Women in Coaching

PROFILES OF COACHES FROM THE BORDERS

Suzanne Dixon (Tennis)

Suzanne has been coaching tennis full-time for the past 18 months and before that she coached part-time whilst studying for her economics degree.  She first got into coaching by helping out in sessions that her younger brother and sister attended.  Tennis was one of her favourite hobbies and she enjoyed working with children and seeing them progress, so gradually she started to get more and more involved.  In July 2007 Suzanne gained the DCA (Development Coach Award) and in February 2008 after graduating with a doctorate from the University of Reading, she took the decision to set up her own business and coach tennis full-time.  She had never seen coaching as a possible career path but when she thought about it, it allowed her to bring all of her skills and passions together. Coaching has enabled her to teach and use the business skills picked up during her degrees and it allows her to spend every day on a tennis court (one of her favourite places to be)! Suzanne recently upgraded from the DCA to the new Club Coach Award.  One of her goals for the future is to gain the Senior Club Coach Award.  She is currently working as Head Coach for Berwick Tennis Club and runs the junior and adult coaching programmes as well as supervising club evenings and organising competitions. She is also a mini tennis coach at Duns Tennis Club.  During the summer Suzanne runs camps at Lennel Tennis Club and is also heavily involved in the district coaching organised by Tennis Borders.   She coaches juniors from the age of 3 upwards as well as adult beginners and improvers.  She has recently done a lot of tennis in schools; and has just finished a block of coaching in 6 of the First Schools in Berwick.  Although Suzanne has only been coaching for a relatively short time, there have been lots of career highlights.  Suzanne explained that “Coaching is a very rewarding job and there is nothing better than seeing your players do well in competitions or conquering a shot that they have been struggling with.  Particular highlights have been: seeing the membership at Berwick tennis club increase by more than 50 per cent in the year that I have been working there; seeing one of the school teams that I coached progress to the regional final of a competition; being nominated for ‘coach of the year’ by one of the club’s I worked at; and seeing one girl who I started coaching at the age of 3 turn into a fantastic tennis player by the age of 6. Then there are the thank you cards from the players – there is nothing more rewarding than that”.  Last year Suzanne applied for the Women in Coaching Programme and was delighted when she discovered she had been selected.  Being part of this programme has allowed her to focus her mind on what she wants to achieve over the next few years.  In her development plan she has set many goals, for example increasing the number of school children playing tennis, increasing the number of junior players who are reaching a certain rating, encouraging others to become involved in coaching as well as improving her own skills as a coach.  The funding she has received on this programme has helped her go on several courses and she plans to use it to help towards the costs of going on the Senior Club Coach Course.

 

SportScotland

Women in Coaching Did you know.........? In Scotland 43% of the female population participate in little or no sport and the levels of involvement are very low from participation through to volunteering, coaching and leadership. Coaching Scotland Research reported that there is: • 1 female coach to every 3 male coaches and typically  women coach at lower levels than men, with the highest representation on level 1 and 2. • Only 12% of the female coaches being paid for full time coaching. • Only 8% of national and Olympic level coaches that are women, which is considerably lower than the percentage of female coaches overall or the percentage of female athletes at this level.

Women in Coaching Scholarship Programme This is a pilot initiative for female coaches living or coaching in the Scottish Borders - to support the development of 30 female coaches per year for 3 years in the 5 sports of Gymnastics, Netball, Hockey, Swimming and Tennis. The programme’s main aim is to up-skill existing coaches who may be coaching in a variety of contexts and who are interested in making coaching a career choice.The programme will target women who hold a minimum Level 1 coaching qualification, providing them with tailored coach education and support packages to attain Levels 2, 3 and 4 qualifications. It will also focus on developing more active coaches on all levels. The programme is a scholarship programme where each coach will create and undergo a personal development plan supported by a dedicated mentor and the Scottish Governing Body. Successful coaches will be funded to a maximum of £1500 per annum for 3 years. The women engaged in the programme will also be offered business mentoring and the opportunity to develop their business, financial, presentation and time management skills.