Sport in Suffolk

A Time for Coaching

2012-02-23T03:06:00.000-08:00

In my previous ‘Are you a sports coach or a coach coaching sport?’ blog, I stated that National Governing Body coaching qualifications are, and will rightfully remain, the cornerstone of what every coach should acquire and they currently provide the best measure for your competence and abilities as a coach.

However, similar to your driving test, obtaining a coaching qualification is the start of a journey, not the end. I passed my driving test, then learnt how to really drive with a style I'm comfortable with which I've developed over a period of time, and it's the same with coaching.

But for coaches, how can our development be accelerated?

When I first started coaching for a business at 18 - where I started by shadowing coaches - I had no idea about my delivery style, how to change that to suit the audience, structuring a session or formatting a progressive programme. Within the environment of the business, what I did have was the opportunity to learn from several other coaches, discuss ideas with them, see how they did things and reflect on how I could alter their practices to suit me. Then once I started to deliver sessions, I was able to reflect on whether I was satisfied that I had delivered the best session possible, and to be formally assessed against set criteria.

I have no doubt that these opportunities - regularly watching and talking with a range of coaches specialising in various sports and age groups - accelerated my development as a coach more than any coaching qualification could have done.

I never viewed this as mentoring. Either I was being assessed as part of a business quality assurance process or I was just discussing coaching with a colleague. Looking back now, I realise I was being mentored without even realising it; my development was being supported by discussing, debating and sharing ideas on how to provide the best service to the participants. I also hope and think I was, in some small way, mentoring them at the same time.

In an earlier blog, mentoring was defined as “showing people how the people who are really good at doing something do it”. But a successful mentoring relationship is much more than this. A successful mentoring relationship grows naturally between the two parties and is mutually beneficial. A mentoring process is about stimulating reflection on performance, from both parties, but should not be overly time-consuming, arduous or forced. Most importantly, it relies on the 'mentee' wanting to develop, and being open to new ideas. We'll explore what makes a good coach as part of the Day for Coaching, but I'd suggest one thing that makes a good coach is the hunger to continually improve.

So what does this mean in Suffolk?

I'm looking at various ways to bring coaches together under the adopted theme for 2012 - Coaches Coaching Coaches - and to give you the opportunity to discuss, debate and share ideas with coaches from various sports, with the hope of accelerating development, thus raising the standards of coaching in the county. I'm sure we've all heard the London 2012 legacy promise: to get more people playing sport.

Raising the standards of our coaches must help deliver a legacy from London 2012?

To supplement our usual Club and Coach Education Programme, I've put together a series of sessions, happening throughout the county over the next 4-6 weeks, culminating in the Day for Coaching on 25th March - a day not to be missed as I will have some exciting news to share with you on the topics mentioned in this post, especially if you’re a Suffolk Sport TOPCOACH! I hope you'll find all of the sessions of interest and will be able to come to the ones which really grab your attention.

Arguably an emphasis on coach development as well as player development is long overdue. In Suffolk A Time for Coaching starts now, with Coaches Coaching Coaches.

Suffolk School Games - An opportunity not to be missed

2012-02-10T01:16:00.000-08:00

Tuesday this week saw the culmination of many months planning and organising with the press launch of the Suffolk School Games at Mid Suffolk Leisure Centre, Stowmarket.

The press launch took place during the Aviva SportsHall Athletics county final, the under 11's taking place in the morning and the u13's in the afternoon. The sportsHall athletics events provided some fantastic sporting action for the launch, it was fast, fun and exciting and the 100's of children taking part from schools across the County were clearly enjoying the opportunity to compete. Credit must go to Adam Burgess from Aviva Sportshall athletics who matched the competitors enthusiasm with his own performance on the micro phone.

The day though had started early at 7.15am with a live Radio interview with BBC Radio Suffolk with Geoff Barton (headteacher & chair of the school games organising committee), Rob Waldon (Deputy Head) and two pupils Jessica and Matthew from King Edward VI school in Bury St.Edmunds. It was great to hear Jessica and Matthew talking so eloquently under pressure about the fantastic opportunities to play sport, to encourage others and to volunteer in sport.

Luke Deal from Radio Suffolk was back again at 12.30 for another live broadcast, with Ian Jackson (school Games Organiser), myself and a group of young athletes from Scaltback Middle School (Newmarket) and Britannia Primary (Ipswich) who provided the quote of the day when asked if they were enjoying the event replied "it's great, I love sport.. I just love it!"

The opening ceremony also feature some excellent "cultural" performances with poetry, singing and dancing, which reminded us all that the School Games is about more than just winning medals it's about providing the opportunity for all school children in Suffolk to take part in something bigger and being the best that they can be. Local newspapers particularly the EADT provided quality coverage of the event.

So the Suffolk School Games has had a fantastic official start, full of energy and life. We are all now looking forward to the County Festival on the 6th July but also to all the school sport competitions throughout the year which make up the School Games.

The School Games for me is a huge opportunity, to sustain and increase participation in school sport and to enhance and create new links and opportunities for school children to join local community sports clubs. I've no doubt that there is a considerable amount of work needed to be done over the next few years, equally I'm sure that the team of School Games Organisers are willing and able to meet that challenge.

For all of us working in sport the School Games presents a real opportunity to develop sport in our county and for the sake of our children and the future of sport in Suffolk, this is an opportunity not to be missed!

Tony

Olympic hopeful inspires Suffolk youngsters into sport as legacy programme gathers momentum

2012-02-03T01:48:00.000-08:00

Over the last few years I have been in countless meetings and involved in numerous conversations about ‘2012’ but hadn’t really appreciated the impact this year would/could have.

1 month in and things have been hectic for me and the Suffolk Sport team on the various projects and initiatives, all looking to make sure we are ready for that anticipated surge in the numbers of people wanting to play sport over the summer months and beyond.

Thursday 2^nd February was a big day for Sportivate as the National figures for the first 3 quarters of delivery were released. With this in mind I have been looking at its impact and the success of using ‘inspirational figures’ to keep this traditionally difficult age group engaged in sport.

I spent a Friday lunch time recently at Stradbroke Business and Enterprise College (SBEC), where I was fortune enough to meet Olympic hopeful and GB Handball player Louise Jukes. Partners of Sportivate are entitled to apply for a visit from a Sporting Champion to try and inspire those teenagers and young adults to keep playing sport. It seemed to have the desired effect as over 20 students gave up most of their lunch time to take part in this Sportivate Handball session.

15-year-old Jacob Cleverley from SBEC is one of those teenagers who are receiving six weeks of Handball, delivered by England Handballs, Dave Hendrick. Jacob said: "Handball has been brilliant, especially when Louise Jukes came in. She was inspiring and made us realise why handball is so popular in Europe. I hope it continues here in Stradbroke and gets bigger within the UK".

After talking with Louise Jukes at the end of the session, I was pleasantly surprised by her enthusiasm in coming along to this session, especially as she is in the middle of training and with a real focus of being in that Olympic squad. Although limping heavily, Louise was more than happy to get involved with the training and provided a real insight to the group as to what it feels like to be heading to London 2012. Louise and Dave’s focus is ensuring that we capitalise on this enthusiasm and ensure that a community club can be started to keep Handball developing in Suffolk.

Both Tony Bush and I were at Mildenhall College of Technology yesterdayday to watch a Sportivate ‘Get Into Judo’ session, Shaun Peel from BBC Look East was there to report live (Broadcast last night) and we were also fortunate that Gemma Moore was present. Gemma Moore from Debenham High School in Mid Suffolk has just won Silver at the Commonwealth Championships in

Wales

and is hoping to inspire her peers to keep participating in Judo.

These are just 2 of the 100's of Sportivate projects taking place across Suffolk as we continue to try and play our part in delivering on the Legacy of 2012. The results have show that the East of England has been particularly strong with Suffolk leading the way. This is a great testimony to the commitment of Suffolk Sports partners to run activities that teenagers and young adults want, where they want it and when they want it…

Anyway, back to it, only 175 days to go…

Ben

For more information or to get involved with Sportivate in Suffolk, go to SPORTIVATE or contact:

Ben Jackson

Ben.jackson@suffolksport.com

07827308649

www.suffolksport.com/sportivate

Preparing for an Olympic Legacy in Suffolk

2012-01-20T06:56:00.000-08:00

Another very busy week for the Suffolk Sport team, focusing mainly on planning and preparation for the coming year. Planning is well underway for this year's Suffolk Show and again promises to be a fantastic showcase for Sport in Suffolk. Many NGB's and local sports clubs have already signed up to help out. Rush Hockey has also been launched in Suffolk which sessions all across the county.

Most of the team are involved in some capacity in organising the Suffolk School Games, which is a huge draw on resources in terms of time and staff commitment but nevertheless will prove to be a critical element in increasing participation from school to community sport and helping to create a lasting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games.

I've been asked a few time this week about what is the legacy from the Games and when will it start, after the games? Well it's already started! Through participation programmes such as Sportivate and volunteering drives such as Sport Makers but also through improved facility provision.

This year we hope the entire nation will be inspired by 2012 and now is the time for all of us working in sport to capture that enthusiasm and start building the foundations of a sporting legacy for years to come. Rose tinted glasses? Perhaps but I always believe if you are doing something then do it 100%

Who could not be moved by the joy of British mens gymnastics team qualifying for 2012 and equally the sadness of the rhythmic gymnasts failing to do so by the smallest of margins. Even David Beckham wants to Captain Team GB!!

Over 40 different sports clubs attended a club development evening last night in Woodbridge organised by Suffolk Coastal DC. Hopefully they have gone away inspired to develop and grow their clubs in 2012.

Make this year, your year of sport and be inspired and be inspiring!

Tony

Sport in Suffolk: 2012 has arrived

2012-01-13T05:03:00.000-08:00

Sport in Suffolk: 2012 has arrived: At last 2012 has arrived. Year of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games! The biggest year for sport in a generation and certainly the bigg...

2012 has arrived

2012-01-13T04:58:00.000-08:00

At last 2012 has arrived. Year of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games! The biggest year for sport in a generation and certainly the biggest opportunity for sport in a generation. For the Suffolk Sport team the new year has arrived full on, Ben has all the Sportivate funding applications landing on his desk today. Kathryn and Lindsay have been out and about talking to business, students, sports clubs about Sport Makers, Henry and I spent a very enjoyable morning in the beautiful village of Worlingworth discussing Fit Villages and improving local sporting facilities. Joseph has been on his bike getting Suffolk Cycling, Richard has been developing his plans for coaching delivery over the next year and Terry, well Terry as normal I think has visited everybody we work with and I haven't even mentioned the Suffolk School Games!!!!! (more to follow on this in later blogs)

This year we want to focus on using the inspiration of the 2012 Games to inspire Suffolk to get active and volunteer in sport. We want to help create a lasting legacy for Sport in Suffolk and over the next few years will be delivering our Olympic legacy programmes.

We welcome the recent new strategy announcement for youth & community sport and are pleased to see that County Sports Partnerships (CSP's) have a clear role in the future. Its good to know that the work done nationally by CSP's supporting National Governing Bodies of Sport deliver locally has established us a key part of government strategy and delivery plans.

So 2012 has arrived with a bang! It's going to be a great year.

Thanks
Tony

Help Beat the Winter Blues

2011-12-21T01:30:00.000-08:00

It’s officially that time of year.

Outside, it’s dark, cold and windy, while inside its sparkly, warm and cosy; a perfect recipe for over indulgence and a less than enthusiastic attitude to physical activity.

Despite this, communities up and down the county are continuing to beat the winter blues through a number of Suffolk Sport initiatives, including Fit Villages, Sportivate, Cycle Suffolk and Sportmakers.

From a Fit Villages point of view, it has been inspiring to see how such a simple project can change attitudes and inspire communities, especially at this time of year.

Christmas brings with it all manner of temptations but we have been delivering projects throughout November and December to keep on top of the mince pies and choccies.

Participants haven’t just had an opportunity to get active, they have been given a chance to meet new friends and receive first class tuition – all at a subsidised price and on their doorstep (or maybe a short walk).

The feedback has been great to date, and not simply just through generic evaluation forms. If I had a penny for every time I went to a session and heard applause at the end of it, I would be a rich man!

Ultimately, Fit Villages is creating opportunities for rural communities to beat the winter blues in a fun and inspiring way. We appreciate that some villages are overwhelmed with activities, but for those that aren’t, we are here to give them a helping hand.

Have a great Christmas and enjoy the break.

Henry

Suffolk Shines at Regional Sports Awards

2011-12-13T01:45:00.000-08:00

Last week I was very fortunate to be invited to attend the BBC East Sports Awards at Bedfordshire University. It was a fantastic event and a great pre-cursor to the not to be missed Sports Personality of the Year awards (or SPOTY as it now seems to be called) next week. It was very inspiring to hear Chrissie Wellington talk so passionately about the all male shortlist for SPOTY and the invaluable benefit of female role models in order to increase female participation in sport.

Of course it is randomly possible to come up with an all male shortlist just as its possible to come up an all para sport shortlist, but in a true reflection on society and the sporting world we live in you would have to expect representation for all sections of the community. Nobody wants token gestures, I don't believe any were offered - I never soared to the heights of elite sport but even I know winning world championships isn't an easy achievement!

It seems to be that the shortlisting process was deeply flawed and I welcome the fact that the BBC have promised to change this for next year. I'm glad that BBC East got it right and also for the County Sports Partnerships which organise the County Sports Awards. Shortlisting and deciding on winners is a very difficult task working across sports, ages etc but having a cross section of the local sporting community running the shortlisting process is a much better way.

Anyway back at the BBC East awards it was great to see so many Suffolk names to the fore. Elena Baltacha and Nicky Hunt presented awards, as did Simon Clegg who also brought along his Olympic torches. County Upper School in Bury won the School of the year award, Clio Aubugeau-williams and Alisha Mann were runners up in their categories (Young sports personality and young community volunteer), but for me the proudest people on the night were the Bury Bombers Wheelchair Basketball Club who were shortlisted for team of the year against Norwich City FC and Red Bull Formula 1 world champions! Needless to say they didn't win but wow talk about playing in the top league. Certainly if it was decided on style the orange bow ties worn by Bury Bombers would have carried all before them - Class Act!

That's all for now, hope to get another blog in before Christmas but just in case have a great Christmas and see you all in the New Year - Anything going on in 2012?

There's more than one way of becoming a sporting champion

2011-11-18T01:45:00.000-08:00

What is stopping you from being a part of the Olympic Legacy? Well not everyone can win Olympic gold but there is more than one way of being a sporting champion!

When posed with the question ‘are you interested in some volunteering?’ there is often a look of fear and an answer along the lines of either a lack of time or interest. People seem to consider volunteering as something that is time consuming and too much of a commitment to uphold.

How about viewing volunteering as a way of broadening your social network through meeting new people, finding a skill you have that can be of benefit to your local community, doing something that you find rewarding-a feel good factor. How about using it as a chance to gain new skills and confidence helping to enhance employability… I could go on and list further benefits that can be gained but you’ll be the one who knows if volunteering is for you.

The new Sport Maker project, the Olympic Legacy Volunteering Programme is open to everyone whether sporty or not. It’s your chance to use the inspiration of the Olympics to get your local community involved. Whether you want to set up a weekly swimming session for friends or colleagues, help out at your local club or a local event it’s all up to you.

We ask you to give just 10 hours of your time to making sport happen. How you

spend these 10 hours, and how quickly you complete them, is up to you. There are some great opportunities out there; with the Olympics just around the corner there’s never been a better time to get involved.

If you are interested in becoming a Sport Maker visit http://www.sportmakers.co.uk/ and sign up today.

Olympic legacy funding starting to make a difference

2011-10-21T03:14:00.000-07:00

Suffolk Sport has today announced opening of the Year 2 Sportivate funding round and as such, I thought this would be a good time to reflect on the effectiveness of this funding, which started in April 2011, so far

Sportivate within Suffolk is going well and over 40, 6 week projects have already been delivered with over 400 teenagers and young adults turning up to at least 5 out 6 sessions. Over £55K of funding has been allocated to 67 separate partners who range from sports professionals to volunteers, sports clubs to youth offending and many more. This is a fantastic effort and shows that partners across Suffolk are doing what they can to deliver on the PlacesPeoplePlay Olympic legacy programme.

Although Suffolk Sport is delivering on their Sportivate targets to date, it has been far from a trouble free path!! I seem to always be faced with the statement ‘This is a hard group to work with…’ and the facts would support this. Over 25% of the initial projects submitted and started have failed - no fault of the provider but the general apathy to get involved and the difficulties in communicating with this group.

Early indications show that blanket targeting of 14-25 year olds hasn’t and won’t work. By breaking this age group down e.g. 14-16, 17-19, 20+ and many other combinations besides would appear to give the project a better chance. It could also be argued that many of this group prefer not to be coached and less formal, social participation is the way forward. This has been proven by the success of projects such as Touch Rugby in Woodbridge, by linking with pubs and running activity in a nearby ‘field’ was more attractive than going straight to the club. Over 50 people within the Sportivate age group signed up to this project and several now play at the club.

We are also looking at running as many non-traditional sports as possible to try and enthuse and engage i.e. Mike Linger from UKDBA (Dodgeball Association) is planning to run a number of projects in the Ipswich area with the ultimate aim of setting up a club of the back of these taster sessions.

If you are interested in applying for Sportivate funding or are keen to get more active and attend a Sportivate session then get in touch with me (Details below) and I will talk you through the process or point you in the direction of appropriate activity in your area. You can also find all this information at www.suffolksport.com/sportivate.

If you decide to write that you would like to apply then follow these steps:

Step 1 - Think about your project – what, why, when, how

Step 2 - Read the guidance and briefing notes ‘How do I Apply’

Step 3 – Complete the one page project application form

Step 4 – Return your application to Ben Jackson by the 13^th January 2012

Funding is available to cover a variety of aspects of project delivery including venue hire, coach and volunteer costs.

Here are just some of the comments and feedback that I have received from people who have already had an application accepted:

“We found applying fro Sportivate funding a very simple, straight forward procedure made even easier by having Ben Jackson at the end of the phone who is always approachable and very helpful. The funding has enabled us to introduce sporting activities to a group of people who would not normally be able to access sport in this way.”

Shirley Moore, Chief Executive Officer, Suffolk Befriending

“Sportivate has supported us at Suffolk FA to target those 16-18 year olds who find making that step from junior to senior football difficult. Over 130 teenagers have been through the Suffolk 6’s project already. With many projects left to run this year we see Sportivate as an integral part of our football development plan.”

Chris Walsh, County Development Manager, Suffolk FA

St Helens Tennis club in Ipswich received £250 to run a successful tennis camp for 10, 14-16 year olds. Frank Dixon, tennis coach said:

“I would like to thank Sportivate (Suffolk Sport) for the great support you have given to St Johns Tennis Club & myself (Head Tennis Coach) for the Funding for our tennis programme for the 14+ Yrs.”

Ben Jackson

Ben.jackson@suffolksport.com

www.suffolksport.com/sportivate

07827 308649

Does Sport Change Lives?

2011-09-19T05:31:00.000-07:00

How many times have you heard someone say ''sport changes lives''? I have run out of fingers and toes as to how many times I've heard it said.

It has manifested itself in many forms, by people who sit in all sizes of office. The latest incarnation was at an Equestrian event, where ''horses change lives''. It seems it's not just exclusive to the sport industry either. Even ''trees change lives'', I learnt on BBC Breakfast the other day!

So, at a time when the spotlight is on 'the youth' of the nation being supposedly disenchanted and disengaged with society, surely this is where sport should come in and save the day? If sport can change peoples lives, why hasn't it already or why doesn't it now?

On the other hand, there are countless examples from top sportsmen of how being involved in sport kept them off the streets and away from crime. Only recently was I reading how Tom Stalker ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/9163649.stm ), although not a household name yet he is currently a rising star in amateur boxing, was highlighting how it's likely he'd have become embroiled in a life of crime if it wasn't for his chosen sport.

But I believe it's wrong to say sport has done this. The truth is that 'sport' doesn't change peoples lives. Just putting someone on a horse in a riding centre, or placing them in a judo session at the local sports centre will not turn water into wine. Rather it's the morals, ethics and discipline which comes with playing and being committed to a sport. Who instills this discipline, these ethics and morals? The coach. Sport does not change peoples lives, it's the coach who CAN.

Most people who fit into the category of needing sport to change their lives actually need discipline, an ethical code, a role model to follow and / or a way to focus their concentration. This makes the coach, especially at grassroots level, unbelievably important. Not just to society, not just to the community, but to each and every individual they come into contact with. As a coach you have the opportunity to positively affect every athlete in your sessions, therefore you have a duty to offer the best service possible to your athletes. This comprises many things, but being a good role model must be included!

I'll let you make up your own ideas about what makes a coach a good role model. But I'll start you off by asking whether a coach who arrives under prepared for the session fits the criteria?

If the role of the coach is so important, do we need to improve the support for our coaches in Suffolk and the country as a whole? And if so, how do we do that? The next blog topic I think, but I guess you'll know what I'll say!

However, I think it certainly does highlight the need for more grassroots coaches to understand and embrace the responsibility of the role, and the effect you can have on how your athletes fit with society. Your coaching style, manner, principles, and beliefs can, and probably will in whatever way, directly influence your community at some stage. Whether that's in a positive or negative way could be down to your actions and behaviours as a coach.

This is not something to be scared of, or be daunted by. This just means that as the coach, you have a fantastic opportunity to be a positive influence on each of your athletes lives. What a privilege! Name three other professions which can have that sort of impact, let alone vocations.

What does this mean for your coaching practice? One thing it probably means is you should spend more time planning the session you're going to deliver, and more time reflecting on your performance as a coach after the session.

With the help of high quality coaches at all levels of sport committed to offering the best possible service to their athletes, which will in turn attract others into sport, sport can change lives. But lets not forget it's the coach who will instigate that.

Richard Neal
Coaching Development Officer
Suffolk Sport

The Benefits of Cycling

2011-09-09T04:47:00.000-07:00

With the Tour of Britain about to take to the roads of Suffolk a week on Saturday, there has never been a better time to get cycling. Cycle Suffolk Co-ordinator, Joseph Young gives his thoughts.

I cycled as a child and I’ve since returned to cycling as an adult. Although I cycle regularly, I don’t often stop to think about why I do so or what I might be getting out of it. I cycle simply because I love it - the feeling of freedom, the independence, the direct contact with my surroundings (as opposed to being trapped in a metal box). So whilst I would certainly promote cycling as ‘good for your soul’ for those very reasons, there are also plenty of tangible benefits.

Health

One of the most regular quotes regarding cyclists’ health is that they have the physical fitness of someone ten years younger than themselves[1] and a life expectancy two years above the average[2]. But this is just the beginning of the story.

Other studies have found that cycling can benefit mental health[3], reduce the risk of breast cancer[4], and particularly reduce obesity. Commuting by bike, for example, can quickly help exceed the recommended thirty minutes a day of exercise.

These health benefits result in savings for the NHS and thus reductions in tax. A win-win situation.

Environment

At a time when we are all becoming more environmentally aware, it is good to know that cycling is an emissions-free activity. Your carbon footprint is greatly reduced, as opposed to travelling by motor vehicle (cars and lorries on the road contribute towards over 20% of all

carbon emissions).

One more person on a bike is one less person in a car, reducing traffic congestion, as well as reducing the likelihood of being stuck behind a car getting a face full of exhaust fumes!

Social

As mentioned above, cycling puts you in direct contact with your surroundings and with other people. All cyclists will have enjoyed nodding ‘good morning’ to other cyclists as they pass or striking up a conversation with another cyclist about where you’re heading to.

Cycling is a social activity at all levels, whether that be joining your local cycling club on one of their club rides and discussing chainsets or simply meeting leisure cyclists at a local café over a cup of tea and a piece of cake.

Cycle Suffolk organise regular led rides, which are a good opportunity to meet like-minded cyclists and enjoy the local countryside by bike.

There are lots of activity taking place along the Tour of Britain route next Saturday, so get cycling because you want to experience some of these benefits or get cycling just because you love it – just get cycling!

Joseph

[1] Tuxworth W et al, Health, fitness, physical activity and morbidity of middle aged male factory workers. British Journal of Industrial Medicine vol 43. pp 733-753, 1986.

[2] Paffenbarger R et al, Physical activity, all-cause mortality and longevity of college alumni. New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 314(10) pp 605-613, 1986

[3] Ohta M et al, Effect of the physical activities in leisure time and commuting to work on mental health, Journal of Occupational Health, 49, 46-52, 2007

[4] Luoto R et al, The effect of physical activity on breast cancer risk, European Journal of Epidemiology, 16, 973-80, 2000

Fit Villages Update

2011-08-26T04:01:00.000-07:00

It’s been a very busy few weeks in the Fit Villages team.

We have been working hard setting up programmes across the county, in particular the Suffolk Coastal district. The project has been really well received by villages and participants have been enjoying new local activities like tai chi, pilates and zumba.

I am really looking forward to working with the Suffolk FA, who are helping us organise the the inaugural Inter-Village Male VeteransFootball Tournament. The tournament is on 25^th September and is hosted by Framlingham FC. We all know how fathers get competitive when they watch sons play football on a Sunday, can you imagine what the tournament is going to be like?! There will be eight villages taking part in the event so it’s going to be a miniature Champions league but this time the players won’t be paid millions to play the game they love.

As well as a football showdown, we have also set up the Suffolk Coastal Inter-Village Rounders Tournament working alongside Rounders

England

. Eight villages will be taking part with participants wanting to become the rounders equivalent of Shane Warne and Kevin Pieterson. The tournament is taking place at Hollesley Recreation ground on Sunday11th September.

I have now been at Suffolk Sport for three months and time has flown by. As well as the Fit Villages project, I have helped Suffolk Sport deliver successful Suffolk Show, Suffolk Youth Games and Playground to Podium events. Here's to another busy three months!

Brandon Vaughan - Fit Villages Apprentice

Are you a sports coach or a coach coaching sport?

2011-08-04T02:30:00.000-07:00

Are you a sport-specific coach, or primarily a coach who just happens to be coaching one specific sport? And which one should you be in order to offer the best possible service to your athletes? These are fundamental questions when deciding how to improve yourself as a coach.

Coaching must be about offering the best possible service to our athletes. That initially means ensuring each session is safe, appropriate and accessible to all. This is why the Suffolk Sport TOPCOACH scheme has been introduced. The criteria required to become a TOPCOACH, especially the three CPD courses of Safeguarding, Equity and Disability Coaching, ensure coaches have the skills necessary for all sessions, and to give the coach the skills to know what to do should any situation arise. There is an argument that a 1st Aid qualification should be included in TOPCOACH criteria aswell, but this qualification is not required by all sports in all settings, particularly those played in a place where a first aider should be available anyway, like a sports centre. Was leaving a 1st Aid qualification out the right thing?

There is no substitute for sport specific coaching qualifications if you are coaching a single sport. I am currently a level 2 football coach and have been for some time (probably time to go for my level 3). Having this qualification gives everyone else a clear indication of my competency, and enables those people to make a judgement call about where and how my skills are best used and who best to use them with. I concede we will all have met coaches with the same qualification level but of varying degrees of competency, which is just the nature of any qualification, the same as there will be good and bad drivers even though everyone has passed their test. But coaching is not just about having technical knowledge of the sport.

I think at this point we need to identify the difference between a coach, and a manager or a trainer, because these are often mixed up. Taken from the font of all knowledge that is Wikipedia: "Managing is making sure people do what they know how to do. Training is teaching people to do what they don’t know how to do. Mentoring is showing people how the people who are really good at doing something do it. Coaching is none of these – it is helping to identify the skills and capabilities that are within the person, and enabling them to use them to the best of their ability." You'll probably have had to be most if not all of these roles at some stage in the past, largely depending on the level of athlete in your session, but let's stick to the coaching part for now, and come on to mentoring.

Now this idea, that coaching is to help identify capabilities within an athlete that they don't know they have, convince (notice convince rather than tell) them of what they can do and showing them how best to use it, can be applied to all sports and coaching at any level. Coaching then becomes a generic skill, not one associated with a particular sport.

If we break the definition down further into two sections, the first section is about helping the athlete to identify what they can or could do. This firstly needs a good understanding of what you are looking for, which is where the sport specific knowledge is of upmost importance. How can I suggest that a player could become a good goalkeeper without knowing what I'm looking for? I have to know what attributes a goalkeeper requires first-and-foremost, then can make a judgement on which of my players most closely displays those attributes.

The second part of that definition is about enabling an athlete to use their skills to the best of their ability. This is likely to take some convincing, especially if telling a 'successful' athlete that changing a skill could mean them being even more successful. It is the ability to communicate the how and why to an athlete, which for me, are the most important attributes of being a good coach rather than a high technical knowledge, and the bit which makes it different from the other roles mentioned. Many people are capable of identifying when and what an athlete can improve, you only have to be in a pub during an England World Cup game to know that. How many people are able to communicate how to change, and more importantly why to change?

So how do coaches improve these communication skills? There will be seminars, workshops and courses to attend which will all look at this, and the tools you use can matter greatly. Video Analysis is a great way of having to say nothing to communicate how and why an athletes performance can be improved with a slight change. Take swimming for example, what better way to show someone how their stroke can be improved than by showing them the evidence, without even having to explain the why! Same with golf, archery, tennis, almost any sport you can to think of.

Going back to the original definition, "mentoring is showing people how the people who are really good at something do it", which I believe is the best way to improve a coaches ability; athletes are coached, coaches are mentored. For a coach to learn how to communicate with athletes, there is no better way than by watching good, high level coaches and learning from them. In fact, most high level coaches, in all sports, will be able to identify a role model, a 'mentor' who helped them develop and improve their coaching style early on in their career. The sport they coach, even if different, doesn't actually matter a great deal, because as we've already deduced, coaching is a generic skill and therefore by definition a good coach, given the appropriate technical knowledge, is a good coach in all settings. And even more, the more of these good coaches you can learn from, the more rounded your skills will become, effectively giving you more tools to use in a more diverse set of circumstances within your sessions.

With this in mind, in the coming months I'll be looking at ways we can bring this idea to life in Suffolk. Your idea's and thoughts are essential to the shape of the mentoring scheme and are most welcome. I understand the main barriers to this, (as with obtaining the next coaching qualification) are going to be time and cost, so I'm currently looking at ways to put this scheme in place so as to be flexible and accessible to everyone. Once ready, the information will be placed on the Mentoring pages of the coaching section. If we are going to improve the service offered to our athletes, which will mean we get more people playing sport for longer, and maybe even produce more high-level athletes, what better way than learning from the best coaches in our county, and each other?

So I revert you back to the original question; are you a sports coach or a coach coaching sport? More importantly, which do you think you should be?

Guest Blogger - Richard Neal - Coaching Development Officer, Suffolk Sport.

Creating Suffolk's Olympic Legacy

2011-07-28T04:40:00.000-07:00

Last night Suffolk Sport attended the Suffolk One Year to go to the Olympics celebration event organised by the Suffolk SportsAid Foundation. This was a great event with possibily the greatest concentration of Olympic, Paralympic and International sports performers from Suffolk in one place at any time.

Local business mingled with these Suffolk sporting greats / hopefuls celebrating one of the great legacy achievements for Suffolk which is already in place - The Suffolk SportsAid Foundation. The Foundations sole purpose is to raise money for local emerging sporting talent in Suffolk and has so far raided over £70,000 which has gone direct into grants helping to support Suffolk's sporting future champions.

However although the Olympic is about medals we feel that the legacy from the games should be wider than just supporting future Olympic and Paralympic medal prospects. Indeed this is biggest opportunity for sport in a lifetime and we must make sure Suffolk maximises the benefits of the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Suffolk not only has a great opportunity to create a legacy of increased participation in Sport through the new sportivate programme and increase the numbers of volunteers in sport clubs through sport makers but now with the launch this week of Sport England's new Inspired Facilities Fund have the opportunity to upgrade and re-furbish old sporting facilities.

There is no doubt that delivering this legacy over the next few years will require huge amounts of hard work and effort, but equally be in no doubt that just as the Olympic athlete have that gold medal firmly fixed in their sights, we have delivering the Olympic legacy in ours.

If you are interested in making sure your sport, club, local area maximises the benefits of the Olympic Legacy then please get in touch as we are here to help you achieve your goals. As always we are interested in your comments and feedback - What do you want to see as part of Suffolk's Olympic and paralympic legacy?

Thank you to everyone who volunteers in sport in Suffolk

2011-07-21T04:40:00.000-07:00

In the last couple of months the whole Suffolk Sport team has been a very busy at events across the county, but now at last a few minutes to sit down, draw breath and reflect on what we have achieved.

June started off with the Suffolk Sports Village at the Suffolk Show. A fantastic couple of days with 90,000 visitors to the show having the opportunity to participate in over 30 different sports, it was also great to see Olympic and Paralympic mascots Wenlock and Mandeville come to Suffolk for the first time what an honour it was to be able to meet HRH Princess Anne, who as a former Olympian had an in-depth knowledge and was fully supportive of the aims of the whole Suffolk Sports Village.

The following weekend we were able to support activities at the Great East Swim and at the Skyride in Ipswich and a couple of weeks later we are supporting Ipswich Basketball Club at the England International match Vs Netherlands.

The 6^th of July saw over 200 disabled children take part in our Playground to Podium event at Copleston School and on Sunday 10^th Suffolk Sport held the 12^th Suffolk Youth Games at Bury St.Edmunds with around 800 children participating in the largest multi sport competition in Suffolk.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not complaining about being busy, far from it, we’re very lucky to be working in sport during these exciting times in the run up to the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games and all the events we’ve been involved with have been fantastic.

One thing that has struck me though is how much time, energy and commitment is given by the volunteers who help us at these events and I’m sure this is replicated in all the sports clubs and organisations across Suffolk.

At the Suffolk Show we had a team of volunteers from Olympic sponsors Deloitte’s and from the excellent Suffolk County Volunteer 2012 legacyevents team, who were superb. Coaches gave up their time to run coaching sessions. All the events ran smoothly and successfully because of the huge and enthusiastic volunteer commitment to them. At the Suffolk Youth Games the athletics event needed 30 volunteers to run the competition.

So in this world of highly paid Premier league football players down at grass roots level it’s the volunteers that keep sport alive, do the officiating, clean the kit, make the drinks, work on club committees etc, these are the unsung heroes of sport in Suffolk and over the last couple of months the whole Suffolk Sport team has felt very privileged to be working alongside these volunteers. Indeed many of the team volunteer at their local sports club outside of work (it seems we just can’t get enough sport in our lives!).

So how can we maintain and grow this band of volunteers, who are so vital to the future of sport in Suffolk. Well you can already recognise and reward volunteers through our recognition scheme and at the Suffolk Sports Awards and we actively support and encourage volunteers getting involved in the 2012 legacy county events team. We are also formulating plans for a new project called Sport Makers, which will run from September 2011 to 2013 and is part of the 'People' strand of Sport England's London 2012 Mass Participation Legacy programme 'Places People Play'.

This project will use the inspirational pull of London 2012 to recruit, train and deploy sports volunteers aged 16 years and over to increase sporting provision across the county.

If you are interested in volunteering in sport please let us know and we will be happy to help, because there is no doubt volunteers are the life blood of sport in this country.

Thanks

Tony

2011 Redrow Homes Suffolk Youth Games

2011-07-12T01:29:00.000-07:00

What a fantastic day at Bury St.Edmunds last Sunday when 800 children took part in the 2011 Redrow Homes Suffolk Youth Games. Some great sporting action and some great sporting beheviour as well. A huge thank you to all the many volunteers who helped out. Where would sport be without the thousands of people who give up their time to help out at their local sports club?

Promoting Sport in Suffolk

2011-05-06T05:31:00.000-07:00

Hi, just set up this new blog which I hope will help promote sport and physical activity in Suffolk. There's always lots to talk about with Suffolk Sport and you can already foolow us on twitter, facebook and via our website http://www.suffolksport.com/