Skills School is an exciting and innovative new initiative from Triathlon England that will better support the development of young triathletes and Children’s Club Coaches in each region.
What is Skills School?
For young athletes Skills School it provides a unique blend of participation and performance, providing all of the benefits associated with both. Skills School will be open to all 12-16 year olds in each of England's 10 regions. Giving all athletes the opportunity to operate alongside the Regional Academies and having sight of the next level of the Trithalon England pathway it will also be completely inclusive and open to all.
The specifically designed and developed Skills School curriculum will be done in collaboration with coaches nationwide across both Children’s clubs and the Performance Programme. As a result it will feature the best of both and align precisely with the English and World Class Pathway.
For regional Children’s Club Coaches it will support their continued development by offering excellent experiential learning opportunities. Crucially for coaches it will not only improve the ‘what’ they coach but also the ‘how’ they coach.
Triathlon England has secured significant funding from Sport England, matched with Regional partnership investment, to develop and launch Skills Schools.
Why has Skills School been developed?
There are over 220 clubs who cater specifically for children and young athletes and Children’s Regional Race Series have grown rapidly over the past number of years, especially since 2012. Each Regional Skills School will give these young athletes the opportunity to develop and further refine the skills they are being taught in clubs. Ultimately, Skills School aims is to engage more young athletes in triathlon and set them up as lifelong triathletes, whether that is in the participation or performance side of the sport.
For coaches there has been little focussed development for those working with young athletes, Skills School will plug this gap and so help Children’s Coaches to deliver even better club sessions. It will create a new layer of pathway coaches as well as positively impact Club Coaching standards.
How do I get involved?
Skills School will be launched nationwide to athletes and coaches in September 2016.
Before we can do this we need to recruit and develop 10 regional Skill School Leads. The successful candidates will be contracted by Triathlon England, given a bespoke development programme prior to the September launch and paid between £3-5,000 per year.
The recruitment process is split up into a number of stages and is designed specifically not only to assess candidates suitability but also to enhance all applicants continued development; initially you will need to submit an application, successful candidates will then be invited to attend two mandatory workshops and complete an online module with the final stage interviews being held in late March.
The two workshops will be spread around the country and funded by Triathlon England. They are aimed at supporting you through the recruitment process as well as being a CPD opportunity. A significant part of the Sport England award for Skills School will be spent on both the recruitment and development of the Skill School Lead Coaches.
Workshop dates and locations
How to deliver Engaging sessions
-
Loughborough- 22nd November
-
Harrogate- 21st November
-
London- 06th December
-
Bristol- 13th December
How to Develop and Deliver an Effective Junior Club
-
Bristol- 6th February
-
Leeds- 7th February
-
London- 13th February
-
Loughborough- 14th February
British Tritahlon have plans to deliver the Skills School across all Home Nations in the future.
The closing date for applications is the
18th October. To view the full roll description and to apply click
HERE. For athletes and coaches not wishing to apply for the Skills School Lead, more information about the programme will be released in the near future.
