Comments (12)

1. Posted by JIM LAWRENCE on 28/12/2009 at 04:45 PM

   I am currently a Level 3 coach in speed. Could you submit me info on the specialist coach award please when it becomes available.

2. Posted by Tom Crick on 29/12/2009 at 12:30 PM - Admin Comment

   When awards become available they will be announced here on uCoach.

   Much of the content already on this site will form the basis for the new coaching qualifications system so by listening to items like the exercise classification hierarchy podcast and the planning podcasts, the concept of work capacity (see Dan Pfaff CWG audio presentation) you are already learning about concepts to be discussed on the new courses.

3. Posted by Anonymous on 30/12/2009 at 05:34 PM

   I am a Level 4 Endurance Coach with a number of years experience, my qualifications are also spread over those years ie Assistant Coach, Club Coach, Middle Distance, Level 3 Performance, Level 4 Performance.
   What would be my best options to continue my coaching pathway, as the Master Coach sounds very tempting but not sure if it would be beneficial to go back, before moving forward.
   If someone wanted to go onto the Master Coach and how would you apply (when is it expected to be rolled out), is there an assessment carried out and recommendations made from there.
   I don’t know how many times during the years I have been involved in coaching that the goal posts have been moved, and I appreciate that it has to be a continual learning path, but it seems as though as well that you have to continually prove your coaching ability.

4. Posted by Tom Crick on 31/12/2009 at 11:19 AM - Admin Comment

   If having seen the syllabus for the Master Coach you feel that you are ready then you could simply apply to take that award. However, if there were sections that you were unfamiliar with then you could take any of the other awards that would help you more fully understand those aspect of the syllabus or you could go to informal events that would help with area. For example, if one section of the endurance specific section of the master coach award was to be able to explain the benefits and challenges of training at altitude and demonstrate how you could put these concepts into practice then you might choose to go to an altitude specific seminar (there was one recently run by Ian Stewart). You’d also probably want to know where the best places were in the world to implement that so if you haven’t been to them yourself you’d probably want to talk to a few people that have and also pull up some maps of these locations and look at the logistics of running a camp there. Note that the last 2 items (talking to people who have been there and looking at maps) would not be covered in any course - you’d have to get this information from experience or through conversations.

   However, one part of the master coach award might be to explain how you could devise a long term development programme for someone who you feel has potential in the steeplechase. Part of this programme would probably be some kind of hurdles training at a younger age (assume you get them when they are 14 or something). In which case you might decide that going back and taking all the courses related to hurdling (on the speed side) might be of benefit - in which case you could do those awards. Or alternatively you could just seek out CPD opportunities related to hurdling.

   In short, with the Master Coach award, part of what will make it such a challenge is creating a personalised learning plan for yourself based on your own strengths and weaknesses.

   At present the details of application for the Master Coach have not been finalised so I cannot provide specific details of how this would work. I expect that the Home Countries would simply check that you have a Level 2 or UKA Athletics Coach/Off Track Endurance/Children’s Coach Award when you apply. As explained in this podcast the Master Coach is simply an assessment, so it is up to the candidate to ensure they have prepared thoroughly. Having taken the assessment there would be some significant feedback (whether the candidate passes or fails) and this could then be used to direct future learning.

   To your final point. Yes the system is changing but you DO NOT have to prove your coaching ability if you are already a Level 2 coach or above. You could simply continue coaching without ever taking qualifications again and because we have moved away from a hierarchical system there is no status to be lost or gained from engaging or not engaging. Instead the key benefit of engaging will be to support your continual learning where YOU identify you require assistance. If you are confident you can do all the learning yourself in your own time without the aid of a course to direct your learning and discussion then maybe that is the best thing for you.
   The aim of the new system is to try and improve the formal part of a coach’s education but everyone at UKA understands that formal qualifications are only a very small (though important) part of becoming an effective coach. It will be the time you spend learning from your athletes and other coaches in an informal manner that will arguably have the greatest impact on how effective you are as a coach. In fact, both research and empirical evidence suggests that is very difficult to assess coaching competence and this is why for the majority of the pathway the focus has shifted from assessment to discussion and practice of coaching. However, for those who want to be assessed and challenged to evaluate their own coaching, we have included a “Master Coach” award where the emphasis is on an assessment of true coaching competence using many different evaluation methods over a period of days not hours. If you undertake that assessment you can be sure in yourself of what your areas of strength and weakness are and once you pass that you are not deficient in any one area.

5. Posted by Steve Chapman on 03/01/2010 at 09:49 PM

   Can a coach, who is licensed and insured to coach by virtue of holding a level 2 qualification, continue to work independently under the new system or will they have to complete the ‘Coach’ award before being granted this status?

6. Posted by Tom Crick on 05/01/2010 at 02:45 PM - Admin Comment

   Yes, if you hold a coaching qualification now nothing will change for you. As written in my post above there is no need to retake anything if you don’t want to.

7. Posted by Loretta Lock on 14/01/2010 at 08:23 PM

   I am currently a level 2 coach and primarily coach children. I would be interested in taking the children’s coaching course and the general coach course. Could I take both at the same time or combine them at all?

8. Posted by Anonymous on 16/01/2010 at 04:37 PM

   As a road and track level 2 coach (endurance and sprints) of a few years experiance I would like to link my coach education to the more formal route. If I were interested in taking the proposed ‘Event Group Coach’ qualification would this be possible (recommended) without first taking the new ‘Athletics Coach’ award.  Alternatively are there likely to be any bridging courses between the old system and the new one.  This would expose the coach to a higher level of formal education quicker and also remove some of the costs associated with this education system.

9. Posted by Tom Crick on 19/01/2010 at 09:47 PM - Admin Comment

   Yes you could take the event group coach award. It would be recommended if you felt you had some experience of coaching Endurance and Sprints and did not need to revisit the key fundamental so Athletics first.

   As the content of the courses have not been fully completed as of the this post I cannot say if a bridging module will be necessary. However, there will be pre-course podcasts, video and reading material so that will help you to orientate to the new material BEFORE you attend any of the new courses. This material will probably be available on uCoach for all to see so you can familiarise yourself with what is taught on the Athletics Coach qualification even if you decide not to take it.

10. Posted by Tom Crick on 19/01/2010 at 09:51 PM - Admin Comment

    In regards taking the Childrens course and the Athletics Coach Course symoltaniously I guess it could be done but it would probably be advisable to take one first and then the other. At this time it is unlikely that you could combine the courses but this could change in the future.

    Also there will be some cross-over in terms of general content between the two courses (everyone has to learn about similar key coaching principles but just in a different context related to the athlete population they are primarily working with) - though this is of course useful revision.

11. Posted by Anonymous on 20/01/2010 at 02:24 PM

    Where & when is there going to be a level 3 coaching coarse in or near Devon.Shouldn’t the answer be more obvious somewhere on your site? I know coaches who have been waiting for the answer to this for 2 years.

12. Posted by Tom Crick on 15/02/2010 at 10:36 AM - Admin Comment

    The answer can be found from the top menu QUALIFICATIONS > COACH EDUCATION AND PATHWAY.

    Under Level 3 it is written in bold that “The Level 3 Coaching Award is no longer being delivered to coaches who have not already started this level.”

    Further down the same article is says “Please contact your Home Country or Regional Contact to find out more about course, venues dates and other information”. Because you are in England your home country contact is England Athletics. Enquiries regarding coaching courses should be directed to them.

    The answer to your question is that there will never be a Level 3 coaching course run again in the UK. Instead we will be moving to the new system as described in this podcast.