The World Skate SB Coaching Commission- consisting of Alain Goikoetxea, Kenny Reed, Lea Schairer, Sean Hayes, Sharne Jacobs, Alex Wolf, Amber Edmondson, Chris Curran, Cristiano Mateus and our SB Coaching Development Manager James Karageorgiou- have spent the six months since the Commission’s inception drawing together a future pathway for coaching development supported by World Skate’s institutional framework and reach.

James presented the strategy document at our last two WST events. By necessity, his presentation covered a whole lot of ground- given how the role of coaching itself is evolving. We will only outline the broad brushstrokes here, as the full presentation is now available to download.

The three foundational aspects of the strategy are the creation of an accreditation framework, framed by codes of conduct and an Ethics Commission; delivery of best practice in liaison with federations to establish workshops, identify educational gaps and develop coach-mentoring programmes; community-fostering within the coaching realm through the establishment of international coaching conferences, awarding coaching excellence and setting up a wellbeing programme specifically for coaches themselves- all of whom, it was recognised, work within their own particular sets of pressures and challenges.

Beyond the three-tiered approach there will be a parallel scheme to develop a central resource for coaches and governing bodies to avail of in which information about vacant roles, scholarships and grants can be made available to all and equally. Through this hub a new strata of coaching career options- and, by extension, avenues to the sharing of best practice- can be achieved internationally. The presentation concluded by spelling out the timeline over which each of these milestones will be delivered between now and the Los Angeles Olympic Games of 2028.

Download your copy of the Coaching Development Strategy here.