5 April 2012 - 2nd leg of Costa Rica National Archery Development Programme

2nd leg of Costa Rica National Archery Development Programme Lausanne – 5 April 2012  From 7-21 February 2012, USA Archery Elite Coach Laval D. FALKS made a second visit to Costa Rica to work with the Asociación Deportiva de Tiro con Arco de Costa Rica under a multi-visit programme funded by the Olympic Solidarity and the National Olympic Committee of Costa Rica.   The main focus of this second visit was on coaching development and training for nine National Programme Coaches working for the Asociación Deportiva de Tiro con Arco de Costa Rica. The focus of Coach FALKS's first visit was general, focusing on archers and coach development.   The third visit, scheduled for September/October 2012, will be more focussed on professional coach development, archers training and competition camps.   Nine coaches attended the second leg of the programme and have all received a Level I Coach Certification. The sessions took place mainly during the evening, moderated and guided by Coach FALKS and the Asociación Deportiva de Tiro con Arco de Costa Rica's   The Level I Coach Certification Course is based on and modelled after the USA Level III Coach Course. The topics presented for the Level I Coach Certification Course were: challenges to effective coaching, developing a coaching philosophy, mental aspects of archery training and competition, archery shot execution, training planning and training cycles, goal setting and goal accomplishment, equipment selection and bow tuning.   While the nine coaches were earning their Level I Certification, the national archers were preparing for the National Indoor Championships. The coaches' programme used their knowledge to help their archers prepare for the opening event of the national archery season. The National Indoor Championships were conducted in the gymnasium of the University of Costa Rica in San José. It was well-attended, with over 40 competitors and all of the National Programme Coaches.   The two weeks of training was very successful. Nine Level I Coaches were certified and the National Indoor Championships were conducted. The archer’s level is improving greatly as evidenced by their indoor scores and initial outdoor practice scores. Plans are being made already for the next development training programme during which an Advanced Coach Certification Course will take place. At least one archer/coach training camp, three national ranking events and possibly an international tournament will be held.   Laval D. FALKS Elite Coach, USA Archery Edited by World Archery Development & Communication Departments