Something tells us you’ve got strong feelings about community coaches. Your kids have probably had great community coaches, and perhaps they’ve experienced not-so-great ones, too. You may even be a community coach yourself — and goodness knows, it’s a tough gig.
The thing is, Brisbane is hosting an Olympic Games in 2032 and the reality is, our community coaches are a key piece in keeping our kids in sport, given the average age of an Australian Olympian is their late 20s.
Further to this, you will be interested to know there’s new data that shows the average Australian child of the 1980s would finish 250m in front of a modern equivalent over a distance of 1600m, a metric mile.
So, just as importantly, our increasingly inactive kids are not enjoying the amazing benefits of simply being a life-long participant in sport.
This week on SportsParenthood, we speak with Richard McInnes, who is currently CEO of Water Polo Australia, and is a degree-qualified sports scientist and former multiple World Cup winning coach.
He talks to us about what Water Polo Australia is doing as an early adopter of the new community coaching reforms, what makes a great coach, and he says something that I want to highlight, underline, and circle as a key message for sports parents and coaches.
RESOURCES
Sport Australia: Community Coaching
EPISODE PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, 5 MAY 2022