Case study: Bringing coach development to clubs
Introduction Finding the time and money to undergo continuous professional development (CPD) is often a stumbling block for volunteer coaches and clubs.This case study shows how Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership (SASP) worked with its local Netball Development Officer (NDO) to create a solution that gave CPD the personal touch.
Bringing coach development to clubs
The project in action The first stage of the development process was to talk to the clubs and their coaches to find out what they required. From this, a bespoke CPD session could be developed and brought to the clubs. For example, a number of clubs and coaches had expressed a need for coaching support with regard to coaching a large number of players in a small space. A training package was developed and, by having it delivered in their own sports hall, the coaches knew exactly how they could apply what they had just learnt. Comments from local coaches suggest this was well received:
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I feel it’s been really beneficial. It contains brilliant ideas to use in the sports hall. Thank you ever so much.
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It was good to see different drills that we normally do and a good use of the space, which we hadn’t thought of using before.
Background This project addressed the challenge faced by many volunteer coaches and clubs – namely finding the time or money to develop themselves. Once aware of the Coaching Offer (Coaching System Support Network [CSSN] Coaching Offer to 46 governing bodies of sport) that was available for governing bodies of sport in SASP, England Netball began to discuss how the offer could be developed to support club coaches. From these discussions, a joint partnership between SASP and England Netball’s local NDO was developed, and a package of support for clubs was put in place. The aims of the project were twofold. Clubs working towards England Netball’s accreditation programme – the Club Action Planning Scheme (CAPS) – were offered the opportunity to bring coach development to the club, while at the same time the NDO would work with the club committee to ensure they had everything they needed for their CAPS application. The project began with a one-club pilot. When this was well received, it was offered to all other clubs in the area.
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Bringing new ideas direct to the club and incorporating these within a normal session also allowed coaches to learn from other coaches they would not normally work with, while participants also seemed to enjoy the change. In one example, the Coach Development Manager (CDM) for SASP came and worked with players during a normal session, and the response from local coaches was positive:
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What was good about SASP coming in to help our training sessions is that we had a different coach, and it seemed that although they were doing some of the drills for netballers, they seemed to work a little bit harder when they had someone different there.
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Secondary benefits A further benefit that emerged from delivering training within the club was that it fostered a spirit of development throughout. At each training day, the CDM would deliver to both junior and senior team coaches. Sessions were run back to back over one evening. In addition, all of the coaches were given a resource (Monster Moves) that SASP had developed to provide coaches with a wealth of new game ideas.
Bringing coach development to clubs
Lessons learnt
This programme allows coaches to receive CPD in their own weekly coaching environment, rather than having to attend workshops on an ad-hoc basis. This has proved really successful. We are now rolling the programme out across the rest of the county to the netball clubs in the area.
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Rebecca Squire, Somerset NDO
So far, this support has been provided to four netball clubs with 17 coaches who work with approximately 150 players.
• Providing CPD in a local area can help address common barriers faced by volunteer coaches, such as cost and time. • Coaches like receiving CPD in their club because it helps them with real situations they face each week. Seeing how another coach would deliver in their local setting also allows them to gather new ideas. • Combining CPD with club administration support is beneficial and gives the whole club the opportunity to witness CPD in some capacity. • Look to track and monitor CPD better, as well as offering it as an ongoing opportunity, which can be built on over a number of weeks.
Find out more If you want to find out more, watch this YouTube clip for feedback from the coaches and the NDO.
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Success to date