GB Taekwondo’s inaugural coach education programme, advance coaching practice in sport taekwondo, has successfully been completed by fifteen British Taekwondo instructors.

The first intake on the course, a mixture of experience and those relatively new to coaching sport taekwondo, studied the coaching process, skill acquisition and the necessary traits to succeed in modern taekwondo.

Gareth Brown, GB Taekwondo’s High Performance Coach for Cadet and Junior athletes was, delighted with the course outcomes.

“It is a massive step towards raising the profile and professionalism of the sport in Britain.

“There was a great mix of experience on the course and the qualification offers something for even the most experienced coaches.

“The highlight for me however was seeing young coaches with the desire to learn and develop their skills in coaching sport taekwondo.

The course was led by Coaching Systems Officer, Craig Richards, who was also excited by the enthusiasm and hunger of the instructors.

“The coaches showed not only a desire to learn, but to share ideas, knowledge and experience accumulated through decades of coaching.

“It was a thoroughly enjoyable and positive four days on the course, and I hope that those attending the second course in June can show the same enthusiasm and commitment as this group.”

Robbie Anderson, GB Taekwondo’s resident psychologist, acknowledged the important role coaching courses have on developing the sport.

“By combining the expertise of the GB High Performance Coaches and our own Sport Science support staff, we were able to offer expert delivery and allow the instructors to have the best possible opportunities to develop personally, academically and as coaches.

“Those who completed the course will have an award, but moreover will have increased their knowledge of sport taekwondo through technical , tactical and mental awareness which we believe will positively impact delivery in club environments.

As part of GB Taekwondo’s on-going commitment to individual coach development, those in attendance will be invited to Manchester to both observe a coaching session and to reflect and review their current practice in order to further their learning experience.

By Development Manager, Dean Leak

This weekend our GB Taekwondo Senior Team and Junior Development Squads travelled to Germany for one objective; to lay down their best performances to be considered for selection for their respective Major Championships this summer. Whilst the senior team were fighting in the last selection competition for the Senior World Championships, the GB Development Squads started their campaign to seek selection for the Junior European Championships in Porto this summer. Whilst there was medal success to celebrate from the two days of action in Hamburg, I believe there is more than medal success to celebrate and reflect on.

Two years ago, we received resource from Sport England to invest in an England Talent Programme. The vision of the ‘Talent Development’ programme is to become a world class player development system for nurturing talented athletes to become future World and Olympic champions. A system like does not happen overnight. However, milestones such as achieving five Junior medals this weekend, two of which were gold, signals the programme is on its way to realising this vision.

Nishaan Landa (Kang Han) and Asia Bailey (Central Taekwondo) claimed gold medals in the male -59kg and female -44kg respectively. There was also a silver medal for Tim Needham (Ultimate Taekwondo) and bronze medals for Katie Bradley (South Hams) and Natasha Burdock (Quest). Whilst these are individual success stories, it shows that as a nation, GB juniors are starting to stamp their mark on the international stage.

In the first 18 months since receiving Sport England investment, our primary focus was to impact in the areas of athlete development through regular training opportunities, world class coaching and science support and international sparring. This saw the introduction of GB Development Squads for Cadet and Junior athletes which invested in individuals who have the potential to be World Class athletes for the future. Our objective is to create a pipeline to ensure we deliver as many high quality athletes as possible to the World Class Performance Programme.

Since the inception of Sport England investment 18 months ago, I can really see a significant shift in player development both in terms of performance characteristics and medalling internationally. We have key targets as a programme to impact on the international stage at Major Championships and whilst we have made great progression in this area, we are all about maximising athlete potential to become Olympic Champions of the future.

The system that we have built in the short space of 18 months had been recognised by Sport England and as a result of demonstrating a good track record, Sport England invested £1.2 million in our programme, a 288% increase on previous investment, to build on existing initiatives.

We were very happy to receive this level of investment from Sport England and we will continue to ensure we have a significant impact on our talented athletes. In the next 4 years we will look to build on current athlete development initiatives by becoming a lot more detailed in our approach through performance analysis and in depth athlete to coach feedback. However, our main focus will be to support our dedicated club coaches through the development of coach education qualifications and impacting on the club environment, which has already begun.

This weekend we will be hosting its first qualification, ‘Advanced Coaching Practice in Sport Taekwondo’ which builds on previous CPD workshops in the last 6 months. This has been led by our Coach Systems Officer, Craig Richards, who has done a fantastic job since joining the development team eight months ago. The course will provide coaches with an extensive package to enhance their development in specific technical and tactical skills and the wider coach remit such as psychology and strength and conditioning.

Although we are early on in impacting on coach education, this weekend demonstrated the great work club coaches are doing with their athletes on the mat and in the club environment. The programme now wants to maximise this through having regular high level coach workshops to increase knowledge.

Our programme has a busy schedule for this year in athlete development and coach education. We will channel our efforts to build a world class system for the future and a close eye will be maintained to ensure the programme maximises its chances in the Cadet and Junior Major Championships this year. One thing is for sure, medalling at this year’s Cadet and Junior European Championships is not going to be easy. Athletes will have to go the extra mile in there weekly training to ensure they give themselves the best possible chance to medal. However, with the right training, continuing to work on individual targets and ensuring the correct preparation, we have every chance of making a big impact this summer.

For information on the Talent Development, specifically Athlete Development, please contact Dean Leak, Development Manager at dean.leak@gbtaekwondo.co.uk

For information on Coach Education, please contact Craig Richards, Coach Systems Officer at craig.richards@gbtaekwondo.co.uk

Sports Coach UK, in partnership with UK Sport and Sport England have successfully launched an ‘Aspire Coach Programme’ aimed at coaches who have potential to coach at future Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth games. GB Taekwondo are pleased to annouce Gareth Brown, of BTS, has successfully enrolled onto the programme to help develop his coaching skills.

The involvement of Taekwondo in such a programme has again signalled the great progression that the sport has made in the last 12 months and has come at a convienent time before GB Taekwondo launch it’s own coach development initiatives in the coming months.

Whilst the ‘inspire coach’ programme is in it’s first year, the content available to students on the course will no doubt prove invaluable. Gareth, who coached at the Cadet and Junior European Championships in 2011 and is flying out to Eygpt next month for the Junior World Championships, attended the first workshop at the end of February and had this to say,

“It is very exciting to be involved on this course. The programme gives me the chance to development my own coaching programme, receive 360 feedback and choose a mentor from my sport which is great experience for me. The course is also great to hear from experienced coaches and practioners in other Olympic discplines to create a shared learning environment”

In the next two months coach education initiatives will be outlined and published by GB Taekwondo which will signal the beginning of engagement with club instructors. As recently echoed by Development Manager Dean Leak in his recent blog, coach education will feature as a large priority in contributing to the long term success of Great Britain at future games

For further details about the programme please click here.

If you have any feedback or comments you would like to give in regards to coach education programmes or how you think coach programmes within GB Taekwondo could best operate in the future, please comment below.

British Taekwondo South player and member of the National Cadet Squad, Jeamy Navarro-Schrank, was recently featured in an article on the worldwide ABS-CBN News website.

In the article Jeamy talks about how she began in the sport, originally beginning in ballet “I didn’t really like it — all the prancing around” before attending a taekwondo class with a friend and falling in love with the sport.

The article also talks about her achievements and her hopes for the future, including competing at the Olympics: “It’s my goal, it was me who started the whole Olympic thing. I just want to get up there and join the Olympics.”

You can read the full article on the ABS CBN News website by clicking here

It is my belief that Sport Taekwondo is starting to make a big shift in the right direction in the UK. We are not getting too ahead of ourselves, but having seen the talent coming through the cadet and junior age groups, we are better placed than ever before. However, we have a long way to go.

Last year was the first time GB Taekwondo received ‘excel’ funding and this has given us the ability to invest in youth talent squads. This will no doubt benefit athletes and coaches now and in the future. Previously, the only contact time available with junior athletes was at major competitions and training camps leading up to it. Now, we have full cadet and junior talent squad programmes in place with more coaching and support service, high level international training camps, a clear England talent pathway which indicates route for progression and increased funding opportunities with SportsAid and TASS to fund international competitions.

I was first employed by GB Taekwondo to oversee the talent 2012: fighting chance project – tasked at transferring alternative style combat athletes to WTF style. This has given me a great insight into what it takes to be a successful athlete in Sport Taekwondo. Whilst the project was an alternative way at searching out talent and proved successful, I fully believe the future talent of our sport is embedded in our clubs. Damon Sansum has released shown again that a transfer project can work and that the sport has changed significantly in terms of styles.

I have genuinely been impressed with the raw potential a lot of our young athletes possess. I say this for a reason. In November and December last year we changed the culture of how we select athletes on squads. Previously, which I believe was not ideal, teams and squads were selected off achievements at national and international competitions. Whilst competitions provide us with good information, namely around performance under pressure, whether someone loses first round or wins gold does not provide us with intelligent performance factors about that individual on the score sheet. It does not give us explicit indications whether this person has potential or no potential. At national talent trials such as in November and December, the high performance coaching team and support staff had clear performance indicators they were looking out for. They were not just look at individuals who were performing well in the moment, they were looking at individuals who have characteristics which can be developed and could be successful in the future. This process will ensure we limit missing out anyone with potential. There is not one recipe for great potential. Everyone is different.

After a talent has been recognised, it is the job of the club instructor; high performance coaches and support staff to act on this and ensure these characteristics are developed and maintained. Again, the progression for development varies. Some blossom early, some are late developers. Either way, each athlete will be supported fully through this important transition.

I often get asked the question; “how long will I remain on the programme?” or “will I ever be thrown out?” It is very good question. Talent squads have been designed to support progression through the talent pathway. Athletes supported on the programme will have been selected based on characteristics or results which demonstrate potential to succeed at future major championships or Olympic Games. If they continue to show signs of progression and commitment, they will remain on the programme. Athletes who indicate signs of a drop in progression and commitment may be removed from the programme. This philosophy underpins our long term ambition of being the best junior nation in Europe.

Since my time working with cadet and juniors athletes in the last 10 months, the progression of some athletes have been staggering which encourages me to make such a statement; that we are better placed than ever before. With the increased resource targeted at these athletes in the pathway, we can transfer more athletes through to the World Class Programme.

Encouragingly, Sport England has recognised the progression we have made and have increased their investment to deliver more initiatives in the next year. In the last year we have predominately focused development at cadet and junior athletes and whilst we will continue with this, we will now look at coach education. For me, club coaches play an essential role in the development of their athletes and this needs to continue. The coach education programme will bridge the link between national squads and clubs and ensure a collaborative approach moving forward. The coach education programme will also aim to provide coaches with continuous professional development opportunities aimed at specific individual development. When we have further details on how and when this system will roll out details will be released on our website.

In summary, the next year for Sport Taekwondo is extremely exciting and important. Our top senior fighters will be taking to the stage in the summer and giving some great, inspirational performances. You are the next generation. You could one day represent GB at the games. Maybe 2016? Maybe 2020? One thing for certain is only you can achieve this. We can only support.

United-supporting Olympic hopefuls Michael Harvey and Jordan Gayle talked to Inside United Magazine about the run up to the Olympics and life supporting the Reds.

Click here to read the article

The Great Britain squad for the European Championships will be announced on Monday March 26 and the event will be your last opportunity to get up close to the best athletes in Europe only weeks before the London 2012 Olympic Games!

The Senior European Taekwondo Championships comes to Great Britain for the first time this May and will attract elite athletes and National teams from across the continent to one of the best Olympic sports events around.

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Jade Jones who enjoyed a fantastic 2011 began the new year by taking on some rather unlikely foes

Comedian John Bishop, Scientist Professor Brian Cox and TV host Jonathan Ross all felt the 18-year-old’s power as she demonstrated her skills on Ross’ primetime show.

View Gb Taekwondo’s Jade online (appearing from 20 minutes in, and available until 7th Feb)

Jones and the rest of GB taekwondo return to action in March at the all important German Open (3-4) and Dutch Open (17-18). Both events count towards selection for London 2012 and all eyes will be on those key Olympic weight categories.

Following that Manchester will host the 2012 European Championships between May 3rd and 6th before Taekwondo features at the Olympics on August 8th.

The four Olympic weight categories chosen by Team GB are male -68kg and -80kg and female -57kg and -67kg.

On Thursday August 9th, -68kg male and -57kg female will be contested whilst the following day will be Male -80kg and Female -67kg.

For now though, the team have travelled to Mexico for some much needed warm weather and sparring opportunities.

Great Britain ended its most successful ever year on the mat with an equally impressive haul off it.

World Champion Sarah Stevenson finished her rollercoaster year on a high, receiving a trio of awards; The Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year 2011, The Sports Journalist Association’s Committee Award and an MBE in the Queen’s New Year’s honours list.

Delighted Stevenson reflected on her awards saying…

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