My experiences coaching

My experiences playing sport

I know this is about me coaching but these experiences have been one reason for me becoming a coach and shaped me to be the coach that I am. I'll have wrote something similar as part of my degree and I'll try not to bore you.

I grew up playing football for an 11-a-side team in Reddish, Stockport. It wasn't the best footballing side but I enjoyed going down Wednesday and Sunday to 'play'. When I say 'play', I mean stand as a substitute for 70-90 minutes each game depending on the quality of the opposition with the odd start here and there. I don't blame the coach and other players for expecting this to be the case. I was a school year younger than the rest, physically I hadn't developed like the majority of other players and they wanted to compete against the other teams we faced. I was always a believer in my own ability (I still am now) but I had one major weakness - I was physically unfit.

According to a school report, I was part of a basketball club (is this a way of saying I wasn't good enough for the team?), I trained with my year's cricket team at school, playing one game out of a possible one (seems strange considering what school children have had the opportunity to do now), and outside of school I gave track cycling at the velodrome a go, which I thoroughly enjoyed but somehow never stuck to.

My experiences coaching

I didn't really take to coaching straight away and my primary focus for wanting to work and be involved in sport was aimed at me becoming a development officer, promoting sporting participation within the community. I can see how both roles are interlinked from the experiences that I have had and overtime I have come to enjoy this role.

Past experiences have seen me amass hundreds upon hundreds of hours as a coach, in a wide range of sports. I've coached in roles supporting local authority school holiday sports camps, leading on programmes such as Active Playtimes and Sportslinx, coaching at a community junior rugby league club, supporting a local talent development camp, supporting the expansion of sport into a new City through coaching in schools and I was a counsellor at a summer camp in the USA for two summers. At the minute I'm supporting a local rugby league club deliver activities aimed at under 16s to keep these children children away from anti-social behaviour and criminal activities.

I wouldn't say I was lucky to get into rugby league cause there are opportunities to get into the sport across the country, especially in areas where they are looking to expand.  I will say though that I was lucky to meet and have support from the people I did. They've done a lot to channel my enthusiasm for sport. In 2009 there wasn't much I knew about the sport other than the ball has to be passed back! So along with coaching being a process I am adapting to, I am also always learning about this new sport.

All my experiences in coaching have been to give people the same opportunities I had. Alongside this I want to let all the children (young people and adults) have equal opportunities to participate. I don't want to see children turn up to be the sub every week like I had the misfortune of doing. I believe rugby league is a game that is suitable for all children and there is one position that everyone can excel in. I would honestly (and I do mean this) rather the players won/lost/drawn knowing that it was a result the whole team had been responsible for rather than focusing on a team that consists of the strongest players week-in week-out. I'll probably go into this and make myself a little clearer another time.