"Coach" - the current buzz word in sporting circles, but how many RDA Instructors and AB Whips think that this term does not apply to them? Well, consider the following points:

10 Points of a good coach:

• Keeps participants involved and motivated to continue participating
• Puts the participants at the centre of the process
• Provides opportunities and an environment that motivates, controls risk, engenders challenge, enjoyment, and above all, achievement
• Grows participants confidence and self esteem
• Helps participants, supporting them to make choices and discover their own solutions
• Recognises and acts upon the individual needs of participants according to the background
• Make the session fun
• Is responsible for the safety and well being of the participants, and operate with an established code of conduct
• Reflects on their own practice and always look for way to improve their coaching
• Plans and delivers high quality sports programmes

It is clear that 'coaching' is nothing new to RDA as RDA Instructors and AB Whips have been actively practising these points for some time.

RDA is keen to give its Instructors and AB Whips every opportunity to further their professional development and improve on their coaching skills.

For this reason RDA National proposes to deliver the UK Coaching Certificate, on a NON-COMPULSORY basis, in addition to the RDA qualifications already offered.

What is the UK Coaching Certificate

The UK Coaching Certificate is a government initiated and recognised quality standard for coach education applicable to all sports disciplines. Sports Coach UK is the body appointed by government to develop a UK Action Plan for coaching and implement UKCC. Sports Coach UK has worked closely with the National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of sport to develop discipline specific qualifications that meet the requirements of UKCC. Equestrian sport is represented by the British Equestrian Federation (BEF), of which RDA is a member body.

 

The Aim

To raise the profile of the role of Sports Coach and provide high quality sport opportunities for children, players and athletes at ALL STAGES of their development.

How Does it Work?

There are five levels of coaching competency within the UKCC:

• Level 1 Assistant Coach (Assist more qualified coaches but not work unsupervised)
• Level 2 Coach able to teach alone but with some supervision (prepare for, deliver and review coaching sessions)
• Level 3 Autonomous Coach (plan, implement, analyse and revise annual coaching session(s))
• Level 4 & 5 Coach regarded as a National Expert (performance coach or development coach)

RDA qualifications will still be recognised within RDA but it is extremely important to note that UKCC accreditation will give RDA Instructors their first Nationally (and Internationally) recognised BEF qualification endorsed by Sports Coach UK (ScUK) and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA).

Acquired Prior Experience and Learning (APEL)

There are two elements within each Level of the UKCC:

• What to Coach - the technical syllabus
• How to Coach - the art of teaching

APEL recognises the experience and learning a person has accrued. Candidates can complete an APEL document to identify their current level and where further training is required to obtain a UKCC Level. The candidate will then complete this training and submit a Record for final assessment. On passing this assessment the candidate will be awarded UKCC accreditation at that Level. It is expected that the RDAGI and AB Whip will transfer to Level 2 and the RDAI will transfer to Level 3.

The good news is that RDA qualifications will count for a large part of the course content at the relevant Level.

How can I find out more about the UKCC?

You can find out more about the UKCC by viewing some of the downloadable documents at the bottom of this page. You may also like to visit the BEF Website or the Sports Coach UK Website. You may also want to Contact Us for more information