Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Junior Girls’ Camp
Its been a very busy few days. A project that I have been working towards for many months finally came off this weekend. 50 girls, one age 10, one age 11 and the rest 12,13,14 and 15 came to the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy http://www.wpnsa.org.uk/ to be trained by 11 top calibre women coaches – 2 of whom are currently campaigning for the Olympics in Qing Dao 2008.
This was the first event in a 5 year commitment by the Royal Yachting Association http://www.rya.org.uk/NewsAndEvents/newsroom/news/girlsdevwend.htm to invest in its up and coming young women. With a mix of sailing (in strong winds) and workshops this weekend focussed on the importance of friendships – making them, keeping them as they change squads and classes, and understanding the difference between friends and professional crew, squad and team relationships.
The initial feedback is good. The girls thought the weekend was fun, different, they learnt about assertion vs. aggression (an important difference in sport), they made friends, they thought the coaches were amazing and they want another weekend like it. They also wanted more sailing, which was to do with the way the scheduling worked. If being inspired to want more sailing was the only downside, then I’m happy!
The parents have told us that many of the girls chatted non-stop on the way home. One parent e-mailed to say “I think the thing that sums it up is that my daughter has come home saying she is now determined to get to the top and get an Olympic medal - whether that happens or does not is immaterial - its the fact that she has come away from the weekend believing anything is possible...previously it did not occur to her that that may be possible as she didn’t think she would ever be good enough -but this weekend has inspired her.”
We’ve learnt a lot from the weekend. Time will tell if the effects from the weekend are long-lasting, and I am well aware that if you change one part of a closed system, the rest will also shift so I will watch and listen with interest over the next year before preparing for next year’s camp.
This was the first event in a 5 year commitment by the Royal Yachting Association http://www.rya.org.uk/NewsAndEvents/newsroom/news/girlsdevwend.htm to invest in its up and coming young women. With a mix of sailing (in strong winds) and workshops this weekend focussed on the importance of friendships – making them, keeping them as they change squads and classes, and understanding the difference between friends and professional crew, squad and team relationships.
The initial feedback is good. The girls thought the weekend was fun, different, they learnt about assertion vs. aggression (an important difference in sport), they made friends, they thought the coaches were amazing and they want another weekend like it. They also wanted more sailing, which was to do with the way the scheduling worked. If being inspired to want more sailing was the only downside, then I’m happy!
The parents have told us that many of the girls chatted non-stop on the way home. One parent e-mailed to say “I think the thing that sums it up is that my daughter has come home saying she is now determined to get to the top and get an Olympic medal - whether that happens or does not is immaterial - its the fact that she has come away from the weekend believing anything is possible...previously it did not occur to her that that may be possible as she didn’t think she would ever be good enough -but this weekend has inspired her.”
We’ve learnt a lot from the weekend. Time will tell if the effects from the weekend are long-lasting, and I am well aware that if you change one part of a closed system, the rest will also shift so I will watch and listen with interest over the next year before preparing for next year’s camp.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Keelboat Coaches Course 2006
I was recently a Tutor on a ‘Train the Trainer Course’ for RYA Keelboat coaches. A lot of fun was had by all!
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