Coach Education Week returns to Hertfordshire

The programme seeks to deliver opportunities for sports coaches and others involved in the sport and physical activity sector, to develop their skills, knowledge, and qualifications around a range of important issues - including safeguarding, the links between physical activity and mental health, dealing with challenging behaviour, and how practitioners can better include disabled people and those from disadvantaged communities, within their delivery programmes.

Coach Education Week originated in 2008 when the then Herts Sports Partnership Board member, the late David Wray, secured investment from Hertfordshire County Council to support his vision to use the power of sport to support opportunities for young people in Hertfordshire.

With David’s guidance and with the support of current HSP Chair, Mervyn Morgan, the annual Coach Education Week has gone from strength to strength, and in recognising David Wray’s contribution, HSP Partnership Director, John O’Callaghan said:

“We remain indebted to David Wray for his enthusiastic and unstinting support of the Partnership’s work over many years, before his untimely death, and we continue to miss his warm, generous nature and passion for the power of sport to positively impact on the lives of young people.  David continues to be a real inspiration for our work and the 2024 Coach Education Week is further testimony to the vision that David had more than a decade ago”.

In launching the programme, event co-ordinator Charlie Mann said: “It is apparent over the last few years sport and physical activity can make a marked difference to the physical and mental health of the nation and if we are collectively to maximise its impact, we must establish a fit for purpose, professional workforce.  Never more so if we are to enthuse and attract those facing the greatest inequality and disadvantage- who traditionally have been furthest away from the action- to get involved and remain engaged in sport and physical activity.

Our annual Coach Education Week is an essential strand of our workforce development programme. This year offers over 1000 opportunities for sport and physical activity coaches, instructors, and professionals to enhance and hone their skill sets while providing a broad range of opportunities for prospective coaches to achieve new qualifications and accreditations.

This year's programme includes a strong safeguarding and welfare element aligned with the new investment from Sport England as well as a world exclusive, with Professor Mike Callan delivering a British Judo accredited masterclass called ‘Find Your Feet’, which seeks to use Judo techniques to help older adults fall safely and avoid serious injury. There are also courses on:

• Mental health in sport and physical activity
• Inclusive Communication
• Dealing With Challenging Behaviour
• Level 2 Coaching Dodgeball

The 2024 Hertfordshire Coach Education Week programme's full programme can be found on our events page.