This week representatives from 11 Olympic sports will attend the fifth module of the Performance Pathway Programme at Leicester Tigers Stadium, Welford Road to explore ‘benchmarking and tracking’.
The Performance Pathway Programme (P3), launched back in May 2013 by the Performance Pathway Team in collaboration with the English Institute of Sport, is designed for managers working in the World Class Programme environment, responsible for Talent Identification, Confirmation and Development of future medallists for 2018, 2020 and beyond.
Following the most recent education module on ‘athlete profiling’ which reviewed the construction and application of an athlete profile (identifying the factors which most determine what it will take to win), attendees will spend the two days examining methods and sharing best practice, on how they benchmark and track development level athletes. Key questions such as; What tests and assessments provide the most reliable measure; How do we use this information to review athlete progression, goal-set and create individual plans that maximise potential; are just a selection of focus areas for the group. Attendees will hear case study examples on benchmarking and tracking from British Sailing, GB Taekwondo, British Diving and GB Rowing.
Understanding the different methods used by a variety of sports and exploring how data is gathered and how it is interpreted for effective use in athlete development progression monitoring, will enable sports to think about how these can be effectively implemented to advance tracking and benchmarking in their sport. Areas of discussion will involve the sharing and monitoring of data, integration of coaches and sport science and sport medicine parameters, the involvement of academies, talent identification, and the role of attendees in this process.
Day two will see ‘Changing Minds’ clinical psychologist Dr James Bickley introduce the work that the NHS currently do in terms of tracking and monitoring focussing on their ‘Management Plan’. This will involve considering what underpins benchmarking and tracking practices within other professions, and an opportunity to reflect on this process from a ‘top down’ holistic approach of athlete development. Importantly there will be time to engage with guests and speakers, the performance pathway team and to consider the application of ideas discussed within each sport’s performance pathway.
Steven Seligmann, Talent Pathways Manager (British Shooting) said: “This module could not come at a better time for us at Shooting, we have done a significant piece of work around World Class benchmarks and we know what it takes to win an Olympic medal and what is required at a junior level. We have clear benchmarks that are aligned to our athlete profiles and as a result we are about to begin the process of tracking our shooters. The module will offer us a great opportunity to hear from other sports and gain valuable insight at a crucial time.”
P3 attendees 13/14:
- GB Archery – Ceriann Davies (Performance Pathway Manager)
- GB Boxing – Rob Gibson (Performance Pathway Manager)
- GB Canoeing – Heather Williams (Talent Manager)
- British Cycling – Ian Yates (Performance Pathway Manager)
- British Diving – Julian Bellan (National Development Manager)
- GB Rowing – Steve Gunn (START Manager)
- British Sailing – Duncan Truswell (Youth Racing Manager)
- British Shooting – Steve Seligmann (Talent Pathways Manager)
- British Swimming – Ciaran O’Brien (England Talent Manager)
- GB Taekwondo – Dean Leak (National Development Manager)
- British Triathlon – Simon Mills (Performance Pathway Manager)