A year in coaching

As the indoor track and field season comes to an end and cross country begins to wind down, what better time to look back and reflect on an amazing last 12 months? And at England Athletics, it hasn’t just been a great year in terms of athlete and coach performances, but it has also been an excellent year for coach education.

Perhaps a less frequent topic of conversation, but one that’s equally as important, the coach education team are responsible for all things courses. Whether it is helping someone completely new to athletics and running to take their first coaching qualification or ensuring that an experienced coach or leader has the opportunity to continue to learn and develop, the coach education team are central to making this happen.

Course delivery

The first step to becoming a qualified coach or leader at any level is taking a course. Over the past year, we are delighted to have delivered 418 courses – more than one per day – across the various disciplines. In total, 4,063 individuals have taken a coaching course, over 3,000 of which have been getting involved in coaching for the very first time!

As the governing body for athletics and running in England, our primary goal is to get more people involved, and enjoying, our great sport. Whether it be as an athlete or runner, a volunteer, or indeed a coach. We are delighted to have supported so many individuals as they embark on their coaching journey and look forward to continuing to support more delegates in the months ahead.

Course feedback

When we put on our courses, we want to make sure that coaches and leaders have the best possible experience.  We were delighted that 95% of delegates rated our course delivery as excellent or good and that 51% stated the course was better than their expectations.  Volunteers are the lifeblood of our sport and ensuring the start of their journey in athletics and running is positive is vital.  We were delighted to see that the feedback suggests this is the case. 

What’s next?

As you will likely be aware, England Athletics assumed responsibility for the licensing of all coaches in England on 1 October 2023. As we enter this new era, and look ahead to the next 12 months, we would like to provide an idea of some of the key areas of focus for the England Athletics Coach Education team:

• Begin to update technical course content across all levels with a focus on higher level qualifications for 2024
• Commence a coach developer / tutor recruitment campaign to expand the workforce across the country
• Work with the other Home Country Athletics Federations (HCAFs) to implement a more robust quality assurance process for course delivery
• Introduce a digital licence card solution
• Simplify and improve digital systems for course delivery and assessment processes
• Simplify the licence renewal process by giving coaches access to a personalised progress tracker
• Offer additional opportunities for coaches to develop their skills and knowledge outside of the formal education pathway through practical events, conferences, workshops and online content
• Establish a UK wide advisory group to support the future development and direction of coach education
• Continue to train and develop over 4,000 coaches and leaders in 2024 through our programme of online and practical education courses