APPLIED COACHING RESEARCH JOURNAL 2020 , Vol . 6
The Curious Coaches ’ Club
Paul Thompson
UK Coaching
What is the Curious Coaches ’ Club ? During the coronavirus outbreak , many coaches reached out to us to say that they ‘ felt helpless ’ because of the pandemic , and that the lockdown was having a real impact on them and their coaching role .
We felt like we needed to take action quickly to keep people together and to help the coaching workforce maintain a sense of identity and belonging during this period of uncertainty . As such , we established the Curious Coaches ’ Club – a series of free webinars which give coaches an opportunity to connect with each other in a virtual environment . The Club is a place where coaches can come together to continue their learning and have conversations on topics that they feel are important to them . But as much as anything , it ’ s a place where coaches can interact with one another , and to feel a sense of belonging as a coach , when physically they may not be able to get on the pitch or the court . We wanted to give coaches a means of getting together virtually , to help minimise the impact of the lockdown , whilst providing a safe space to be a coach .
Who is the Curious Coaches ’ Club aimed at ? Whatever your role – coach , facilitator , instructor , leader , helper , teacher or trainer – if you ' re helping people to be active and improve , the Curious Coaches ’ Club is here for you . The sessions aim to support coaches operating at every level , from playground to podium , with the knowledge and skills to operate confidently and competently so that they can meet the wants , needs and dreams of the people they coach .
When does the Curious Coaches ’ Club take place ? How do the sessions work ? The Curious Coaches ' Club has three parts to it :
1 . Attend a webinar , which is usually ‘ A conversation about …’ between coaches and experts live on a Monday , or watch on-demand via ukcoaching . org
2 . Engage and take part in a more in-depth conversation about the topic on the following Wednesday , via smaller informal gatherings of coaches , hosted by a member of the UK Coaching team . To attend a session , you must have attended the live webinar or watched it ‘ on demand ’ via
ukcoaching . org
3 . Continue the conversation via ConnectedCoaches – our free online community for coaches of all sports and activities .
What is discussed ? We have tried to facilitate discussions that help solve real-world problems . So , the first session we delivered was ‘ Coaching from your home to their garden ’ to support coaches to continue to deliver remotely . It has been great to look at social media and see all the creativity on show – parents with kids creating their own games , coaches posting ideas of different practices , and kids designing sessions themselves . We wanted to underpin this with some coaching principles about how to get the best out of these moments .
The webinars give coaches the opportunity to listen to experts talk about particular topics , as well as having further in-depth discussions in a community of practice of 10 or 12 people , where they can share and bounce ideas off one another .
Some of the common themes across all sessions have been :
• Understanding self
• Understanding people
• Coaching practice
• Coaching environments .
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