ECAP coaches graduate at World Class Performance Conference
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The ECAP graduates receive a round of applause at the World Class Performance Conference
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Grace Cullen 26 November 2012
The 11 coaches on UK Sport’s Elite Coaching Apprenticeship Programme (ECAP) have officially graduated the two-year development programme.
Having completed their seventh and final workshop two weeks ago, the coaches were recognised for their achievements at UK Sport’s 12th annual World Class Performance Conference in Leeds tonight (Monday 26 November).
Two of the cohort, Jo Eley from GB Short Track and Clive Milkens from British Equestrian, presented a video documenting their ECAP journey, before the entire cohort was invited to stand for a round of applause.
UK Sport Head of Coaching Graham Taylor, who unveiled UK Sport’s new Elite Programme to the delegation this evening, said: “We are always immensely proud to see a group of coaches graduate one of our development programmes, hopefully taking with them the skills and knowledge they need to fulfill their ambitions within the system, and on this evidence, the future of British coaching is in safe hands.”
The graduating group are the second to graduate ECAP, an initiative which aims to accelerate the development of coaches already within the high performance system, to enable them to have an enhanced impact in the short term, but also to become the elite coaches of the future.
Reflecting on the ECAP experience, British Cycling coach Chris Newton said: “ECAP has been a fantastic experience and for me personally it coincided with a change from professional athlete to coach. This not only aided the transition but exposed me to coaching skills that would have taken longer to acquire.
“With seven workshops, picking a highlight is tough, though the whole learning experience alongside coaches from a wide range of sports would be one of them. The two year course has given me the tools to up-skill quickly which in turn has hugely benefited my athletes.”
Jo Eley, Short Track Speed Skating coach, said: “Being part of the ECAP 2010/12 cohort has been an amazing experience. The workshops have provided numerous expertise and experiences that have helped me to develop my coaching skills and my understanding of myself and my athletes. They have also created an opportunity to form a lifelong camaraderie with my fellow cohort, from which I hope we can continue to support each other long after the programme has ended.
“As a relatively inexperienced coach this chance to develop a formal process for my personal development has been invaluable and coming from a small and winter sport would have been impossible without UK Sport ECAP.”
Paul Darby-Dowman, Canoe Sprint coach, said: “ECAP has been a great opportunity for me to develop my coaching. It has given me the opportunity to reflect on my coaching skills and identify areas of development to make me a better coach. It has also been a great benefit to engage with other coaches on my cohort to share experience and learn best practices from other sports.”
Full list of 2010-12 ECAP graduating coaches:
Chris Newton (Cycling)
Jenny Leeming (Diving)
Jean-Paul Bell (Judo)
Nathan Hilton (Swimming)
Mark Ratcliffe (Canoe Slalom)
Clive Milkens (Paralympic Dressage)
Jo Eley (Short Track Speed Skating)
Hayley Ginn (Athletics)
Emily Parker (Athletics)
Craig Keegan (Hockey)
Paul Darby-Dowman (Canoe Sprint)
