London Irish Coach Development Programme a great success

The London Irish Coach Development programme was created in March 2018 to help develop coaches within the London Irish Academy and in the local community.

Each workshop focuses on a different element of what makes a good coach, from tactical and technical components of the game to learning how to better understand and connect with people. The sessions aim to challenge traditional rivers of thinking and through a variety of guest speakers, engage coaches in different ways to traditional coach education courses. If the workshops can inspire people to think differently about their coaching, that is deemed a success.

The workshops have hosted several guest speakers including Mark Sheasby, a former hostage negotiator who provided fascinating insight into how to hold difficult conversations and inspire through language, with future speakers including golf coach Sam Jarman, university lecturer Ed Hall and staffing business partner at Google, Liam Russell.

Even in the short time since the Coach Development Workshops have started, there are already positives on show. 

“The recent success of the London Irish Coach Development Programme has been very exciting to be a part of” said Jack Pattinson, London Irish DPP Manager. 

“We are looking to take a holistic and interactive approach with how we develop coaches within our academy, as well as coaches within the community, who play a significant role in developing players across Middlesex, Berkshire and Hampshire. 

“The attendance at our open workshops has been really positive and has provided a great opportunity to share ideas and experiences with coaches from lots of different backgrounds and sports”.

The next Coach Development Workshop will be held at Wasps FC in Acton on Tuesday 24 July. Guest speaker Dr Ben Ives is presenting on themes such as power, trust and coach-athlete relationships. 

For more information on the workshops or to see how you can be involved, please contact [email protected]