Can you coach? Then come along…
Sport and Physical Activity are looking for coaches from within the University to help the department realise their ambition of obtaining a place as one of the top ten sporting universities in the UK*.
“It’s really important that we recruit and invest in high-quality coaches for all student teams,” said Gareth Tyler, Sports Development Officer (Coaching and Community). “Sport plays a significant role in many of our students’ lives and our coaches play a critical role in ensuring their experience is maximised.”
A recent significant development in the coaching team has been in the men’s football club, which has attracted two highly-qualified, volunteer coaches who are both members of staff at the University – Bill Gerrard, a Professor in the Business School, and Mail Services Manager Harminder ‘Kally’ Kalyan.
Both Bill and Harminder get a lot out of coaching. “There are lots of benefits,” said Bill. “I like the coaching environment as it gives you a chance to work with a reasonably small group of players and get to know them as individuals. I’ve been working with the 3rd team who have little or no experience of coaching, so it’s been a real learning curve for me and the players. I’ve made mistakes but learnt a great deal and, hopefully, improved as a coach. The players have worked hard and developed.”
“Having previously coached at the University I knew that volunteering would provide the opportunity to coach to the playing ability and standard I wanted,” said Harminder. “One achievement has been watching individual players progress from being selected for the 4th team to the 3rd squad, and now one player is training with the 2nd team.
“The University is moving forward in its approach and attitude to sport. The sports development officers and Ian Burchnall, who’s Head Performance Coach, Men’s Football, are looking to develop and give more structure to how the football teams are organised. It’s good to be able to contribute and be a part of this development.”
Gareth continued: “With 8,000 staff at the University we’re hoping that there are other staff members with coaching qualifications who would relish the opportunity to work with the University sport teams. Volunteer coaching enhances the student teams’ experience and also gives staff an excellent opportunity to develop.”
If you have a coaching qualification and are interested in finding out more about becoming a volunteer coach, please contact Gareth on g.tyler@leeds.ac.uk or 0113 343 8263.
* Based on British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) rankings.
