Coaching summit and reality

Another hectic week, starting with a couple of days in Cardiff at the sportscoach UK annual summit in Cardiff. With representation from many sports as well as representatives from all the home nation sports councils, this was a great opportunity to catch up with the mindset of the policy makers in the new political era. Thanks to Lottery funding, sports coaching is pretty safe financially, but there are potential areas of controversy that we need to be aware of. At MLT our primary aim for a coaching qualification pathway is to create a system that works for our sport/pastime. So if the UKCC model doesn't work for us, so be it. However all my research so far suggests that for at least levels 1 and 2 there is no reason why we shouldn't work within the UKCC model as long as our assessment methodology is acceptable to UKCC. If it looks like it will create mounds of pointless paperwork we'll step sideways but certainly at the moment there is no reason not to stick with it. On Thursday I presented a mapping of the Climbing Wall Award against UKCC Level 1 and level 2 criteria to our designated sportscoach UK rep, Dr. Gillian Mara. Jon Garside and myself were gratified to find that the CWA needs little other than some background understanding on team working and reflective practice/formal evaluation methods to fulfil the criteria for level 1 at least, so I will begin consulting over a proposed syllabus for this over the next few weeks.

I spent a long weekend in the Peak District with my son Sion Idwal and Chris Parkin's family for a coaching induction into gritstone climbing. This was an interesting challenge as we wanted them to sample some mid-grade classics as well as gain some leading experience in preparation for university life in Yorkshire if they get their "A" level grades. I think we pulled it off reasonably well, with various team switches enabling everybody to climb something at an appropriate grade throughout the trip. Routes climbed included Flying Buttress, Flying Buttress Direct, Hollybush Crack, Queersville, Leaning Buttress Direct, Tippler, Dangler, Goliath's Groove, Wall End Flake Crack, Right and Left Unconquerables at Stanage, Embankment Routes 1 and 4, Portland Street, Great North Road, Lyon's Corner House, Knightsbridge and the Mall at Millstone, and Tody's Wall plus Valkyrie at Froggat.