With the inaugural Coaching Week coming to an end, we take a look back at some of our highlights in London.
Coaching Week – a week-long celebration of #GreatCoaching
We asked others to give their London coaches a shout out to celebrate the great work they do to support others in sport. Here’s just a few of our favourites.
Shoutout to our head of youth development at BBHC for 18 years: Andrei still not retired. #GreatCoaching Thank you for all your supporting & mentoring our awesome coaches. What's Peter got away with tho?! pic.twitter.com/Jnp9buFdwY
— BBHC (@BBHockeyClub) June 6, 2018
HUGE shout out to our Community Coaches @TMB_Sports & @omarshariff_ who represent DSC superbly in the community! Not forgetting our entire coach & volunteer workforce who all give a fantastic contribution 🙌✨ Did you know, 45% of our workforce have a disability! #GreatCoaching https://t.co/Rf6IebGJ0K
— Disability Sports Coach (@DSC_13) June 5, 2018
We’re kicking off Day 3️⃣ of #CoachingWeek in style with @dannybent #GreatCoaching pic.twitter.com/ELiAM6HVoX
— UK Coaching (@_UKCoaching) June 6, 2018
Coaching data in London
1,496,695 people in London take part in activities that are coached accounting for 22% of the population, making it the highest proportion of people receiving coaching compared to the rest of the country. Find out more on Coaching in the UK here by UK Coaching.
In London we have 544,253 active coaches accounting for 8% of the population. UK Coaching looked into the reasons why coaches first became involved in coaching nationally, with almost a quarter who said they began coaching others whilst still playing sport themselves.
We believe Building a Workforce Fit for the Future is vital to us making London the most physically active city in the world. To set the strategic direction for London’s sport workforce, we carried out one of the biggest research projects in the country to date, to try and understand how the workforce, including coaches, can get more Londoners to participate in physical activity and sport. Find out more by watching the short animation below.
Explore more data and insight on coaching in London on our Insight and Data Portal.
Disability sports coach Paul – “anyone can play sport”
Paul is just one of the 544,253 dedicated coaches in London who go above and beyond to help others. Paul’s son lost his sight aged 10 and was determined to not let that stop his son’s interest and passion in playing football. Paul trained to become a disability sports coach and has never looked back since.
Paul Farthing – “Coaching has helped shape me into the person I am today”
Our very own Relationship Officer at London Sport, Paul Farthing, reflects on his experiences as a coach and how it has helped him to grow in his personal and professional life.
Tell us a little bit about your experience of coaching in London?
“I have been coaching young people and adults in football and multisports in London for the part 18 years. I am lucky enough to be able to do this as part of my career and also my hobby. My coaching career spans from coaching football for Charlton Athletic Community Trust to coaching in Newham for five years on the run up to and during the London 2012 Olympics.
My experience of coaching in London is all very positive, I love meeting and interacting with London’s diverse communities, learning about different cultures and bringing people together through the love of sport and helping them develop new skills whilst being active. I now manage my son’s football team, volunteering three times a week. It can be hard work, sometimes physically and mentally draining but I love it, and love the fact that I am helping my son take part.”
How has coaching helped you?
“Coaching has helped me massively. It has helped shape me into the person I am today and it’s also helped me within my working career. It has helped me to be a better communicator, to be more organised and focussed and has also helped me to understand people better, that everyone is different and learn in different ways and at different speeds. I am certainly more patient and have more empathy because of coaching.”
Why is something like Coaching Week important?
“I think having Coaching Week is vitally important to help showcase the profession and the many great coaching related jobs which can offer you amazing experiences, great job satisfaction and transferable skills. It’s also a way of recognising and thanking all the amazing coaches, both paid and voluntary, who are out there coaching and helping people take part in and promote lifelong participation in physical activity and sport.”
How you can get involved
UK Coaching has created a range of resources to support Coaching Week, including a partner toolkit, great coaching certificate and more. Download the Coaching Week resources here and get involved now.
