LEVEL TWO COACHING COURSE LAUNCHED - posted 12 December 2011

On Saturday and Sunday, 10th and 11th December, the first ever British Cycling Level 2 cycle speedway specific coaching course took place at Astley and Tyldesley.  The development and delivery of this course is a great step forward for cycle speedway as it adds great credibility to the sport.

The course took place in awful weather conditions (see pic above) with heavy persistent rain throughout the Sunday session.  The course was delivered by Rob Mace and Andy Kirkland of British Cycling and covered such things as preparing coaching sessions, best practise, progressive and smarter coaching sessions.

There were eleven level 2 coaches in attendance these being: Luke Morton, Mike Knowles, John Burston, Ian Brown, Rob Mawhood, Stuart Raven, Mike Hack, Andy Schofield, Adam Stephenson, Mike Beasant and Bob Prince.

A second level 2 course is due to be held next year and all existing and future level 2 are to be encouraged to attain this further qualification.

COACHING CONFERENCE LAUNCHED - posted 5 November 2011

A national cycle speedway coaching conference is scheduled to take place on the weekend of 10 and 11 December.  This is aimed at those Level 2 coaches who wish to add a cycle speedway endorsement to their Level 2 coaching qualification. Contact is Ian Brown ian@wosskowbrown.co.uk

NEXT GENERATION BLOSSOMS - posted 4 November 2011

The 2010 graduates of British Cycling’s Young Volunteers course joined the 2011 graduates to enrol on their first nationally recognised coaching qualification. Eight young volunteers from Sheffield Cycle Speedway Club attended British Cycling’s Level 1 Certificate in Coaching Cycling and took the first step to become qualified coaches.

Young volunteers can really make a difference and club coach Rob Mace commented “This is a massive achievement for the young people and it is one of the best investments that the club could make. It is great because even though they won’t be expected to help out every week, they will become part of a sustainable volunteer infrastructure and developing a good habit among everyone in the club. That  habit is a collective effort to keep developing the club and ourselves.”

As a Level 1 qualified coach, the young riders will be able to lead coaching sessions delivering basic cycling skills planned by a Level 2 coach or from the Go-Ride gears books provided on the course. Several of the young volunteers have expressed an interest in delivering outreach activities in schools as well and have already begun doing so.
 

The first young volunteers to pass the course have been James Unwin, Liam Webster and Aiden Owen. They were the first to finish their child protection, coaching paperwork and practical assessment. But soon the others including Jon Vardy, Vicky Brown, Adam Thackeray, Louis German and William Gamble will be certified coaches as well.

“These coaches are progressing really quickly and James already leads groups on his own. Their presence is a massive boost because they are role models for the younger riders and they improve the practical delivery. For example on  Saturday morning James, Liam or Aiden take a group of 10-15 riders meaning that the groups are smaller and each rider can have a proper coached experience.”

The club is not the only beneficiary because their new status means that these new coaches get free silver membership of British Cycling and coaching jackets. These benefits will benefit their racing because now they will always have their registration and the jackets will keep them warm on colder race days.

LEVEL 2 COACHING AWARD LAUNCHED - posted 11 July 2011

British Cycling has today launched its first ever Level 2 Cycle Speedway Coaching Award.  Full details appear on BC website at http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/coaching/article/coa20110711-Course-Launch--Level-2-Cycle-Speedway-0

Our thanks to Robert Meaden at British Cycling for bringing this to our attention.

COACHING BOOST FOR HULL - posted 3 June 2011

The Hull club has received funding under the Sportivate programme to
provide seven coaching sessions for 14 to 25 year olds.  They will have two 'taster' sessions on grass at local secondary schools followed by five sessions at the Hessle Raceway. Sportivate will give participants the chance to receive coaching in a sport of their choice.  The programme is being delivered through the network of 49 County Sport Partnerships via Sport England.