September saw the first cohort of the Pathway Coach Development Program get together for the first time. The aim of this program is accelerate the learning of a group of coaches, bringing in high class deliverers to develop the softer skills of coaching. Alongside this, the coaches will have access to Welsh Cycling Performance sessions to further their knowledge of the technical and tactical side of coaching.

The first day was comprised of two different workshops, a session on self-awareness and the British Cycling Workshop, the “Fundamentals of Movement”. Mostyn Richards, formerly of the WRU Performance Team and current lead of the University of South Wales Mentoring program led the self-awareness workshop. This aimed to develop an understanding of themselves, how they communicate and how they are perceived by those around them. This was then related back into coaching and the coaching process.

One tool used in this process was “Where am I”, have a look here and challenge yourself, are you above or below the line?

The afternoon focused on developing the coaches understanding of the fundamentals of movement and what impact this has on athletes when they are on the bike. Safe to say this was the physically tougher part of the day, challenging the flexibility and strength of all participants. Having been a Strength & Conditioning coach with British Cycling until starting his own business Fast Fit Strong, Scott Pearson delivered an excellent session and was able give ideas and tips on how to work off the bike activity into regular sessions. For further information on this workshop, have a look here on the British Cycling website.

The Pathway Program continues in November with delivery from Cardiff Metropolitan University, in the meantime the coaches are benchmarking their skills in certain targeted areas as well as getting an indication of their preferred learning styles, have a go here.