Tag: UK Coaching

Lothian wheelchair basketball coach shortlisted for national award

A Wheelchair Basketball coach from West Lothian has been shortlisted for the Community Coach of the Year for Children and Young People by UK Coaching, in recognition of their outstanding work coaching young people with disabilities. 

The UK Coaching Awards is a national celebration event, regarded as the most prestigious within the coaching community and created to celebrate the remarkable contributions coaches make – from delivering high quality and technical coaching, to supporting participants both physically and mentally. 

Tina Gordon has been passionate about coaching wheelchair basketball for over 30 years having coached at junior through to the senior competitive levels.

For the past eight years she has shifted her focus to coaching young people with physical disabilities under the age of 14.

Seeing how participation in wheelchair basketball brings out their confidence and helps the players become more independent outside of the basketball court, Tina reflected on her experience as “giving her great joy”. 

Tina said: “I feel very humbled and proud to be nominated for the ‘Community Coach of the Year. Hearing that the young players (and their parents) at Lothian Phoenix had nominated me certainly was a surprize and one I’m very grateful for – normally it’s me nominating them for awards!

“I love coaching young people and to see them having fun with their pals, achieving their aspirations & dreams through playing wheelchair basketball, really energises me and fills me with such joy.

“Seeing young people with disabilities having fun with their pals, developing their confidence, and achieving their dreams, gives me such a buzz, I just love it!  

“The most important thing for me as a coach is seeing how sport, and wheelchair basketball in particular, can positively enhance young people’s lives. To see so many smiling faces each week at training, and the pride on family members faces fills me with such joy – I feel I have an extended family myself!”

With previous award winners including Sarina Wiegman, Jane Figueiredo, Judy Murray, and Ben Stokes’ coaching chain, the awards celebrate the best of the UK’s Coaching workforce, the unforgettable moments they deliver, and the profound impact at every level of sport and activity.

UK Coaching’s CEO Mark Gannon congratulated Tina on the nomination, and reflected on the huge variety of coaching talent announced: “We are delighted to announce our finalists for the 2023 UK Coaching Awards.

“Across the board we have seen so much talent, passion and commitment amongst our amazing coaching workforce, and this year’s finalists represent the best of our nation’s coaches who do so much to support people through sport and physical activity. 

“All of our finalists should be extremely proud of what they have been able to achieve and fully deserve this recognition. We are very much looking forward to celebrating together at our UK Coaching Awards ceremony, bringing together the coaches that are going above and beyond to deliver outstanding experiences and make a real difference in their community.” 

The awards will be held on 5 December at the Queens Hotel in Leeds.

Find out more about this year’s finalists and the awards by heading to:

www.ukcoaching.org/uk-coaching-awards.

Edinburgh’s Mouat and Dodds curling coach praises team performance

As Edinburgh’s Bruce Mouat and Jennifer Dodds compete out in Beijing, back home David Aitken can reflect on his contribution to their journey with pride – as one of their ever first curling coaches.  

David Aitken watched on as Mouat and Dodds lost out to a strong Sweden team in the bronze medal match. Despite not coming home with a coveted Winter Olympic medal, the team can be immensely proud of their performances in a world class field of opposition.  

Representing GB and at an Olympic Games is the pinnacle of sport for the pair, but David can recall their first steps onto the ice having coached them from complete beginners to promising young curlers.

David reflected on the value of coaching, and what it means to ‘make an athlete’:

“I used to be a player myself, and initially started by just helping out with absolute beginners. At first, it was tricky to work out exactly how best to communicate some of the more technical things as I transitioned into being a coach – but eventually you develop that skill.

“When I first started coaching, it was just from a participation perspective – I wanted more and more people to play the sport that I enjoyed so much. But then as the players progressed, you see this opportunity for them to experience something at an elite level, and that journey is a magical thing to be part of.

“There’s so many opportunities through coaching to develop not just as a player but as a person. Bruce wasn’t from a ‘curling community’ – it was just a case of parents bringing a child along to try a sport that looked like fun. Part of the responsibility of a coach is to ensure that your sport is inclusive, that anyone can get involved.”

David is still very much involved – currently British Curling’s Performance Foundation Manager based in Stirling. And regardless of medals, he could not be prouder of the talent emerging from GB’s curling scene:

“Britain are good at curling, because we have a very well-funded programme thanks to The National Lottery, we have a lot of experience regarding coaching and the support staff, and that input towards athletes really highlights the team behind the team.

“The breadth of input was a real eye-opener for me as I became a full-time coach, seeing how the athletes can be supported to perform to their best.”

Following an encouraging showing from the British curling contingent in Beijing, Aitken will be hoping for even more to follow – and with all the right coaching behind the team, they have everything they need!

If you are inspired to get into coaching, visit www.ukcoaching.org for support and resources to start your coaching journey.

Nation’s top coaches recognised at showpiece awards ceremony

UK Coaching Awards winners announced

EIGHTEEN of the UK’s most impactful coaches and organisations were recognised and celebrated at the UK Coaching Awards 2021 in Leeds on Tuesday, (7 December).

Whittled down from 27 finalists and many more strong nominations, each winner received a memento to commemorate their extraordinary contribution to sport and wellbeing.

This year’s awards, with an in-person showpiece ceremony not possible the year previous due to Covid-19 restrictions, focused not only on the outstanding level of technical coaching, but those who had gone the extra mile to support participants mentally and emotionally as we transition out of the pandemic.

The winners are:

Changing Lives Award – Andrew Joyce, Christchurch

Coach Developer – Andrew Noble, Sheffield

Coaching Chain, supported by Sport England – Kadeena Cox MBE’s chain (Tom Hodgkinson, Joe McDonnell, Jon Norfolk MBE, Brian Scobie, Sue Bowles, John Westerman and Nathan Wells)

Coaching for an Active Life Award, supported by Spond – Our Parks

Community Coach – Adults, supported by Sport England – Alice Tribedi, London

Community Coach – Children & Young People, supported by Sport Scotland – Sean Ross, Hull

Great Coaching Moment – Jane Figueiredo, London

High Performance Coach – Richard Morris, Sheffield

Lifetime Achievement Award – Richard Brickley, Fife

Talent Development Coach – Julie Maiden, Milton Keynes

Transforming Coaching Award, supported by Reading Room – Coach Core Foundation

Young Coach – Tor Freeman, Biggleswade

UK Coaching CEO, Mark Gannon, said: “This year we have been blown away by the commitment and ingenuity shown by each of our winners. The UK Coaching Awards recognise the huge variety of ways that coaches make a different to people’s lives, whether through training and improving skill level, education and development, or mobilising their community and bringing people together.

“Coaches are a powerful unifying force for good and the amazing examples we have seen this year showcase why we are right to be so proud of the coaching workforce here in the UK.

“I would like to extend a personal congratulations to each of our winners – great coaching has always been about inspiring others, and the pandemic has made this more vital than ever. At a time where we have all needed motivation, that boost to carry on and to be the best we can be, coaches have stepped up and rejuvenated their communities.”

Winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award Richard Brickley, was honoured to be recognised for his long-standing contribution to disability sport.

“I am thrilled to receive the UK Coaching Lifetime Achievement Award but at the same time recognise that there are so many others who could equally claim the right to be here,” he said.

“To be in the company of so many amazing young people who believe sport can change the world is humbling. Thank you to UK Coaching for recognising the impact of coaches at every stage of their journey.”

Sean Ross, winner of the Community Coach of the Year for Children and Young People Award, was in disbelief that ‘someone like him’ could be considered a top coach in the UK.

He said: “It feels absolutely amazing to be Community Coach of the Year. I didn’t think I’d have a chance with so many incredible coaches nominated – it feels great just to share a room with so many fantastic people. It’s inspiring for us to keep on learning and achieving more than ever before.

“A great coach is someone who inspires belief, regardless of what walk of life you are from. I believe everybody deserves a chance in life, and I suppose that is what makes a really good coach – someone who gives people the chance they need to be their best self.”

Another remarkable community coach honoured at the awards was Alice Tribedi, who proves great coaching can reach everyone, working with older participants up to 93 years old.

She said: “Coaching means a sense of community to me. I coach mostly those who are older, up into their nineties, and for many they have been on their own throughout the pandemic.

“In my classes there was a lot of depression, many suffering from isolation. That’s why it’s important to support everyone, because these are the people that need it most.

“To be recognised means the world. Having had to give up my dancing career when I was so young due to injury, means that my coaching career is everything to me. I enjoy it so much, and it means everything to coach the amazing people I do.

“One lady told me that not long before her husband died, he had told her to continue coming to my classes to help her. She told me last Christmas that the class had been a lifeline for her. That makes you realise the power of coaching.”

Find out more about this year’s winners and the awards by heading to:

 ukcoaching.org/coachingawards.

Public call to back greatest coaching moment of 2021

As an extraordinary year full of so many inspiring sporting moments draws to a close, UK Coaching is encouraging the nation to vote for its Great Coaching Moment, to be announced at next month’s UK Coaching Awards.

The Great Coaching Moment Award focuses not only on the material successes of coaches but on how they ground their work in putting people first. And with each of the incredible nominees, their unique connection with their team or athlete sets them apart and typifies what great coaching is all about.

Nominated and judged by an independent panel, this year’s finalists include:

  • Gareth Southgate – The England national team Head Coach protected and supported his players as they received criticism for choosing to take the knee before international matches. The outstanding leadership shown by Southgate amongst negative rhetoric, to insist England were “more determined than ever” to take a knee, encapsulated the togetherness he had created amongst his squad.
  • Jane Figueiredo – Figuerido helped make Tom Daley’s already legendary GB legacy a golden one, supporting him to a first ever Olympic title. Following the diver’s heartbreak at the Rio Olympics where he was unable to reach the final, Figueiredoopted to pair Daley with new partner Matty Lee at Tokyo 2020 – and gave us one of the most inspirational moments of the entire competition.
  • Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby Coaching Team – Head coach Paul Shaw and his backroom staff made history against all odds, with The Sweet Chariots bringing home a first ever Paralympic gold. This was all the more remarkable, given that the team had lost all their funding just a few years out from the tournament – yet such was their belief they could succeed, the coaching staff continued as unpaid volunteers, and immortalised themselves as Paralympic champions.
  • Gaz Choudhry – Choudhry stepped up for his teammates at the most pressurised moment possible as GB’s wheelchair basketball coach Haj Bhania tested positive for Covid prior to the Toko Paralympics and was unable to travel with the team. Leading the team as player-coach, Choudhry rallied the team despite circumstances conspiring against them, picking up an unprecedented bronze medal.

Discussing the shortlist for this year’s Great Coaching Moment Award, UK Coaching’s Director of Coaching Emma Atkins said: “This shortlist showcases the year’s best coaching moments. The moments that have inspired us all, made us feel proud and at times made us all very emotional, reminding us that with great coaching, so much is possible even through adversity.

“These coaches have stepped up when their athletes most needed them, they have looked at what can be done, and on the biggest stages taking the pressure off athletes so they can perform at their very best. Without fail these great coaches have considered the needs of others first and have shown us all that great coaching changes lives.

“Each of those shortlisted can be so proud of their own coaching moment and I cannot wait to see who the public chooses at our UK Coaching Awards 2021.”

The UK Coaching Awards are set to take place on Tuesday 7 December 2021 and will recognise and celebrate the work of people and organisations who are making a significant impact in communities across the country.

To vote for your greatest coaching moment, visit www.ukcoaching.org/gcm-2021.

The public vote will close on Monday 6 December.

NO MENTION OF JACK ROSS? – Ed.

Calls for compulsory Sudden Cardiac Arrest training to all involved in sport

Leading organisations have come together to call for compulsory sudden cardiac arrest training for all involved in the delivery of sport, during SADS (Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome) Awareness Week (4-10 October).

The campaign is spearheaded by UK Coaching, Resuscitation Council UK and the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust (JHMT) – a charity set up after the tragic loss of Joe Humphries, who died while out jogging with his friend nine years ago this week.

Every week in the UK twelve people under the age of 35 die of sudden cardiac arrest and, of those who experience sudden cardiac arrest outside of hospital, only one in ten survive. If effective action is taken within the first minute, it can treble chances of survival.

The organisations, alongside influential figures which include one of Britain’s greatest Paralympic athletes, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and former England rugby captain and Patron of JHMT, Martin Johnson, are urging everybody who actively delivers sport to undertake sudden cardiac arrest training.

UK Coaching offers a free eLearning course which provides the knowledge and confidence to respond quickly and appropriately in the event of sudden cardiac arrest. The toolkit, funded by Sport England, has been created by UK Coaching in collaboration with Resuscitation Council UK, St John Ambulance and the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust.

Martin Johnson said: “It is so important that everybody who leads or participates in sport knows what to do in cases of sudden cardiac arrest. Sudden cardiac arrests kill 60,000 people outside of hospital in the UK every year and in lots of cases, this could be avoided.

“However, it’s no use people having the skills and knowledge to act if there isn’t a defibrillator nearby. Immediate access to an AED along with CPR gives that person the best possible chance of survival. AEDs need to be as commonplace as fire extinguishers.”

The organisations have also written an open letter to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Nadine Dorries, to urge her to mandate sudden cardiac arrest training, as well as ensuring every sporting venue has a defibrillator on site.

UK Coaching’s Chief Executive, Mark Gannon, added: “There have been numerous high-profile instances of sudden cardiac arrest this year and it’s left many questioning if they would know what to do, where the nearest defib is, and most importantly the need to give everyone, from coaches to players, facility staff, parents and spectators, the knowledge and confidence to act fast – because every second really does count. 

“It shouldn’t be down to luck – every sporting venue must have an AED on site and sports should be making the course mandatory. I hope we can start a dialogue with Government because every person trained could be another life saved. All it takes is 30 minutes.

“Where we can start to make real strides is by working with National Governing Bodies and sporting organisations to implement the training internally, but our ultimate goal is to make this law.”

To access and complete the free course, go to www.ukcoaching.org/sca

UK Coaching calls for gender parity within the coaching workforce

The lead charity for coaching in the UK is calling for more women to enter the coaching workforce.

UK Coaching exists to support and develop the nation’s three million coaches and is today outlining its ambition for gender equity within coaching, in the next five years.

Pre-pandemic, female coaches made up 43% of the workforce, down from 46% in 2017. And this number may continue to fall upon return to play, as it is anticipated that only 50% of coaches are expected to return to paid positions.

In the last year proactive measures have been put in place in a bid to increase the number of female high-performance coaches, who currently make up 10% of all performance coaching roles.

UK Sport recently launched their leadership programme in a bid to double the representation of female coaches in the Olympic and Paralympic high-performance community by Paris 2024. The programme involves leading coaches mentoring a cohort of nineteen through a six-month course that aims to help them reach the top of their respective sports.

And to ensure talented coaches have the opportunity to join the high-performance pathway, UK Coaching has also recently introduced its own female leadership programme, working with national governing bodies to develop female coaches and elevate the positions of women in coaching across all sports at the base of the performance pathway.

The organisation is already working with Basketball England and the Rugby Football League to deliver bespoke courses.

Yet with UK Coaching’s research showing the importance of female role models and with activity levels amongst this group lower than that of their male counterparts, female coaches will be fundamental as the nation rebuilds after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emma Atkins, Director of Coaching at UK Coaching said: “We want to see more women come into coaching, be supported to stay in coaching and if it is their goal, progress to coaching in talent and high-performance sport.

“Gender equality in sport has made considerable strides in recent years but we must move towards a balanced coaching workforce – and that means showing women that coaching is for them.

“It is an incredibly rewarding experience. Coaching needs more female coaches and we are calling on sports organisations to work with us in our mission to achieve an equitable 50/50 split in the next five years.”

“Our research shows that it’s really important that when starting to get active, women and girls are more comfortable if their coach is the same gender. With the levels of inactivity amongst women and girls at a high, it is vital that we can encourage more females to join the coaching workforce.

“It has also been great to see a handful of female coaches breaking the glass ceiling and coaching at high-performance level across the world. We need to do more to ensure that this becomes common practice. For too long female coaches have been overlooked in high level sport.”

Mel Marshall, lead swimming coach at the National Centre Loughborough and long-time coach of Olympic champion Adam Peaty MBE, added: “For me it’s so important that female coaches have three things – role models, the confidence to know they can do the job and that they are given the right opportunities.

“I think women and girls have some fantastic coaching traits – we listen well, are diligent and we care – so it can only be a good thing to have more female coaches within sport and physical activity.

“The last year has had a huge impact on the nation’s activity levels so let’s get more women at the forefront and give them the platform to inspire the next generation of female coaches.”

To find out how you can get into coaching, or how UK Coaching can support gender equitability within your own coaching workforce, visit ukcoaching.org.