SURREY cycling coach Andrew Pink, who teaches children in and around the Farnham area, has been named as a finalist for the 2015 UK Sports Coaching Awards.

With more than 1,000 nominations from 25 different sports, the 19 year old is one of only three finalists to be shortlisted for the ‘Heather Crouch Young Coach Award’. The UK Coaching Awards honour sports coaches and coaching organisations who have demonstrated outstanding success over the previous 12 months.

The event hosted by Sports Coach UK is seen as one of the most prestigious within the coaching community with previous winners including the coaches behind stars such as Becky Adlington, Maggie Alphonsi, Sir Ben Ainslie, the Brownlee brothers and Frankie Jones.

Andrew started his coaching career at the age of 14, and is currently head coach at WyndyMilla Junior Cycyling Club. WyndyMilla, a custom bike shop in Farnham, together with British Cycling have set up a Go Ride Club, which has gained club-mark accreditation and seen membership treble in the last six months.

Andrew also coaches at Surrey Wheels for All, an organisation that develops cycling activities for those people with disabilities or differing needs.

In an interview with Eagle Radio earlier in the week Andrew said that he believes that working with such a diverse group of people has been a major contribution to being selected for this award.

Over the five years of experience as a volunteer and young coach Andrew has won the ‘British Cycling Young Volunteer of the Year Award’ for his work in 2013. This hard work and dedication was again rewarded in 2014 when he ‘received the ’Pat Duffy Young Coaches Award’. The teenager told Eagle Radio that winning his third coaching award in as many years would mean the world to him.

He also said that he has big goals for the future and the only way to get there is through hard work. Winning this award will be a large step in the right direction with the result being revealed on December 1.