Emma Button

My job as a community sport coach involves providing physical education for primary schools within school time and working in conjunction with Chester school sports partnership to ensure all schools are active within their focus sports. I also coach children outside of school hours, the University of Chester ladies rugby team and work as a part-time coach with Cheshire Rugby Union.

During a typical day I would aim for three or four hours of curriculum time with the schools and on various evenings I lead an after-school sports club. Two nights a week I coach the university ladies’ rugby team as well as hold game analysis sessions. The school sessions tend to be between 9am and 4.30pm, with university sessions being between 6pm and 9pm. But there are also weekend sessions with the university teams and the rugby union. During the day I can do up to 40-50 miles travelling.

My degree in physical education and sport science allowed me to gain access to coaching pathways. My involvement with my university rugby club allowed me to work with the rugby coaches and I gained valuable experience that allowed me to not only progress my coaching but also to work with various groups within the local community. Having wanted to go a step further, the Women into Higher Level Coaching bursary then allowed me to gain my level two coaching qualification and attend valuable coaching workshops, both of which have helped me enormously. On applying for the programme I was unsure whether I was ready for my level two qualification but meeting my mentor and discussing the options available gave me the confi dence that I needed. It basically gave me the extra shove to apply and I decided that the funding assistance was an invaluable opportunity.

The bit I love most about coaching is working with children. Since starting my job I’ve coached such a wide variety of age groups ranging from 2 to 21 years. I haven’t always enjoyed coaching younger children and have found that working with pre-school and reception-age children gave me much-needed confi dence and ability. Seeing the way the children respond to my session when they enjoy it makes the job totally satisfying.

Someone who is willing to work random hours and weekends is most suited to this kind of job. For instance, I often coach the ladies’ rugby team late on a Friday night and early Sunday morning.

You’ve got to be able to adapt, not only to the weather and different conditions, but also to the different children and their moods. The same group can be totally different from one week to the next and you need to be able to adapt your plans to suit. 

When working with the younger age groups you need a huge amount of energy to keep them going and cope with the tears when they come! If you want to go down the higher level coach path I would recommend getting as much experience as possible working with a variety of age groups, in as many different environments as possible like clubs, schools, after-school groups etc. Get as many national governing body and other related qualifi cations as possible in lots of different sports. Look into finding a mentor to see where you can improve your coaching, also it allows you to refl ect on your continuous development, which is important within this industry.

In terms of careers advice, I had a meeting with a UKCC coach development offi cer on how I could boost my CV and coaching experience. I really recommend getting as much advice as possible from those closest to you.

I took full advantage of all I could learn from the coaching lecturers during my degree and people I knew who worked in the industry. I’ve learnt to appreciate that ‘who you
know’ is just as important as ‘what you know’, having your name recognised within the coaching community is a great advantage for asking favours and advice when applying for jobs.

For more information on the Women into Higher Level Sport Coaching in the north west visit: www.greatersport.co.uk

     

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