England Athletics is very pleased to announce details of its three major coaching conferences for 2011. Marking “300 days to go” until the start of London 2012, the conferences will aim to inspire coaches at a local level to develop the next generation of Olympic & Paralympic hopefuls. Once again there will be three coaching conferences taking place but based upon input and feedback from coaches attending previous conferences and involved in other England Athletics initiatives the conferences will be taking a slightly different format this year.

In previous years the National Coaching Conferences have seen the same content delivered in three conferences in the North, the Midlands and the South. This year the topics and formats are going to vary across each of the three conferences to reflect the input and feedback given by coaches in each of these areas. The dates have also been moved to the first weekend of October.

This year the conference is free to all coaches on the Local Coach Development Programme. Coaches who are part of the LCDP should contact the Club and Coach Support Officer supporting them for details on how to book.

England Athletics Coach Development Manager Leonie Lightfoot said, “The needs of athletes and coaches are fundamentally the same nationwide. But there is always a measure of diversity in the situations and challenges faced, and in the different needs of coaches across the country. As a result these conferences will reflect some of the priorities that coaches in each area have highlighted, but there are also some consistent themes underpinning each of the topics being addressed.

“We hope that the conferences are of great benefit to coaches in clubs across the country. Coaches on the Local Coach Development Programme will no doubt see much of what they have requested being reflected in the subject matter, in the level at which the sessions are delivered and the way in which the topics are presented. But we anticipate that many club coaches who are not part of the Local Coach Development Programme will also benefit from the way the conferences have been shaped with the input of their fellow club coaches. And of course some coaches may wish to travel to a conference that is further afield if they feel the agenda for the conference there will be of more benefit to them.”

England Athletics Head of Coaching Richard Wheater commented, “We are very pleased that over recent years the sense of ‘community’ within the coaching community has become much closer. The National Coaching Conferences in previous years, the National Coach Development Programme, Local Coach Development Programme, event specific workshops and Masterclasses have seen us involved in a programme of support for coaches that utilises a range of experts but fundamentally is a programme that is delivered by coaches, for coaches.

“These conferences draw on the feedback we have received through a lot of this work, in particular through the Local Coach Development Programme. We have always said that we want to listen to coaches in terms of what they want and what they feel they need. And based on what coaches have been telling us we feel confident we can deliver conferences that reflect their needs and wishes.

“Once again we are very grateful for the input of these coaches for being willing to give their input and show the level of commitment they have to being the best coach they can be to each of their athletes.”

Each of the coaching conferences costs £40, or £30 if you book online. You can download a flyer about the event here.

The three coaching conferences:

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North – Saturday 1 October 2011 – Leeds Metropolitan University

Two keynote presentations will take place in the morning, focusing on the UKA Athlete Development Model and its implications for coaches (Dave Rowland, England Athletics National Coach Mentor for Physical Preparation) and the Coach-Athlete Relationship (Kevin Tyler, UKA Strategic Head of Coaching and Development).
In the afternoon the workshop options are:
•    Speed – Learning To Run Before Learning To Sprint
•    Jumps – Session Planning & Exercise Selection
•    Youth Endurance – Training Guidelines For Young Athletes
•    Throws – Developing Throws In Your Club
•    Road Running – Improving Individuals Within Mixed Ability Groups
•    Combined Events – Developing Young Athletes Through Multi Event Training Plans

See www.englandathletics.org/north-coach-conference for more information

To make an online booking please go to www.englandathletics.org/north-coach-booking

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Midlands – Sunday 2 October 2011 - Birmingham High Performance Centre

A keynote presentation by Brian Ashton will address preparing athletes for competition, with a further keynote giving a practical example from a coach- athlete  pair of the Athlete Development Model.
Workshop options for coaches are:

Speed: Biomechanics - this series of workshops will aid this and focus on the mechanics of maximum velocity, supported by functional physical preparation.

Endurance: Training guidelines for young athletes

Horizontal Jumps: These workshops will look at the key elements of horizontal jumping, approach, take offs, flight and landings.  It will pay attention to how to plan efficiently the coaching of each element.

Vertical Jumps: Gaining a knowledge and understanding of the fundamental basic skills for the event (cognitive) and how to develop those skills through good repetition (associative) until they become neuro-muscular involuntary movements (autonomous).

Heavy Throws: How throwers can breakdown the skills required for their event and how drill and rehearsal become skills.  In addition to this coaches will consider the biomechanical movements of the heavy throws.

Javelin: By understanding the patterns in the javelin throwing process we can better prepare our throwers.  The group will explore this process and how to physically prepare our throwers in the club environment.

See www.englandathletics.org/mids-coach-conference for more information

To make an online booking please go to www.englandathletics.org/mids-coach-booking

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South – Saturday 1 October 2011 - Lee Valley

Coaches can choose from one of the following topics with morning and afternoon sessions being delivered on their chosen subject matter:
•    Coaching the Injury Prone Athlete
•    Coaching the Female Athlete
•    The Multi-Competent Junior Athlete
•    Coaching Club Road Runners
•    Consideration of the 18-23 Year Old Athlete

See www.englandathletics.org/south-coach-conference for more information

To make an online booking please go to www.englandathletics.org/south-coach-booking

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