As Mark Twain once said ‘Why not go out on a limb? That’s where the fruit is!’ This is exactly what Steve Mitchell (Mitch) and his organisation team at Sporting People did when they conceived of and then pulled off the first Festival of Coaching in Manchester, UK. Uninspired by the conventions of traditional conferences, driven to unite theory and practice in applied settings, and compelled to embrace the dynamic locations in which coaching takes place across the city, Mitch definitely went out on a limb. The festival ran for 7 consecutive days, including sessions from some of the brightest minds in coach development (c60 contributors), taking in venues from the ChillFactore snow centre, to the speedway centre to the velodrome. This was a hugely ambitious, fluid, undertaking that required courage and belief to achieve.
I was invited to run two sessions, one with Sport England and their system partners, and then a session on constraints-led approaches to coaching on the following day, with my good friend and ex-colleague Will Roberts, who travelled all the way from Waikato in NZ to attend! In the first session we engaged in discussion with NGBs and Active Partnerships from around the country on how they can support the coaching workforce to embrace the 7 systems shifts outlined by Sport England. There are some ‘wicked problems’ to unravel and some significant hurdles to overcome however, the conversation was inspiring, the passion in the room palpable and our message of embracing this important work in a person-centred way, adopting humility along the way, was well received. In the second session we used skiing as the vehicle to discuss contemporary v traditional approaches to coaching. Joined by Director of the GSSPP Prof. Barry Drust, we encouraged both snowsport and non-snowsport coaches, to design and critique ski coaching sessions by applying the principles of ecological dynamics with the goal of continuing to develop their coaching.
This was a great initiative that will no doubt gather momentum. The learning that happens at professional development gatherings, is often a consequence of discussion informal moments, given that this event was largely informal from start to finish, it was a thoroughly beneficial experience. Looking forward to the next Festival Mitch!
P.F.Garner@bham.ac.uk