The level 1 coaching course still doesn’t allow you to infuse freshers with the ability to throw a flick and tends to be belittled based on its basic curriculum. However the value of it doesn’t come from its content, rather it comes from throwing 20 experienced players into a room that definitely shouldn’t fit 20 players, for a 9-5 of deep frisbee discussion. Highlights involved: how to coach spirit; how to coach at all; how to be an above average coach and how to throw a backhand. To summarise the theoretical aspect of the day; yes the content seems a bit obvious but if you put effort into getting involved and chatting to people it is 100% worth it for what you will pick up.
The practical part of the day involved pairing up and delivering a drill for everyone to take part in, before then being critiqued on both your drill and coaching style. Here’s a diagram of my drill:
To summarise it as simply as I can, it’s a communication centric variation on a ladder zone defence drill. Defenders are restricted to a box, although the two defenders from each of the ladder steps can overlap in their central dashed zone. The aim for offence, to work the disc up through the 3 ladder steps and score in the endzone. The aim for defence, get a turnover. The aim for the drill, to teach players that you are never an inactive defensive player regardless of how far away the disc is from your area of the pitch. (I did explain this a lot better the first time but then accidentally deleted the whole thing and had to rewrite it so I’ll leave the rest to your imagination.)
As I’m sure is no revelation to you all, ultimate is still self funded, and as I’m sure is also no revelation to anyone who plays on a team with me, I have a kit addiction. Such issues make affording opportunities like my level 1 difficult, which wasn’t helped by the nearest venue being in Leeds. (That is until I checked my phone on the way back from Leeds to see they’d just advertised one in Brighton for November, thanks UKU) Fortunately with BU’s rejig of how funding works I could easily apply and was fortunate enough to have my level 1 fully funded due to the benefit of having another coach in the BU community particularly focussed on coaching Stingrays as a youth development team.
I hate to disappoint all my keen readers but having my level 1 now means that I’ve been roped into coaching a BU session, the date of which I won’t tell you so you can’t skip it :))
This blog was written by your new favourite coach, Jack Halkyard.
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Jack received funding from Brighton Ultimate’s funding scheme. To find out more about this scheme, including how to apply go to: www.brightonultimate.co.uk/forms/
