England Football Learning host first powerchair specific development day around England vs. USA powerchair fixture
This month, England Football Learning hosted its first ever Powerchair specific continued professional development (CPD) event. This took place at St. George’s Park ahead of one of England’s Powerchair games against the USA, part of a series of friendlies as the team prep for the European Championships this summer.
18 coaches from across the country came together for the Powerchair CPD event, from current coaches within the Powerchair National League, and other coaches within the Para pathway. The day kicked oL with a talk from England powerchair Head Coach Adam McEvoy, England Powerchair Team Manager Craig Peattie, and former England Powerchair international Dave Lewis. All oLered insight into the behind-the-scenes of the England Powerchair set-up, what it takes to be an England Powerchair player, how England play, and how the group can take these learnings into their roles to continue to develop future England Powerchair players.
Various classroom-based sessions took place throughout the day touching on England Powerchair player characteristics, team characteristics, Powerchair styles of play and peer-to-peer learning on how coaches can develop Powerchair players.
In addition to classroom-based learning, the group had the incredible opportunity to observe the England Powerchair team in training, hearing from the England coaches again and watching the team tactics and discussion points play out in practice. The afternoon then saw England face USA where the group observed the match while completing pre-set tasks, with over 200 spectators also in attendance. This was an opportunity for the group to see game play and elite level Para coaching in action.
The Powerchair CPD is just the first of many Para CPD events as England Football Learning continue their commitment and investment into the Para game. The event provided an opportunity for coaches within Para coaching to develop and expand their knowledge base outside of the traditional coaching qualifications, offering a personalised learning experience, specific to the Powerchair game.
Ryan Davies, Senior Lead Para Performance Coach Development ,said: "We’re hugely excited to have hosted the first Para-specific coaching CPD event. There were three key objectives around the day; the first is that at England Football Learning, we want to create really personalised experiences and resources for coaches and change the narrative around Para-football by offering Para-specific coach CPD opportunities. We also wanted to use the day to raise the profile of the England Para teams and showcase the incredible professionalism and elite level of the Para teams at St. George’s Park. Another aim was to really open up opportunities to get involved in Para-football, we don’t want it to sit separately to everything else, we want it to be integrated into the football coaching landscape, and we want to attract the best coaches who see Para football as a destination that they want to get to."
Paul Gorman, Attendee and coach of Leeds Powerchair Football Club ,said: “Today has been really interesting, it’s been nice to come and sit around people that you know, but also meet new people, to share ideas, exchange opinions, thoughts, experiences and learn from others. The opportunity to hear from England coaching staff and watch the players has been incredible and then taking that into the classroom was hugely important, to have time to discuss, analyse, talk and get some really good feedback to take away into our own roles. I think opportunities like these are really important and the more we do, the better it will get."
Powerchair football is just one of seven England Para teams, which also include blind men’s, blind women’s, partially sighted men’s, deaf men’s, deaf women’s and cerebral palsy teams. All are based out of St. George’s Park, the home of the England teams.
