Bucks coaches attend first ever Talent Coaches Breakfast Club

The breakfast club was the first in a planned series of workshops that have been specifically developed to help those coaches working with talented athletes. Held at Bisham Abbey, one of Sport Englands National Sport Centres, the venue provided a perfect setting for coaches working with our potential future Olympians.

After a breakfast welcome, the session, led by Stuart Armstrong, Development Lead Officer for Talent at sports coach UK, got underway and immediately challenged those in the room to explore the meaning of the term 'talent' and how this is seen within various sports. Stuart has worked in Sport Development for the past 15 years and became Golf's lead officer for Talent and Coaching in 2005 working directly for the 2 Performance Directors for Men‟s and Women‟s golf to implement improvements in delivery across all levels of the talent pathway. Stuart designed and implemented the 'Club and Coach Programme' in golf which is now embedded within the golf talent pathway in England. Stuart delivered talent development training as the starting point for every county in England and has presented at numerous conferences both within and outside golf.

After exciting and challenging debates around the term 'talent', Stuart used his wealth of experience and academic knowledge to continue to provoke thoughts and processes for the coaches to be aware of, and hopefully, implement within their coaching styles.

Although the session created numerous questions, it also helped the coaches to start to better understand their role and the extent of the impact they have on the individuals they coach.

Bucks Sport are now looking at delivering further training sessions for Talent Coaches to continue this series of workshops. The next workshop, specifically for Bucks coaches, will be held on 16th November in Aylesbury (more details to follow later in the year).