Westbury Harriers

Coaching Information

Midlands U13 Road Relays Bronze Medalists

• See our other pages on The Three Golden Rules of Training: It's not the training that makes you fitter!; The effect of training is reversible; Training is specific

England Athletics runs courses for all levels of coaching, and their online pages are the best source of up-to-date information on what is on:  see www.englandathletics.org/coaching-courses for further details and application forms, or email the South West Education Co-ordinator, Morag Ford.

New coaches will normally complete the courses in order (Level 1 first).  Level 1 is a 1 day general course.  Level 2 is a 3 day course (2 general days plus 1 event specific) plus some practical work.  However, there are two special 1-day courses that can be taken without having done the Level 1 course (but, if you do the Level 2 course, they can count as your event specific day):

• Leadership in Running and Fitness (ideal for taking groups of senior road runners)
• The Children in Athletics (e.g. for taking younger children) seems to have been withdrawn at the moment

The courses are quite expensive, but Westbury Harriers and the Avon Athletics Association greatly value your coaching contribution, and will reimburse 100%  of the cost of the courses for active coaches.  Contact our coaching secretary for full details

Sports Coach UK (formerly the National Coaching Foundation) runs courses that are of benefit to all sports, not just running/athletics.  See the www.sportscoachuk.org site for further details and contacts.  These courses are generally just 3 hours in the evening, and, although they don't directly lead to an athletics qualification, they can be highly recommended.

Wesport is the "West of England Sport Trust, which is a network of organisations across Bristol, Bath & NE Somerset , South Gloucestershire and North Somerset working collectively to increase, promote, support and celebrate lifelong participation in sport" (their words).  They put on various courses for the development of clubs and coaches, and it is well worth having a look at what they do.  FFI see www.wesport.org.uk