Two leading international coaches will be the keynote speakers at the 3rd Annual Herts Coaching Conference being held at the University of Hertfordshire’s Sports Village on Sunday 21st February 2010.
Sir Ian McGeechan, a world class coach who led the British and Irish Lions on their 2009 tour of South Africa, will deliver the conference keynote address. The conference will also feature a presentation from Terry Dennison MBE, head coach at the City of Leeds Swimming Club, who nurtured the development of Olympic gold medallist Adrian Moorhouse.
Both will share with delegates their experiences as coaches, and will chart their impressive development which started at a grass roots level and progressed to success with elite athletes. They will be joined at the conference by a number of other luminaries including leading sports physiologist Dr. Steve Ingham, nutritionist James Collins and former England Netball Coach and current Mavericks supremo Maggie Jackson.
The event will consist of a mixture of keynote addresses, interactive workshops, lectures, and sports specific practical sessions and will also include a number of generic sessions such as managing challenging behaviour, strength and conditioning and core stability for coaches.
John O’Callaghan, Sports Development Manager at Herts Sports Partnership said: “This year we have a stellar podium of presenters from the world of coaching. Previous keynote speakers have included world cup winning rugby coach, Eddie Jones, and Performance Director for British Cycling, Shane Sutton – so the bar is set very high - but this year’s programme is our biggest and best yet. As a County Sports Partnership we are fully committed to supporting the work of the army of sports coaches that operate across the county. Without these individuals – the vast majority of who are volunteers – community sports programmes, as we know them, would not exist.”
He added: “The conference gives those coaches an opportunity to rub shoulders with, and learn from, some of the country’s leading practitioners. In my experience, the best coaches are those with an open mind that are willing to learn from the experience of others, irrespective of their particular sport. So I hope that as many coaches as possible will join us for what promises to be a fantastic event.”
Tim Newenham, former coach to tennis superstar Tim Henman, and Malcolm Cook, who was part of the backroom team at Anfield during the Bill Shankly era, have also agreed to deliver sessions as part of a programme aimed at supporting the development of coaches, from across all sports, who live or operate in Hertfordshire.
Attendance at the conference needs to be pre booked, and whilst preference will be given to Hertfordshire based delegates, the event is open to all coaches from across the UK.
A nominal charge of £10 has been set for delegates, and this will cover attendance at all sessions, and refreshments throughout the day.
Further details are available from www.sportinherts.org.uk or from Lynsay Evans on 01707 281008 l.a.1.evans@herts.ac.uk
