Sports unite on the Gold Coast for national coaching conference

More than 150 people from 58 sports will descend on the Gold Coast when the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) hosts a national community coaching conference.

Sport coaches, professors, CEOs and sporting stars will come together to learn more about the ASC’s modern coaching approach; an initiative to help the 500,000 community coaches across Australia provide a world-class, fun and inclusive sporting experience.

Water Polo Australia CEO, Richard McInnes will form part of the panel discussion on the Modern approach to coaching – community sport where he will be joined by Facilitator, Kate Corkery and other panellists Liam Dixon, Tom Finch, Rebecca Clark.

Developed in collaboration with the sport sector, the new approach has caught international attention as it sees coach education delivered differently, focusing on participant’s needs and motivations, rather than just skills and drills.

“The overall goal of this approach is to make grassroots sport a more appealing, inclusive and enjoyable place through educating and empowering our incredible workforce of community coaches,’’ conference organiser and ASC’s Director of Coaching and Officiating Cameron Tradell said.

"Since unveiling the new approach, we’ve been inundated with requests from sports who are eager to learn more and embed this new model which is fantastic.

"This conference is an extension of the support we’re pleased to provide to sports. Over the next two days we’ll unpack the new approach and hear from a range of experts including leading researchers, diversity and inclusion specialists and high performance coaches who have all played a pivotal role in this work."

Tradell describes the new approach as a real game changer for Australian sport and expects participation rates to soar in the coming years.

"Thousands of coaches have already completed our free world-class online ‘Community Coaching Essential Skills course’ which is available on the Australian Sport Learning Centre. We will continue to add more resources to support coaches on their journey and encourage coaches who haven’t completed the course yet to sign up."

More information about the conference can be found here: Community Coaching Conference.