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The Andy Biddle Youth Sports Foundation provides grants for aspiring youth sports coaches in the Sutton Coldfield area.
Back in 2018, when the Andy Biddle Youth Sports Foundation was formed, one of our main purposes was to provide grants for aspiring coaches in the youth sector. To improve youth sport as a whole, having accredited coaches is extremely important.
In the UK, there are many training schemes across multiple sports that will equip coaches to support or lead youth teams and training sessions. However, these schemes and courses often come at a price starting at around £40 and increase based on higher level coaching. We believe that aspiring coaches should not have to self-fund these courses, therefore we try to provide grants to help make this possible.
We started this charity in memory of our late friend Andy Biddle, who loved sport, particularly football and cricket. Andy coached youth teams for football and for Sutton Coldfield Cricket club, so let’s take a look at some of the coaching schemes available in these two and other sports.
Cricket coaching schemes
ECB, The England and Wales Cricket Board, offer various coaching courses to begin coaching or improve your coaching standards.
The ECB Support Coach course is for those 16+ and includes E-learning, a three hour module in person and a multiple choice online assessment. As a Support Coach, you will be able to assist coaching sessions, with the supervision of a qualified cricket coach. This course costs £40.
Following this, ages 17+ can complete the ECB Foundation Coach course, which has seven E-learning modules, four face-to-face modules of three hours, and observed coaching opportunities. The outcome of this course is the ability to lead coaching sessions independently. The cost is £150.
The ECB Core Coach course, is player focused in the planning and development stages. The course is for ages 18+ and covers core cricket principles i.e. batting, bowling (pace and spin) and wicketkeeping. It includes eight in person modules lasting three hours each with
observed coaching opportunities and six E-learning modules. This course will cost £300.
To have a more in depth look at these courses visit ECB’s page: https://www.ecb.co.uk/play/coaching/courses/foundation-coach and to see upcoming course dates in Warwickshire visit https://warwickshirecricketboard.co.uk/ or contact Warwickshire County Cricket Club.
Football Coaching schemes
The Introduction to Coaching Football course is suitable for anyone 16 + looking to lead a grassroots football team. This online course is a blend of live weekly webinars, E-learning, community support, a short online assessment and a range of resources. It lasts four weeks and will cost £100.
Another 16+ football course is for the UEFA C License, which will develop your skills as a coach to help improve player performance. This course lasts sixteen to twenty weeks and consists of virtual and face-to-face learning, at a cost of £500.
For more detail and prerequisites for these courses head to England football’s website Coaching Football Courses | England Football Learning.
Netball Coaching schemes
England Netball Level 1 course is an introduction to coaching the game for those 16+. Included is three virtual sessions and has a fee of £195 for non-members and a reduced fee for members.
This is followed by the 18+ England Netball Level 2 course, which is perfect for active coaches of 2+ years. Involved is three virtual sessions, two days of face-to-face delivery and one virtual professional discussion. The cost is £370 for members only.
To seek any further information on the courses provided by England Netball visit England Netball | Coaching Courses & Workshops.
Hockey Coaching Schemes
England hockey also provide coaching training schemes such as the Introduction to hockey coaching workshop, hockey sessional coach course and the hockey coach course, which can all be found at Great Britain Hockey's Online Training Hub (englandhockey.co.uk)
Rugby Coaching Schemes
England Rugby offer multiple coaching and refereeing courses. You can complete Kids first rugby training resource, which includes coaching and refereeing practice, Kids first rugby tag coaching course and Kids first rugby contact course, which introduces the coaching and refereeing of the tackle and the scrum.
For coaching/ refereeing U12’s and upward you must undertake the England rugby refereeing and coaching award courses, to learn more in depth about the 15 a side game. To decide which course is right for you, England Rugby have made it simpler with this video: Which England Rugby Rugby Course is Right For Me (youtube.com).
In the past we have funded cricket, football and swimming coaches to undertake accredited courses. We have also funded football refereeing courses and are open to grant applications for other sports coaching courses!
To request a grants application form email: abysfgrantapplications2@gmail.com.