2016, but realized the lot of an elite coach would be too great a strain for he and his wife, Sarah. However, he’s applied his philosophy as a coach – ‘human first, athlete second’ – to his high performance roles whether it was at the English Institute of Sport, UK Sport, NSWIS, an Athlete mentor, or Welsh Judo.

“We’re in the people business,” he said. “We work with our people, nurture, and support them in their athletic endeavors and prepare them for the future.

“My coach Joe Burns said something that will never leave me. He was probably the best junior in the country, but he stopped, got a wife and job, and he said I never want you to be a ‘could’ve been’ because I’m a ‘could’ve been and a never know’.

“And while I could’ve been more, my job now is to help athletes get there. I look at a lot of athletes and think ‘if I could’ve been like you, I would’ve been amazing’. I see some athletes who don’t see the opportunity they have. You want everyone to have the best available opportunity possible, but you want to see them give their whole life a good go.

“Outside of judo I did an undergrad, a masters, I wrote a book on strength and conditioning for judo with Mike Callen. You see, I was travelling so much I’d just watch television shows and DVDs to while away time. In the last few years of my career, I realized I needed to do something productive because we had so much time in hotel rooms and flights.

“There were a few people, one a friend who is now Head Coach of Team GB, and he was all in for judo. He went to two Olympics, but I had other endeavours, and it was good for me to have life outside of judo because if you have a bad competition your whole identity is wrapped in it and that can eat at you for weeks.

“But, if you have a job or university, when you finish your session, you think ‘I feel crap’ but your deadline for an essay or work assignment takes your mind off that and gives you a different identity to being just an athlete.”

Daniel Lane, NSWIS