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Paralympic coaches complete second workshop

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Jessica Whitehorn 20 October 2011

With the main competition phase of the year drawing to a close for the majority of summer sports, the second Paralympic Coach Development Initiative (PCDi) workshop took place last week at The Belfry. 

Launched in April 2011, the Paralympic-specific programme came about following a period of consultation with the sports in question, who had requested assistance in the area of development of the coaching workforce through Mission 2012. UK Sport is working closely with the coaches over nine months, combining a series of four workshops alongside bespoke individual development plans, aimed at coaches working with London 2012 medal potential sports and athletes.

Eleven coaches from six different sports were present for the second workshop, which focused on the following four key areas; articulating personal coaching values and working principles, understanding signature strengths and how to leverage them more effectively, understanding personality types and how this influences behaviour and developing personal support networks. The coaches also spent time developing exploratory questioning techniques, sharing the progress they have made on their objectives and commitments, and furthering their Personal Development Plans following the outcomes of a 360 feedback survey.

The group were also joined by Sam Whale, UK Sport’s Coaching Coordinator, and John Neal, UK Sport’s Mentor Development Programme Tutor, who gave an overview of the Mentor/Mentee relationship; what this looks like, potential pitfalls and some background to the new UK Sport Mentoring programme which will be launched in the coming months. This left all the coaches with some food for thought as to how they might use this type of relationship to consolidate their learning and commit to continual development once they complete the programme.
 
UK Sport’s Coaching Officer, Adam Greaves, said: “From the start of the workshop it was clear to see that the coaches had made great progress over the summer period and we are hopeful that this will continue into the remaining two workshops.

“As with the first workshop, we have asked the coaches to update and return their Personal Development Plans to allow us to track their progress and provide any assistance they may need. We were also very pleased to see the coaches exchanging contact details, to help build their support networks outside of the workshop environment across the sports.”

Neil Robinson, Disability Table Tennis Coach, said: “If you open your mind and take onboard ideas from others, as I have, you will benefit from this programme. It has made me look at myself from a 'different' angle. This programme will, without doubt, make me a better coach.”

The coaches present for the workshop were as follows: Tim Hazell (Disability Archery), Neil Horsfall (Disability Archery), Sinclair Thomas (Wheelchair Basketball), Garry Peel (Wheelchair Basketball), Pasan Kularatne (Disability Target Shooting), Louise Minett (Disability Target Shooting), Matt Kenny (Disability Table Tennis), Neil Robinson (Disability Table Tennis), Geraint Richards (Wheelchair Tennis), Justin Frishberg (Wheelchair Rugby), Paul Shaw (Wheelchair Rugby).

The third PCDi workshop will take place on 28 and 29 November, and will look at how to work effectively with others and manage conflict.

Meanwhile, also at the Belfry, coaches on the 2010-12 Elite Coaching Apprenticeship Programme completed their third workshop. The workshop aimed to further the coaches’ communication skills, with sessions focusing on body language as well as questioning and listening skills.  In addition to an introduction to influencing and negotiation, the coaches also heard from English Institute of Sport practitioners Pete Lindsay (Sports Psychology) and Dan Salcedo (Performance Lifestyle) on Athlete Transitions. The fourth workshop will take place on 6 and 7 December.
 

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