O coach

February and March 2011

Posted on 20 Mar, 2011 by Lynne Walker | Filed under Blog • Orienteering • Coaching

A wee while since I posted on the Blog – what message does that give people? Does it mean that
1. I suffer from SAD and so am unable to get going and do anything when the long winter darkness is here? Nope, I am generally happy no matter the time of year.
2. I am a bit lazy and so have not bothered to do anything? Well, there is some truth in this statement.
3. I’ve been ill? A week was lost in February with a heavy cold but that should not stop me writing. March – see the next article for this!
4. Busy with work? A lot of truth in this one – read on!
5. A holiday? Yes, this as well which will be written about in the next article.

So what work has kept me from the Blog? Quite a lot, mainly orienteering (some paid as well but mostly voluntary) but also my observation of the PDA sports educator weekend.
February was a busy month with regard to orienteering work.

British Orienteering Coaching Conference

– or as I preferred to call it, a weekend of Coach Education and Workshops was at the start of February. I was the main organiser for it; this year that task was quite onerous as there had been many changes within the paid personnel at British Orienteering. It all came together in the end with over 50 coaches assembling at the National Sports Centre at Lilleshall in Shropshire. There were some thought provoking talks and stimulating discussion. Paul came along as well and headed off to the British Night Champs while some of us were taking part in updates for the UKCC Coaching awards at Level 1 and Level 2. In general, Lilleshall is a good location except that it is extremely hard to get there by public transport and the beds in one accommodation block are dreadful. The lecture theatre blew a bit hot and cold as well. However it is a good networking weekend, it is on an orienteering map so convenient for outdoor exercises and they feed you well. The evaluation from the conference participants and the presenters was generally positive with many constructive suggestions being made. I have offered to organise it again for 2012 as I may as well put all the lessons learnt into practise!

Coach Educator

The following weekend was also taken up with orienteering and this time I was a Coach Educator for a UKCC Level 2 course. This was to be my first opportunity to do this (I had observed in December 2009; Hilary & I had been due to jointly deliver in December 2010 but the course was postponed due to snow!). I made sure I was as well prepared as possible for the CE role as the course was at Soudley in the Forest of Dean! I had never been there and so tried to find out as much information as possible. The Internet is a wonderful tool at times. Google maps and satellite coverage was OK with a reasonably high resolution; a website called ‘Geograph’ covers every grid square in Britain with a catalogue of photos – this was great as it gave me ground views of the area as well. I decided to travel by public transport so this meant ferry - train to Gloucester (changes in Glasgow & Birmingham) – bus to Cinderford where I was staying. One of the course participants collected me each day and took me to Soudley where we had the hire of the village hall.

These UKCC courses are ‘full-on’ both for the participants and the coach educator, especially as this was a full course of 8 people with varied backgrounds. The weather was kind to us on Saturday, being mild and quite sunny. I was able to put out the course for the Sunday as well, although some parts were rather brambly underfoot. Some of the contour detail was not quite as I saw it on the ground. While Saturday had been dry, Sunday was the opposite. It rained quite heavily all day. The participants were great and just got on with it. I adapted the practical coaching session so they were not standing around for as long; this meant a bit of running between groups in the wood but that was possible. The course ended on time and I was able to have a lift to Gloucester where I was spending Sunday night. My B&B was well-positioned as it was a 10 minute walk from the cinema. I can’t remember what I went to see though! The train journey back on the Monday was uneventful and I arrived home, quite tired, at about 5pm. it had been a long four days but satisfying.

Event Safety & Welfare

There was more orienteering work in February. British Orienteering have requested that organisers are trained in event safety and welfare. I am one of a handful of tutors rolling this out in Scotland and am basically covering clubs in the west of the country. This is voluntary work, no payment! Paul was holding a Condes workshop for EckO on Saturday 19th February so we had the event safety workshop in the afternoon. We used the Stramash offices in Oban and I had eight folks come along. All entered into discussion about the topics covered and the three hours went quickly.

This workshop was followed by another one on Thursday 24th February in Dumfries for Solway. I took my time getting there, collecting a roof rack & kayak supports from Kari-Tek on the way. I also managed a good run at Drumlanrig – the first run for two weeks as I had had a heavy cold and not felt great. The workshop was again well-received and all entered into good discussions. The journey home was long as I was diverted off the motorway north of Hamilton and rejoined eventually at Paisley. I was really pleased to arrive home at 1:30am, having passed only one deer on the road and that was at Strachur.

Personal development

All this and we have not reached March yet! I have been at a couple of evening workshops – one on Mentoring and the other on Assessment. The first one was in Dumbarton on a wet and windy evening. I called Western Ferries before I left Dumbarton to ensure they were running – whew, they were. The second workshop was in Glasgow at the sportscotland building which is easy to walk to from the centre of town. Paul & I went up to see a film; I got the bus up to Glasgow from Braehead and then he collected me after he had seen another film. Well that was the theory but the course was only two hours long. I left him a voicemail which he did not get. By the time I spoke to him on the phone it was easier for me to walk to Central Station and get him to collect me there. We did make the 21:30 ferry so that was a bonus.

National Trainer

The second weekend in March was my observation for the National Trainer - Personal Development Award in Sports Education Tutoring. This was at Largs so not too far to travel for a change! Once I arrived and received my folder I was not nearly as nervous. The course was very similar to the CTS award (Certificate in Tutoring in Sport) that I was familiar with. It was stimulating to meet and mix with people from many other sports and backgrounds. I am now looking forward to the orientation day at the end of March and then the chance to tutor courses (an I’ll get paid for that as well!). This course is part of the Scottish Credit & Qualification Framework; the National Trainers are contracted by sportscotland to deliver the courses. I have just spent most of the afternoon beginning the process of registering as ‘self-employed’.

Coaching committee

I have also been in Birmingham for the British Orienteering Coaching Committee meeting. It seems like a long way to go; however I took on the role for the SOA and so I feel that I should make the effort to attend at least two out of the three meetings every year. The discussions are interesting and being there gives the background to the decisions made.

Only three more orienteering commitments this month – EckO club training on Sunday 27th March, followed by the club AGM. There is also a potential event safety and welfare workshop for Ayroc.

Quiet winter, time to get loads of things done – fat chance!

Tagged : Blog • Orienteering • Coaching