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Tickets now on sale for Swim England Foundation Coach Conference 2021

Tickets are now on sale for the inaugural Swim England Foundation Coach Conference 2021.

Open to coaches and teachers, the conference will feature the chance to quiz elite athletes who will share their club experiences, top tips for attracting and retaining new members and working with parents in sport.

It takes place virtually on Sunday 25 April between 9.30am and 4.15pm and covers all aquatic disciplines.

Lindsay Trimmings, Swim England coach development manager, said: “We’re really looking forward to the first Swim England Foundation Coach Conference.

“This conference is also suitable for aquatic teachers who are currently supporting the transition of young swimmers into club programmes and who aspire to get into coaching.

“It promises to be a packed day of interesting and informative workshops that will help coaches involved with all sports.”

Tickets are priced at £20 and can be booked by clicking here before the closing date of Wednesday 21 April.

Links to the sessions will then be sent out to delegates by Saturday 24 April. If you don’t receive this, please email [email protected]. Please check your junk mail box before emailing.

Foundation Coach Conference 2021 programme

All delegates will attend the first three workshops and then choose which sport-specific sessions they sign up to for the afternoon. Click on the drop down menus to find out more about the workshops.

9.30-9.45am Conference welcome

A welcome to attendees and how the day will work.

9.45-10.45am: Elite athlete panel

To kick start the day, we will be joined by a panel of elite athletes from across the aquatic disciplines who will share their early experiences of transitioning into club environments. This will be an interactive session where delegates will be invited to pose questions to the panel.

11am-12pm: Rebuilding your Membership – top tips for attracting and retaining new members

Over the past year, many clubs have lost swimmers due to the Coronavirus pandemic. In the second session of the day, delegates will be presented with case study examples of how aquatic clubs and coaches have implemented innovative initiatives to attract new members to their clubs.

12-1pm Working with Parents in Sport – positive parental engagement

In the third and final session of the morning, Gordon MacLelland, founder of ‘Working with Parents in Sport’, will consider ways in which teachers and coaches can positively engage parents to smooth their child’s transition into club environments.

2pm-3pm Discipline-specific session one

Swimming: Teaching versus coaching – striking the right balance for developing swimmers

This will be delivered by our Swim England National Talent Officers Richard Blackshaw and Mike Parker, who will lead us through a discussion around the appropriate training methodologies for young developing athletes.

Para-swimming: Introduction to the para-swimming pathway and classification

Tom McManus and Martin Lees will talk you through the Para-Swimming pathway, exploring and highlighting opportunities for swimmer and coach development. This session will also serve to enhance your knowledge on eligible impairments and will provide an introduction to classification.

Artistic swimming: Basic sculling

Learn the basics of sculling from the Artistic Swimming specialists. Learn the hand and leg techniques for basic sculling to improve swimming and treading water no matter which discipline.

Diving: Supporting our divers – an inclusive approach

This session will explain the approach needed to deliver in an inclusive way using realistic examples from a variety of disciplines. It will consist of an introduction to the ‘social model’, the opportunity to ask club-specific questions as well as signposting to further sources of information that will help you to support your divers.

Water polo: Top 10 skills for getting started with water polo

This session will outline the 10 key fundamental skills that should form the basis for effectively introducing water polo into your sessions.

3pm-4pm Discipline-specific session two

Swimming: Igniting the competitive spirit… preparing young swimmers for fun competition!

This will allow us to explore ways in which we can best prepare our emerging young swimmers for early competition and, perhapseven more importantly, help to ensure that they truly enjoy these experiences.

Para-swimming: Developing core aquatic skills in future para-swimmers

Exploring what core aquatic skills like look in swimmers with a disability and how to progress those skills in order to develop future para-swimmers.

Artistic swimming: Creating ‘novice’ routines

Focusing on teaching the very basic concept of creating a routine. Where to start, what music to choose, how to check a pattern, how to transition from one pattern to another and more.

Diving: Overcoming fear within diving

Looking into fight or flight fear responses and managing fear within divers. We will delve into a range of strategies that can help divers overcome these fears by looking into internal and external attention.

Water polo: Game play

Following on from the earlier discussion, this session will explore ways in which the 10 key skills can be further developed within fun and engaging water polo games.

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