Play Their Way celebrate International Women’s Day with focus on female coaching
News by Kate Peckham
Play Their Way marked International Women’s Day by supporting female sports coaching students at Colchester Sixth Form College as they delivered child-first coaching sessions for local schoolchildren. The event highlighted how a child-first approach can help create more inclusive coaching environments and open up new opportunities for girls entering coaching.
Play Their Way marked this year’s International Women’s Day by highlighting the importance of child-first coaching to the next generation of female coaches at an event in Colchester.
Hosted by Colchester Sixth Form College, the event showcased the college’s female Level 2 and Level 3 sports coaching students, who led coaching sessions for local school children from Prettygate Junior School.
Students leading sessions for young participants
The college’s 1st4sport Level 2 and Level 3 coaching programme, led by former Northampton Saints coach Tim Grimsey, has adopted a child-first coaching approach that many of the female students have strongly embraced.
A group of 30 sixth form students delivered a range of multi-sport and dance sessions for Reception, Year 4 and Year 5 pupils. The activities were followed by a special Q&A session at the college with the students and UK Coaching’s Kate Peckham.
Many of the students have already taken on coaching roles outside their college course, working with children at local sports clubs and organisations.
Opening pathways for girls in coaching
The event was designed to highlight opportunities for girls to take their first steps into coaching and to explore how child-first coaching can help address the current decline in female coaches.
Recent concerns around female participation and progression in coaching were raised in the Women in Sport report Reimagining Sports Coaching, which highlighted organisational culture, coach development systems and coaching environments as barriers to participation and progression.
With its focus on enjoyment, play and inclusivity, child-first coaching places children’s experiences at the centre of sport. Many believe this approach can help create a more welcoming and inclusive coaching culture where more females can thrive.
To see these young female coaches understand, embrace and apply child-first coaching in the delivery of their sessions and interactions with the children was truly inspiring.
Many colleges are already doing excellent work in this space, and programmes like this help to showcase what’s possible. By continuing to work with brilliant coach educators like Tim, we can support colleges to develop the next generation of young coaches who are equipped to deliver positive, enjoyable sporting experiences to help children and young people stay active for life.At the same time, it helps open up more opportunities, pathways and transferable skills for young females in coaching.
Kate Peckham, Senior Partnerships Development Manager at UK Coaching
I’m so proud of this group of young coaches and the way they put the children first, giving them a choice and a voice in how their sessions are run to make sure their experiences of sport are as enjoyable and as positive as they can be.
The girls are great at listening to the children and adapting what they do as a result of their feedback. It’s something that all coaches should be adopting, but I really believe that Play Their Way and child-first coaching can play a huge role in developing better pathways for girls in coaching.
Tim Grimsey, Head of Coaching Programmes at Colchester Sixth Form College
Sixth form coaching programme
Learn more about how Colchester Sixth Form College is developing
the next generation of coaches through its 1st4sport coaching programme.