Coaching

The first graduates of Elite Coach

UK Sport has identified coaching as a key element of the high performance system in the UK. Coaching, alongside other key performance support services such as Sports Medicine and Sports Science, Performance Lifestyle and Research and Innovation, plays a crucial role in ensuring the ongoing success of British athletes.

The UK Sport coaching team seeks to ensure the delivery of quality coaching to athletes on UK Sport's World Class Performance Pathway, a system devised to identify, develop and refine talented British athletes.

To achieve this the UK Sport World Class Coaching Strategy must deliver targeted and innovative programmes specific to the needs of world class coaches.

The UK Sport World Class Coaching Strategy is currently delivered via the following 3 key elements:

World Class Coaching Conference

Since its inception in 2001, the World Class Coaching Conference has been established as an annual event and a must for coaches in all high performance sports. The conference provides a multidisciplinary coaching forum for the best coaches in the UK to meet, debate and share best practice. The aim is to equip coaches with the skills and knowledge to make sustainable changes to an athletes training programme.

The best national and international speakers are sought to present the most up to date and cutting edge information to over 350 coaches working with British athletes. Each conference has a common theme that runs throughout all workshops and presentations over the four day programme. See below for information on past World Class Coaching Conferences.

World Class Coaching Conference 2007

The World Class Coaching Conference is held in November each year. The 2008 Conference will be held at The Belfry from 10-13 November.

Elite Coach

Launched after the Athens Olympics in 2004, 'Elite Coach' is a three-year accelerated coach development programme in which up to 10 coaches per year are selected to participate. Elite Coach is a targeted, focused and fully supported programme for the very best coaches who demonstrate the talent, dedication and determination to succeed and produce outstanding performances.

The driving principles of Elite Coach are:

• British coaching driving performance in elite sport
• Supporting and adding value to the investment in athletes
• Accessing the very best expertise within the UK as well as from international sport, business and the arts 

To find out more about Elite Coach click here.

Winning Coaches

The Winning Coaches Programme consists of three key elements:

The Workshop Programme:

• This is a series of multi-sport workshops developed specifically for high performance coaches in the UK. They are designed to address current issues and needs of the coach and introduce new developments in the high performance system. These workshops also offer opportunities to deliver solutions to issues arising from Mission 2012, UK Sport's performance evaluation system.

Coaching Team Programme:

• This includes both research and development of High Performance Coaching Teams and a team based diagnostic and High Performance Team training. This programme is delivered in a sport specific environment.

Podium Coaches Programme:

• This programme is a fully supported sport specific programme targeted at the coaches identified who will be leading athletes, teams and sports in Beijing 2008. The development is agreed and targeted to the needs leading into the 2008 Olympics.

Themes covered via the above programmes include managing relationships, neuro-linguistic programming, time management, team start up, decision making and compelling communication.