UK Sport

We use cookies to track and analyse visitors to our website

These cookies help make the website usable by enabling basic functions like page navigation. They are necessary for our website to function and cannot be switched off.
These cookies gather information to understand how visitors interact with the website, such as how many people are using our website of which pages are popular to help us improve user experience. Switching off these cookies will mean that we cannot gather information to improve the user experience.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by a third party provider whose services we have added to our website. Switching off these cookies mean that areas of our website cannot work properly.

Cookies are small text files that can be used by websites to make a user's experience more efficient.

The law states that we can store cookies on your device if they are strictly necessary for the operation of this site.

For all other types of cookies we need your permission.

This site uses different types of cookies. Some cookies are placed by third party services that appear on our pages.

You can at any time change or withdraw your consent from the Cookie Declaration on our website.

Learn more about who we are, how you can contact us and how we process personal data in our Privacy Policy.

Skip navigation
the national lottery
Twitter Facebook Youtube Instagram LinkedIn
  • About us
    • Our Directors Team
    • Our Board
    • Panels
    • Strategic Plan 2021-31
    • Our partners
    • English Institute of Sport
    • Accessibility
    • Contact us
    • Media centre
    • FAQs
    • Working at UK Sport
  • Our work
    • Investing in sport
    • Investing in events
    • Talent identification
    • Coaching
    • Powering positive change and social impact
    • International relations
    • Leadership, development & governance
  • Events
  • News
  • Sports
    Olympic sports
    • Archery
    • Artistic Swimming
    • Athletics
    • Badminton
    • Basketball
    • Bobsleigh
    • Boxing (Amateur)
    • Canoeing
    • Curling
    • View all
    Paralympic sports
    • Boccia
    • Goalball
    • Para-Archery
    • Para-Athletics
    • Para-Badminton
    • Para-Canoe
    • Para-Cycling
    • Para-Equestrian Dressage
    • Para-Rowing
    • View all
  • Resources
    • A Code for Sports Governance
    • Organisational Health
    • Annual reports
    • Board minutes
    • British Cycling independent review
    • Complaints and whistleblowing
    • Eligibility
    • Fraud, corruption and bribery
    • High Performance System Advisory Group
    • HR policy templates
    • Pregnancy guidance
    • Reports
    • Privacy policies
    • Publication Scheme
    • Recruitment framework
    • The Whyte Review
    • Tenders
    • Transparency and open data
    • Welsh language scheme
  • Jobs in sport
    • Explore career pathways
    • Jobs in sport
    • Submit a job
  • About us
    • Our Directors Team
    • Our Board
    • Panels
    • Strategic Plan 2021-31
    • Our partners
    • English Institute of Sport
    • Accessibility
    • Contact us
    • Media centre
    • FAQs
    • Working at UK Sport
  • Our work
    • Investing in sport
    • Investing in events
    • Talent identification
    • Coaching
    • Powering positive change and social impact
    • International relations
    • Leadership, development & governance
  • Events
  • News
  • Sports
    Olympic sports
    • Archery
    • Artistic Swimming
    • Athletics
    • Badminton
    • Basketball
    • Bobsleigh
    • Boxing (Amateur)
    • Canoeing
    • Curling
    • View all
    Paralympic sports
    • Boccia
    • Goalball
    • Para-Archery
    • Para-Athletics
    • Para-Badminton
    • Para-Canoe
    • Para-Cycling
    • Para-Equestrian Dressage
    • Para-Rowing
    • View all
  • Resources
    • A Code for Sports Governance
    • Organisational Health
    • Annual reports
    • Board minutes
    • British Cycling independent review
    • Complaints and whistleblowing
    • Eligibility
    • Fraud, corruption and bribery
    • High Performance System Advisory Group
    • HR policy templates
    • Pregnancy guidance
    • Reports
    • Privacy policies
    • Publication Scheme
    • Recruitment framework
    • The Whyte Review
    • Tenders
    • Transparency and open data
    • Welsh language scheme
  • Jobs in sport
    • Explore career pathways
    • Jobs in sport
    • Submit a job
Press Enter to Search
News

Winter sport coaches complete UK Sport's Coach Leader Programme

Published 19 February 2022

UK Sport’s Coach Leader Programme finished in April 2021, supporting 12 of the highest potential coaches from across the Olympic and Paralympic high-performance community to succeed in Tokyo, Beijing and beyond.

This  included three Winter sport coaches, Pat Sharples, GB Snowsport Head Coach, David Murdoch, Olympic Head Coach at British Curling and Jimmy Howard, Performance Coach at British Skeleton. The Programme provided a series of learning and development opportunities in order for them to be the best possible leaders both now and in the future.

Key to the programme has been supporting each coach with an individual development plan and enabling them to work one-to-one with a coach developer and a leadership developer, as well as having access to additional aids most appropriate to their specific journey. The programme firmly placed the coaches at the heart of the experience, meeting them where they were at and evolving the content to adapt to their changing needs and wants.

Graduation Day! Received my Postgraduate Diploma for Professional Coaching Science from Hartpury University Graduation at Gloucester Cathedral as part of the @uksport Team Leader Programme.
So much gratitude to my developers, lecturers, employers and family. @BritishCurling pic.twitter.com/potXPCivtO

— David Murdoch OLY (@DMurdoch17) November 6, 2021

As part of ensuring coaching is our collective and sustainable competitive advantage across the UK high-performance community, the Programme has been based on helping the coaches to better understand themselves  leaders, build and maintain relationships, and further enhance their respective leadership and coaching skills to be at their best when it counts.

The programme has privileged the coaches’ voice, providing them with a safe and secure space to share stories and help each other, particularly during the pandemic. The programme was extended by 12 months to help ensure the coaches were supported to help solve problems and navigate the dynamic high-performance environments they work in, especially considering the impact of COVID. 

The programme has been run with backing from Hartpury University with each coach receiving a bespoke post-graduate diploma.

Dame Katherine Grainger, Chair at UK Sport, said: “What has stood out from this group is the way they have supported and challenged each other throughout this incredible learning opportunity, which is testament to the character of all of the coaches involved.

“Coaches, alongside athletes, are at the heart of our high-performance community and coaching is our competitive advantage. This group of 12 are among the best across our Olympic and Paralympic high-performance community and thanks to the programme they are now even greater equipped to provide continued world class support and direction for their athletes.”

Dave Murdoch has been to three Winter Games as an athlete and disappointment in 2006 and 2010 will have only made his silver medal at Sochi 2014 even sweeter. Dave now holds the title of Olympic Head Coach for British Curling and is currently in Beijing for the 2022 Winter Games with both the men’s and women’s curling teams battling it out in the gold medal matches at the weekend.

Speaking to Katherine Grainger last year on the ‘Medals and More’ podcast he said, “I have learnt so much on my coaching journey, I have made mistakes and looked at how can I be better. The biggest challenge has been the transition from athlete to coach.  I am fortunate to be part of this Programme where the cohort is made up of many coaches from across sports and the knowledge, I have gained from speaking with them, the developers and the lecturers and the work we have done together has been brilliant. It has been so good for me to understand other sports and different situations.

“Even the reading as part of the university work has been essential, it has been a big journey over the last few years. With coaching you are always learning, you never master it. So as long as you are willing to be better and adapt within that is all you can do as a coach.”

 
View this post on Instagram
 

 

A post shared by Pat Sharples (@patsharples)

Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
News
five athletes sat on stage in mid disussion
International Relations Seminar 2023
21 March 2023
Eilish crossing the line celebrating with her arms in the air
New research shows British public support athletes speaking out and driving social change
8 March 2023
Female wheelchair basketball player lines up a shot at the hoop.
UK Sport makes first awards from NGB Development Fund to support organisational health
22 February 2023
Sport jobs in the UK
Find & advertise UK based sports jobs here
Read more
Funding Partners
  • DCMS
  • TNL partners
Strategic Partners
  • British Olympic Association
  • Paralympics GB
  • english institute of sport logo
  • Sport England
  • Sport Northern Ireland
  • Sport Wales
  • Sport Scotland
Sitelogo
Sitemap
  • Homepage
  • About us
  • Our work
  • Events
  • News
  • Sports
  • Resources
  • Jobs in sport
  • UK Sport editorial policy
  • Freedom of Information Act 2000
  • Website terms
  • Accessibility
  • Cookies policy
  • FAQs
Contact
UK Sport
6th Floor
10 South Colonnade
London
E14 4PU
E: info@uksport.gov.uk
T: +44 (0) 20 7211 5100
Follow us
Twitter Facebook Youtube Instagram LinkedIn

© Copyright UK Sport 2023