Coach Education Week Continues to Power Coach Development Across Hertfordshire

Herts Sport & Physical Activity Partnership (HSP) delivered another successful Coach Education Week (CEW), bringing together coaches, volunteers and others who play a vital role in supporting sport and physical activity across Hertfordshire. Now in its eighteenth year, CEW continued to meet the strong demand for accessible, high‑quality coach development by offering learning opportunities designed to build skills, confidence and connection within the sector.

This year’s programme showcased a wide range of courses covering technical coaching skills, leadership development, mental health, wellbeing and safeguarding. With a mix of in‑person and online events, and a range of free and paid options, CEW remained accessible to people from every background and experience levels.

There were more than 430 bookings made for CEW courses, with particularly high interest in sessions such as Deaf Awareness and Introduction to BSL in Sport, Safeguarding Adults, Sport and Performance Nutrition and the Badminton Foundation Award. Attendees represented a broad range of roles, including coaches, volunteers, students, athletes, umpires and safeguarding leads.

A key focus this year was supporting the No Limits 2026 campaign, Hertfordshire’s Year of Disability Sport & Physical Activity. CEW offered many disability and inclusion‑focused sessions, including the Inclusive Sports Coach Workshop, Embracing Neurodiversity in Community Sport and Using Yoga in Fitness Settings: Supporting Strength and Balance in Older Adults. These courses helped to contribute to stronger understanding and deeper learning around inclusive and accessible delivery in sport and physical activity.

Engagement throughout the week was strong, with sessions encouraging active participation and meaningful discussion. This was reflected in attendee feedback, which highlighted the positive impact of the learning opportunities provided.

Feedback was brilliant, with participants describing sessions as enjoyable and praising the teaching as ‘outstanding’ and the delivery ‘excellent.’ Attendees also valued the chance to meet people from other sports and ‘hear their stories,’ while a workshop structure was commended for offering clear background information paired with ‘really useful’ practical demonstrations.

Course deliverers also shared positive reflections on the week, expressing how much they enjoyed being involved. One deliverer noted that they ‘really enjoyed being part of the week’ and were ‘grateful for the opportunity to present a sports motivational talk.’

This year’s CEW once again reinforced the importance of ongoing learning and development, inspiring coaches to continue building their skills and strengthening their practice.

---

If you have any questions about Coach Development, please contact Tom McManus at t.mcmanus2@herts.ac.uk.

To stay connected and continue your development throughout the year, we invite you to sign up for our Connecting Coaches Newsletter, where you’ll receive the latest updates, news and future training opportunities.