ActionCOACH UK has honoured Frank Dick OBE for more than 55 years at the highest levels of elite coaching, recognising a career that has influenced Olympic champions, world record holders, coaches and business leaders.
Dick, former Director of Coaching at the British Athletic Federation, received the special award at the ActionCOACH UK Coaches Conference in Birmingham last week.
During a career spanning more than five decades, Dick has worked with some of Britain’s best-known athletes, including double Olympic decathlon champion Daley Thompson CBE, Lord Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett OBE, Sally Gunnell OBE, Colin Jackson CBE and Linford Christie. His coaching work has also extended into business, where he has advised entrepreneurs and leaders on performance, leadership and team development.
“Coaching is something I fell in love with immediately,” said Dick. “And I never fell out of love with it.”
His influence on British athletics has stretched beyond individual athletes, contributing to the development of coaching and performance practices across generations.
Thompson, who has known Dick since the late 1970s, said his enthusiasm for helping people improve had remained constant. “I marvel at how his curiosity and enthusiasm have only gotten stronger over the years,” Thompson said. “There’s nothing he enjoys more than making somebody better, whether as an athlete, a coach, a business leader or most importantly as a person.”
Baroness Sue Campbell, former Chair of UK Sport and a key figure in the development of Britain’s high-performance sport system, said Dick’s willingness to challenge conventional thinking had been central to his impact. “Frank has been at the forefront of coaching for over 50 years. He has always been unafraid to challenge the status quo and able to drive innovation through performance,” she said.
Dick’s influence has also extended across team sports. Steve Borthwick, England Rugby Union Head Coach, credited his experience and advice with supporting his development as a coach, from working directly with players to shaping longer-term performance strategies.
David Sheepshanks CBE, former chairman of the Football League and Ipswich Town FC and a figure involved in the development of the FA’s St George’s Park National Football Centre, described Dick as the “godfather of British coaching”, highlighting his ability to challenge, motivate and inspire those he coaches.
Dick has also brought his performance philosophy into the business world. David Moulsdale, founder of Optical Express, said Dick had been a mentor for more than 30 years and had made a significant contribution to his business career.
“His relentless persistence, drive, passion and discipline are all characteristics that each of us should aspire to,” Moulsdale said.
Dick’s relationship with ActionCOACH UK spans more than a decade. He regularly works with its business coaching community and has appeared at its BizX conferences, applying lessons from elite sport to business leadership and performance.
At the Birmingham conference, Dick focused on personal responsibility and decisive action, drawing on the business fable Message to Garcia. He described his approach as the ODD framework: “Own the problem, make a decision and do something about it.”
James Vincent, Performance Director at ActionCOACH UK, presented Dick with the award. Vincent, who has known Dick for 15 years and considers him a personal mentor, said his influence extends beyond professional performance.
“His contribution goes way beyond sport. People become better people when they spend time with Frank,” Vincent said.
Dick said his decade-long association with ActionCOACH had also influenced his own coaching. “What ActionCOACH has exposed me to over the last 10 years has taken my own coaching to new levels,” he said. “I take what I learn here back into sport, because in business your team are pioneers.”
ActionCOACH is a global business coaching franchise network, providing coaching, accountability and peer learning to business owners. The company operates through a network of franchisees across multiple markets, including the UK.
