hertfordshire coaching conference 2008
Coaching greats at University Sports Village
“Never stop learning” was the key message from Rugby World Cup winning Coach Eddie Jones to over 130 coaches that gathered for the inaugural Hertfordshire Coaching Conference, held on Sunday 24th February at the University of Hertfordshire Sports Village.
In his opening keynote address, Tasmanian born Jones, widely regarded as the brains behind the 2007 Springboks’ Webb Ellis Trophy success, captivated delegates with tales of his coaching exploits from around the world.
Also included in a packed programme, expertly linked by former Olympic coach and Technical Director of Oscar winning movie ‘Chariots of Fire’ – Tom McNab – delegates were treated to some of the leading practitioners from the world of coaching. These included former coach to Olympic Swimming Gold Medallist Adrian Moorhouse & current City of Leeds Head Coach Terry Denison; former Strength and Conditioning Coach to Tim Henman, Norwich based Tim Newenham; Rod Thorpe of Loughborough University, and former Australian National Pole Vault Coach, author of ‘Play Practice’ and highly regarded world authority on physical education and games – Adelaide based Alan Launder.
Also very popular were the workshops and video analysis for core strength, warm up and conditioning delivered by the University of Hertfordshire’s own Tony Sephton.
The event was very well attended and received; one of the delegates, Gary Townsend, RFU Coaching Development Manager enthused:
“The conference was stimulating, interesting and very thought provoking. It is a measure of it’s worth that I noticed some young rugby coaches making copious notes at all the workshops, and I also noticed, that besides myself, other older and experienced coaches were also making notes. This, for me, was a clear indication that the delivery and content were all encompassing.
I know all too well how much time, energy and commitment goes into organising a conference; and to deliver one of such a high quality also demonstrates a quality of the organisation as much as the guest presenters. An excellent day - many thanks for providing such a worthwhile opportunity.”
In thanking those who took part, joint conference organisers, Graham Keen and Dale Welch of the Herts Sports Partnership said “To have attracted such high calibre presenters to our first coaching conference was a major coup and we are extremely grateful to both the University of Hertfordshire and Sport England East for their kind support in making this possible. Feedback from the event has been extremely positive and we hope to build on this success in future years. ‘Never stop learning’ was Eddie Jones’ message this year, and through the newly formed Herts Coaches’ Association, we shall continue to learn the many lessons from this year’s event to ensure that next year is even bigger and better.
Please find below a list of the sessions that were delivered at the 2008 Herts Coaching Conference. Where available you can download the PowerPoint presentations or notes:
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Session G & K - Tim Newenham (Developing the World Class Athlete) to be added soon
To view pictures from the 2008 Herts Coaching Conference please click here
