About Coach Buntu

Athletics Coach • Athlete Development • Run Till Fit & SH₂J Academy

I have developed athletics programmes across Offaly and Wicklow, with a strong focus on helping athletes discover the movement, technique and understanding that can take their performance to the next level.

Whether working with a young athlete at their first session or preparing an experienced athlete for competition, the foundations remain the same: quality movement, coordination, sound technique and confidence.

I coach both individuals and groups, with every programme built progressively from those fundamentals.

For me, success is not measured by medals alone. It is reflected in the technical quality, confidence and understanding athletes develop across sprints, hurdles, middle-distance, long jump and triple jump — and just as importantly, in their continued enjoyment of the sport.

Building the Foundations

2009, in Portarlington, Co. Offaly, I established Run Till Fit, delivering athletics programmes under contract with Offaly Sports Partnership through to 2016. My work included Sportshall Athletics, Community Games coaching and technical athlete development across the county.

During this period, I worked within an athletics environment that included Irish Olympians Gordon Kennedy and James Nolan, further developing my experience within Irish athletics.

I later co-founded the Integrated Academy for Athletics Performance (IAAP), bringing together young athletes from Irish and migrant communities and using athletics as a platform for participation, performance and community integration. The programme developed under the guidance of Eamonn Henry, Head of Offaly Local Sports Partnership.

My involvement in performance athletics progressed further when James Nolan recruited me as his middle-distance assistant coach at UCD. He later appointed me as a guide runner for a visually impaired Irish Paralympic athlete on the pathway towards qualification for the London Paralympic Games.

These experiences strengthened my technical coaching and deepened my understanding of the pathway from grassroots athlete development to high-performance sport.

Wicklow and Beyond

In 2013, I began a major new chapter with Greystones Athletics Club, serving as a Technical Specialist Events Coach across sprints, hurdles and horizontal jumps.

Athletes I worked with progressed to become Schools and Club record holders, national-level performers and Irish international representatives.

In 2014–2015, I established County Wicklow’s first Sportshall Primary Schools Athletics programme at Shoreline Leisure Greystones, introducing more than 1,500 pupils to running, jumping, throwing, coordination and FUN-da-MENTAL movement skills.

Alongside club coaching, I continued to develop athletes privately, with a greater focus on technique, strength, biomechanics and long-term athlete development.

Kilcoole A.C. — Building Performance

In 2021, I joined Kilcoole A.C. as Sprints & Technical Head Coach, beginning one of the most successful periods of my coaching career.

The focus has been on creating a progressive pathway — developing young athletes technically first, then preparing them to perform at Schools, Club, National and International level.

That programme has contributed to a growing list of achievements, including:

• 2024 Mixed 4 × 200m Indoor National Record
• U19 Girls 4 × 200m National Champions
• National sprint and relay championship performances
• Athletes progressing from club competition to Irish international representation
• A Kilcoole athlete made a National relay squad achieving a World U20 qualifying standard

Among the athletes I have had the privilege of developing Maria Zakharenko, who progressed through Schools and age-group athletics to become a 2025 All Ireland Secondary Schools' Senior Girls 400m Champion. And backed it up by becoming the 2026 National u20 (Junior) 400m Champion and an Irish international athlete.

Her development reflects the philosophy behind my coaching: build the technical athlete first, then progressively develop the performance athlete.

Another example is sprinter Shane, whose development has seen him progress to performances including 10.82 seconds for 100m and 21.78 seconds for 200m in 2026, alongside substantial improvement over 60m and 200m indoors.

These performances matter, but the bigger achievement is creating athletes who understand how they move, why they train the way they do, and how to take ownership of their development.

The Coaching Philosophy

Experience ultimately shaped the philosophy behind Run Till Fit and SH₂J Academy.

Build the athlete before specialising the event.

For younger athletes, that means developing the FUN-da-MENTALS:

Movement • Coordination • Speed • Strength • Technique • Confidence

As athletes mature, those foundations become increasingly event-specific — developing the technical and physical qualities required for Sprints, Hurdles and Horizontal Jumps.

The aim is not simply to produce a faster athlete today.

It is to build an athlete with the movement skills, technical understanding and confidence to continue developing for years to come.

Strong foundations. Better athletes. Long-term development.