An athletics coach from Edinburgh has been nominated for a UK Coaching Award, following their incredible community work using sport to educate young people and support their wellbeing throughout the pandemic.
Following a remarkable year of ingenuity and dedication from coaches across the UK, during one of the most challenging periods for sport and activity in recent memory – Hannah Campbell is one of 25 finalists announced ahead of the UK Coaching Awards 2021.
As soon as the pandemic began, Hannah took it upon herself to ensure she was able to keep people engaged within the sport as best she could, even under the difficult circumstances. She proposed to Stirling Triathlon club that she ran live zoom classes for the children, which she ran herself on an entirely voluntary basis.
In the second lockdown, Hannah went even further. She continued to run online sessions again, but also started up a podcast called Sporting Routes which talked to inspirational athletes, such as Hannah Miley and Fraser Cartmell, in which she discussed candidly discussed their routes to sporting performance and opened a channel in which to discuss the mental health in sports simultaneously.
This was instrumental in continuing to educate young members, but also in perpetuating a culture in which mental health and wellbeing is central to sport.
Proud to see their exceptional coaching contribution recognised, Hannah reflected: “Being selected as a finalist is incredible. To know that you are being recognised by your community is amazing on its own but to then be recognised by UK coaching is really quite surprising given the number of coaches in the UK – I really am honoured. I’m hugely grateful for the opportunity to be involved and cannot wait to hear everyone’s stories.
“The last two years of coaching has been an incredible opportunity for developing, diversifying and stepping outside of my comfort zone. At first, it was quite challenging trying to come up with ideas of how we were going to continue to engage our athletes and try and support them through everything that was going on, but once we figured out the technical hurdles, it was a fabulous way to explore new coaching styles.
“Over the past 2 years I have also branched out my coaching from mainly participation level coaching and begun to include some more performance-focused groups – I started working with the Scottish Academy squad and started doing a bit of coaching with our university performance squad which was quite different to the participation coaching I have mainly been doing since I became a coach. This has been a wonderful way to better link my experience as an athlete with my coaching and try out some different sessions.
“I love helping people progress along their own sporting journey and see the personal development that comes along with that. There’s nothing more rewarding that watching an athlete gain confidence and tick off goals that they have been working towards.”
UK Coaching’s CEO Mark Gannon praised Hannah and each of the exceptional finalists – citing a year of standout coaching talent responding admirably to a host of challenges as we transition out of the pandemic: “Congratulations to Hannah and to each of our finalists.
“This year the bar has been raised once again, and whilst we are fully aware of the power of coaching across the UK, our brilliant coaching workforce continues to surprise us and push the boundaries to support people and their communities.
“The complications and anxieties caused by the pandemic have affected so many, but coaches have been there every step of the way ready and willing to adapt – not just persevering but excelling. Out of the nation’s darkest moments, coaches have stepped up to be leaders and mentors to their participants, when they need it most – and that is what great coaching is all about.
“Nearly three million people regularly coach across the UK and joining us in December will be the very best of what is a remarkable workforce, who have responded to the call of a nation who for so long were deprived of ‘normal’ physical activity and sport.
“Thank you to all our coaches across the UK, and to our finalists. We are all looking forward to celebrating your achievements in December.”
Find out more about UK Coaching and the impact coaches make in communities across the country by heading to ukcoaching.org