Coach courses are hailed a success

A series of courses to develop and grow the skill set of coaches has been hailed a success.

The Swim England North East Region put on a programme of Continuing Professional Development (CPDs) courses, which were delivered in conjunction with the Swim England Talent Team and specialist support staff.

It has provided a great opportunity for coaches who have had the chance to learn new, or improve existing, skills in subject areas that are continually growing in importance and profile within the development of athletes.

Improvements outside the pool

The first of these CPDs saw more than sixty coaches from across the region completing training in delivering dry land strength and conditioning for athletes in their clubs.

This opportunity was delivered in partnership with the Swim England Talent programme to support the training and development of coaches working in club environments.

The workshop covered the fundamentals of body weight strength and conditioning, including correct technique, basic movements and how to apply this in a training programme.

One coach said that the workshop was extremely useful in providing them with the knowledge and confidence to introduce dry land training into pre-pool, post-pool and separate training sessions. They said it would support some great fundamental principles which athletes could use to better develop themselves within their discipline.

A hugely successful conference

The region then held a North East Region Coaches’ Conference which was attended by coaches from across the region.

Four sessions were delivered during the day which covered the following topics:

  • Managing difficult conversations including understanding emotional intelligence
  • Planning considerations and session construction for age group and youth swimmers
  • A head for talent
  • Growth development for age group swimmers

The day was very inspirational with presentations delivered by Chris Chapman, from UK Coaching, and James Richards and Craig Robertson, who are both coaches from the City of Leeds Swim programme.

Coaches commented that the conference was:

  • “A very well organised day and the knowledge that I’ve learnt will be passed on to other members at the club.”
  • “A really informative and enjoyable day. I enjoyed the whole thing.”

The conference formed part of the Talent Development Programme in the Swim England North East Region, which focuses on developing swimmers, coaches, team managers and clubs.

Swim England Nutrition Workshop 2018

Working on the body and mind

Finally, two regional CPD workshops were delivered that focused on upskilling coaches in Sports Nutrition and Sports Psychology.

The workshops were delivered by Sports Science specialists provided by the Swim England Talent Team. Andrew Shepherd delivered the Sports Nutrition workshop and Hannah Cooper delivered the Sports Psychology workshop.

Coaches were introduced to nutritional information such as how to consider aspects for male and female athletes at different ages, who are doing different events. Other subjects included the importance of hydration and how to manage athletes’ diet during overseas trips.

The Sports Psychology workshop introduced goal setting, imagery, self-talk, pre-performance routines and creating and developing a growth mind set.

Those who attended the day commented:

  • ” I can see the benefits for the age groups that I work with and will be introducing many of the ideas.”
  • ” It was great to get an insight into sports psychology. In my few years in coaching, this is the first sports psychology workshop I’ve seen”.

Looking Forward

The Development Officers in the region are looking to provide further opportunities for club coaches in the future and, due to the great success and high uptake for these programmes, are looking to expand delivery of some of these subjects onto a more local level.

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