South Africa National Archery Association Coaches Accreditation Course

 
The course, run by World Archery Director of Development and Coach Education Pascal COLMAIRE, was a resounding success and has set the bar very high for coach development in South Africa.   Pascal COLMAIRE, who has been a professional coach since the age of 22 has an incredible wealth of knowledge and experience of archery, in many forms, and teaches with the passion of a true toxophilite. The term used for the person who runs a coaching course such as this is “expert” and Pascal COLMAIRE fulfils this in full measure while remaining approachable and teaching with a wry sense of humour.  The fifteen candidate coaches ranged in age and experience from fairly young to not so young, from some experience to vast experience and yet no one ended any day of the course without knowing they had gained knowledge and expertise. With most of the candidates and the expert accommodated in the same place, the discussions around the dinner and breakfast table added immensely to the overall experience.    The course which is normally run over 9 days was completed in 6 days which made each day an intense learning experience. Apart from the first day, each day began with a review of the previous day and a classroom session which lasted a little more than an hour, then after a short break it was out onto the range. On the range the pace did not let up, after warm up and stretch exercises the candidates were taught the technical skills and different teaching techniques which made even the most familiar aspects of coaching and shooting come alive.   One of the most pleasing feature of the course was that it was not all just teaching. There was constant opportunity for questions and discussion of different scenarios a coach may come across and the candidates had the opportunity to draw on Pascal's extensive expertise and they took it without reservation.   Day 7 and day 8 were devoted to the evaluation of each coach candidate for the coach level (1,2 or 3) they were challenging. Each level's candidates had been set a task before the time and so were able to prepare for the evaluation and yet almost everyone discovered there were a number of things in the prepared work which could be improved upon in the light of what had been learned during the course. So with much frantic printing of task documents and checking of equipment the evaluations began.   The level 1 and 2 candidates were put through their paces by teaching a class a particular skill. The classes were made up of other candidates so despite the tension there was an air of camaraderie as each candidate 'taught' their class under the watchful eye of the expert. There were three candidates for the Level 3 evaluation on Day 8.     This coaches accreditation course was the next, but vital, step in implementing the long term development plan for coaching within archery in South Africa. The journey continues and already work is beginning on plans for future coaching courses for the ongoing development of our coaches, both experienced and beginner, and the building of a strong coach resource to teach and assist our archers, both present and future, to be the very best they can be.     Selwyn MOSKOVITZ / SANAA Edited by World Archery Communication