I am a student at the Bulmershe school in Reading and a proud member of the Wild Trout Trust. I first got into coaching shortly after I posted a thread on the Reading & District Angling Association’s forum asking about angling as a career.
Will Barnard, who was RDAA head coach and had recently taken on the role of angling development officer for NACRO, the crime reduction charity, and Reading Borough Council Sport Reading, got in touch with me about opportunities to take Level 1 and perhaps Level 2 coaching courses through the Angling Development Board in return for volunteering time as a guided assistant for some of his angling programmes.
These programs range from working with young offenders, those excluded from mainstream education, to community based programmes and academic learning through angling along with open fishing events and matches for Reading and District AA during school holidays. I tend to help out as something to do during my own holidays; PlayStations aren’t really my thing so I like to get out and engage in non virtual pursuits such as fishing and wildlife photography.
My idea of a perfect session is one where I am coaching children who are completely new to fishing and get to see the happiness and joy on their faces as they catch their first fish; a big or a small fish, always the same big smile. That’s what I really enjoy about coaching: sharing the happiness of our sport and creating the opportunity for kids to come and learn new skills and become enchanted, as I was, by the fascinating yet sometimes overlooked world below the surface.
I started out on the first day of my Level 1 course just a week after my 16th birthday and successfully completed my final day on the 5th of December 2009, 7 weeks later, thus making me the youngest person at that time to become an angling coach in the UK. I couldn’t have done it without the help of my friend, Will Barnard, and the others in our team of 12 NACRO volunteers and assistant coaches. Special thanks also to my friends Mark Lauri who picked me up and dropped me home each day and Doug who lent me a pen for the 2nd day and became my assistant during the practical.
Whilst I’m teaching I like to talk about the environment in which the fish live so that when they do catch a fish it becomes something they will cherish and wish to protect. In the future I intend to do a PhD in biology, studying aquatic environments and ultimately working in a role of conservation and research.
I would recommend the Level 1 coaching course to anyone who wants to get involved with any sporting activities because it really does provide a deep insight into important teaching techniques. I remember the first session I did after my first day, I could tailor my teaching technique to suit the needs of my pupil and could tell straight away that my amateur coaching had stepped up to a new and professional level.
I am also very pleased to see that other young people, such as the soon to be youngest coach in the UK, Ashley Phelan, are also getting involved in coaching opportunities. I see this as a positive step towards the future of our sport and advise any young angler who has a genuine love of fishing like Ashley and myself to get involved in such rewarding schemes as Angling4Succes and Will Barnard’s NACRO programmes.
Will Barnard’s programmes are very rewarding and he can provide opportunities for qualifications such as this, helping to keep angling in line with the country’s other sports as far as legislation and safeguarding are concerned. Are a few hours a week too much to spare for the opportunity to ensure the future of our sport?
