Coaching and Strategy

For all the information found in the former coaching and strategy section of the UKA website please follow the link below to visit the new site dedicated to your coaching needs.

www.uka.org.uk/coaching

Kevin Tyler UKA Strategic Head of Coaching and Development talks about the new coaching website and the way forward for coach development in the UK (article featured in Athletics Weekly Magazine)

Tell us about the development of u(ka)coach?

When I arrived here earlier this year one of the first things I said was that I believed a world class coaching development website is one step towards achieving our long term goals and this summer we have worked on creating this significant resource for coaches.

When I established the Canadian Athletics Coaching Centre we interviewed over 50 of the most successful coaches in the world and without exception they identified mentoring and informal learning as the most important factors in their development.  Not everyone has the time or resources to travel around the world to seek out mentoring and technical advice from the best minds available  - particularly those hard at work coaching every spare hour they have - therefore one of my first priorities was to find a way of bringing this to coaches and presenting information that they can access easily and for free.

We will be launching the site this week and it is still very much a work in progress. We are continually updating it with content and it certainly has the capacity to become a very powerful tool for coaches.

What sort of information will the site have?

The aim was to ensure athletics coaches can access the plethora of information available to them within the UK and across the world in one location. So there is the obvious need to ensure we have coaching documents, multi-media, podcasts, photos and supporting resource on there, but also we wanted to ensure up and coming coaches could find out about courses, conferences, master-classes and workshops in a comprehensive web calendar.
We are working with our colleagues in the Home Country Athletics Federations to ensure this information comes together and is fed out to uCoach so that it is as easy as possible for coaches to find out about all the coaching events that are happening right across the UK.

What other developments will take place?

There are a number of developments still to be launched. For example, we will soon have the ability to download podcasts, we are working with several partners to enable us to host a series of world class coaching resources to add to the growing resource library, and week by week additional material will be added.
In a few months, coaches will be able to download any of the content from uCoach for offline use on their own laptops and devices. To do this we are developing a bespoke multi media player which will be available for coaches to download– we are doing everything we can to bring this information to coaches in ways that they can make use of it away from the desk and most importantly whilst at the track, gym, clubhouse or performance centre.

Eventually, every coach in the UK will have a personal login to the site so they can access some of the more advanced and personalized features we are developing, such as online personalized learning. Once this is in place segments of the site will be closed to non UKA coaches because if we are going to invest in these kinds of resources it makes sense to ensure they are experienced first and foremost by our own coaches and athletes.

How does this fit in with the overall UKA strategy for coaching?

This week we are announcing our coaching development pathway – our vision for how we see coaches developing and working through the education opportunities in order to enhance their skills and coaching ability. It has taken some time to work through what is most needed here and I have found it fascinating to discuss coach education with so many different people in athletics.
When I first arrived here I travelled throughout the home nations and regardless of location people were unanimous in their belief that the establishment of a robust and integrated coaching system had to be the legacy of the 2012 and 2014 games.
With UKA appointing three coaches: Charles Van Commenee, Peter Eriksson and myself, to important strategic positions within the organization we effectively made the first step towards returning to a coach led sport.
Through all of these actions we will reinforce our key beliefs and principles. These are, in no particular order: we will respect and support coaches and coaching at every level of the sport, constantly working to raise the status of both. We will provide coaches with the information, opportunities and experiences they require to meet and exceed the aspirations they have set for themselves and their athletes. We will respect and value the various means by which individuals learn. We will recognize the important link between coach and athlete development. We will encourage coaches to respect one another and work together to create a supportive coaching environment that coaches are proud to be a part of. Finally, our coach development and education systems will be transparent, accessible and delivered in the most affordable manner possible, meeting the needs of athletes while providing value throughout.

Follow this link to see the uCoach the site dedicated to athletics coaches in the UK.