Watford Goalball Takes Part in ‘Coach the Coach’ Course with Cambridge Dons
Over the past few months, members of Watford Goalball Club have been taking part in a Coach the Coach course, hosted virtually on a monthly basis by the Cambridge Dons. This valuable training has been led by Sandra King who created this dedicated course and whose background is in Boccia. Sandra has been with the Dons since 2022. Sandra will be retiring from goalball in July, and it has been a honour and privilege to learn from her wealth of experience before she steps back.
The course has provided a deep dive into what it takes to run inclusive, engaging, and flexible training sessions. Topics covered included:
The technical process of how to shoot a goalball
Providing effective feedback to players
Using the Plan, Do, Review model to reflect and improve
Understanding the Social Model of Disability and its impact on coaching
How to modify a task to suit different needs and abilities
Exploring different ways of grouping and including people
Designing and delivering effective training drills
Knowing when to deliver training to improve performance and when to focus on fixing problems
We also looked at how to support individual players, adapt activities depending on attendance and ability levels, and how to clearly explain and adjust exercises for visually impaired athletes.
This training has been a fantastic opportunity for our coaches to build confidence and bring fresh ideas back to our sessions in Watford, helping all our players thrive.
if you would like to find out some more about the Cambridge Dons find links below to there Facebook and email address
A personal message from Ciaron Naughton:
"Thank you, Sandra, for all the outstanding coaching and support you’ve provided since 2020. Your dedication, knowledge, and encouragement have made a real difference to me and so many others. It’s been a privilege to learn from you. I truly hope that whatever comes next for you is just as rewarding and enjoyable as the incredible years you've spent with goalball."
