Coach & Volunteer Academy Impact Report 2022/23
Unlock your potential
The year 2022/23 marks the third year of our 5-year strategy for the Coach & Volunteer Academy (CVA). As the CVA has continued to expand in recent years, we have prioritized providing a diverse range of high-quality opportunities and masterclasses to enrich students' personal and professional growth.
Introduction
In the past year, the Coach & Volunteer Academy has made significant progress, expanding its talented and passionate team within Loughborough Sport. With the number of opportunities to work within and across sport and physical activity continually growing, more students have been able to actively participate in volunteering both within Loughborough Sport and with our external partners.
This report aims to highlight the valuable contributions of our volunteers and placement students throughout 2022-23, emphasizing their essential role within the Loughborough Sport Ecosystem. Furthermore, it aims to acknowledge the accomplishments and experiences of the exceptional volunteers we have had the privilege to collaborate with.
A year in review
- 82,821 hours logged
- Over 200 hours of workshop/ masterclasses delivered
- 300+ volunteering opportunities uploaded to the CVA portal
- 704 volunteers logging hours
- One third of volunteers logging over 100 hours
- Student volunteer led; Para Sport Takeover Week, nominated for the BUCS Diversity & Inclusion Award
Coaching
Throughout the 2022/23 year, we delivered 20 Coaching CPD (Continued Professional Development) workshops, alongside focus groups, to understand how we can better support our student workforce. Additionally, we continued to provide opportunities for students to complete their minimum operating standards such as Safeguarding & Protecting Children & First Aid.
This year also saw the launch of the inaugural Female Coaches Leadership Programme which brought together a talented cohort of female coaches and linked them with world leading coaches from the university. In partnership with UK Coaching, the programme offers a development opportunity to dive deeper into themselves and their coaching practice, but also looks into their development as a leader. Off the back of its success in 22/23 we look forward to a 23/24 cohort continuing this programme and the impact it will have.
The AU Coach Coordinator programme ran for another year, Olivia Patten taking a senior co-ordintor role, alongside 1 returning and 6 new coordinators. We were able to continue with AU clubs who had requested specific support in their Workforce Development Plans. Examples of projects the coordinators helped guide were; Boxing Level 1 for 16 students from the AU Club to access and identifying where AU Clubs were lacking in level 2 coaches (Archery, Judo, Dodgeball, Lacrosse). We also managed to qualify 20 coaches in Handball, and 6 Level 2 Coaches in Lacrosse and coaches across a range of sports with the CVA Bursary.
The CVA have also ran a comprehensive CPD offer throughout the year with Russell Smith – Black Country Coaching. Students have taken part on the Brilliant Basics and Confidence to Coach sessions where they took part in two blocks of a 6-workshop series, split into a mixture of practical and theory sessions and a variety of guest speakers sharing their own route into coaching. The sessions where key for enabling these students to develop their skills and challenge themselves physically and mentally and understand how inclusive coaching can also improve self-esteem and self-confidence; to have a tangible impact on mental health and well-being.
We officially continued the Loughborough Coaches Community Network sessions. These sessions are opportunities where over 40 coaches come together across a variety of levels and coaching network at Loughborough. It involves sharing their experiences and passion for coaching.
Continuing to work closely with the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences (SSEHS), the CVA organised and delivered a variety of sessions and opportunities, including a collapsed week where five Question and Answer sessions were hosted to provide insight into real life applied examples from various Performance Coaches and leaders and experts in their world. In addition, PGCE specific sessions were hosted catering for over 50 PGCE students to help prepare them when going into schools as prospective P.E. Teachers. We also coordinated coach placement opportunities and coaching observations for over 80 students on the Sport Science, Coaching & Physical Education (SSCaPE) degree.
Highlights
- Over 20 masterclasses & workshops on a variety of coaching environments
- Launch of the Female Coaches Leadership Programme, not just talking about EDI, but doing something about it
- Continued Coach Coordinator programme to bridge gap between CVA and AU
- Over 45 successful bursary applications
Coaching Success Stories
Officiating
The Officiating strand has continued to offer development opportunities for existing volunteers alongside training and deployment opportunities to those looking to get involved in officiating for the first time. Our officiating hub managers have been vital for providing a support mechanism to our officials, whilst providing resources and workshops to continue to aid their development. Football Officiating Hub Managers Will Norriss and Adam Crosby Smith oversaw the first phase of the redevelopment of the football officiating offer, with twenty referees trained and deployed on to IMS fixtures. Five of this year's cohort are on their level 6 promotion pathway, showing our commitment to referee development and retention. We also ran three successful CPDs campus in collaboration with Leicestershire and Rutland County FA, successfully bringing together student referees with referees from across the county. This has proved an apt platform for Football Refereeing to go even further next year with the continued redevelopment of the pathway. Through the work of the Football Officiating project, we have seen student officials be promoted to Levels 6 all the way up to Level 3 this year.
The CVA has also funded proactive students to gain their officiating qualifications, ranging from basketball table officiating to rugby refereeing. The CVA successfully put seven students on a Rugby Officiating Course and were led by Officiating Hub Manager - Will Bridges. The CVA saw further development for students in Lacrosse and Hockey officiating at Level 2.
Key developments for the upcoming year are to develop strong core officiating communities and hubs within five traditional key sports - Football, Rugby, Hockey, Netball and Basketball. These sports will have sports specific CPD and training alongside holistic officiating support. The CVA is committed to bringing officials together irrespective of sport and bringing gaps between sports. There is a push to maintain a strong supportive environment for all our officials, whilst also looking to expand our officiating hub manager strategies to empower students and continue to maintain our student lead, professionally supported environment. Through the work and experiences of Hub Managers Will Norriss, Adam Crosby Smith and Will Bridges, we have been able to develop similar, tailored approaches to Basketball, Hockey and Netball Officiating - which will come to full fruition in the next academic year.
Officiating Success Stories
Performance Support
Throughout the year, we have provided support to a total of 55 volunteers and 32 placement students who have gained valuable applied experience within our performance programmes. These opportunities span across various disciplines, including Performance Analysis, Nutrition, Physiology, and Strength & Conditioning. Our aim is to equip these students with the necessary skills and knowledge to become independent practitioners and contribute their unique insights during interdisciplinary team meetings.
In addition, we successfully conducted Stage 2 of Loughborough Sport's Practitioner Programme, building upon the achievements of Stage 1 from the previous year. The programme consisted of 10 sessions held throughout the year, focusing on further developing the participants' skills as practitioners and featuring presentations from industry experts. We are thrilled to announce the launch of Stage 3 in October 2023, and we anticipate continued success with this programme.
Impact of the Programme
8/10
Average rating for how engaging students found the deliverers on the programme
Comments about sessions
"I really enjoyed being a part of the programme and have found it very engaging and inspiring, I particularly liked the level of interaction in the meetings!"
Performance Support Highlights
- 9 Performance Analysis Guest Speaker Sessions & Workshops
- 10 CPD Sessions for Performance Support Placements and Volunteers
- Over 20,000 Hours Logged in Performance Support
- 6 Nutrition Volunteers fully funded to undertake the industry recognised ISAK qualification
Success Stories
Media, Marketing and Communications
We've supported over 25 students across all of our performance & development programmes as well as in external opportunities over the last year. Alongside this, we have provided masterclasses by industry experts and workshops to aid in our volunteers' development.
These media volunteers have been able to gain experience in social media planning, photography & videography, sports journalism, interview techniques and starting a career in sports marketing. Their work has been key in continuing to raise the profile of the performance sport teams and participation pathways throughout the university.
Featured Workshops & Masterclasses
- Photography & Videography -
Jack Tompkins (Ben & Jack Studio) - In Conversation with Sue Anstiss - Guest Speaker
Session
Sue Anstiss MBE & Jack Tompkins - Sports Journalism - How to kick start your career & how to conduct the
perfect interview -
Ben Croucher (BBC) - Starting a Career in Sports Marketing -
Dawn Spendlove & Jennie (Love Marketing)
We are really excited to see the continued development of the Media, Marketing & Communications strand, including bringing in internal and external expertise to provide additional support to the volunteers overseeing the media for our Athletic Union clubs through a series of training and workshops throughout the academic year. These students will receive support in articulating measurable objectives and understanding target audience of their programme to develop a media & marketing strategy.
Media, Marketing and Communications Success Stories
Event Management
This year we saw a huge increase in opportunities for students to get involved in the events industry, from external events hosted on campus such as NFL Academy Fixtures to our large internal events such as Loughborough International Athletics and Loughborough Cycling Festival.
Some of the opportunities included:
- 2 Student Event Coordinators recruited, leading on key functional areas of the LIA's & and Cycling Festival
- 20 students invited to a Copper Box Arena site visit, as part of the International Events Programme
- 44 Volunteers supporting the annual Loughborough Cycling Festival
- 20 volunteers supporting Junior Commonwealth Games Kitting Out
2022/23 saw the International Events Programme move to in person delivery. With the collaboration with alumni Laura Hillyard to coordinate the programme, the cohort of students attended sessions relating to Sports Presentation, Broadcasting Operations and many more areas within events. This programme also saw the students on the course attend a site visit to the Copper Box Arena to see behind the scenes set up of a EuroCup Basketball fixture, where they got an insight on pre-event meetings and broadcasting set ups for international fixtures.
9.8/10
Average rating of how engaging students found the sessions
Comments about the programme
“I liked how the speakers were open to questions and very honest about their work. It was also great to gain some connections through the event both within the industry and within the university as well.”
Event Management Success Stories
Volunteer Zambia
Volunteer Zambia is a group of 7 UK Higher Education Institutions who have shared a commitment to support the development of sport in Zambia through the 'Volunteer Zambia' project as part of The Wallace Group. The Wallace Group is a partnership created in 2004 by several leading UK universities to support sports development for young people with a key focus on Women and Girls in Zambia. The partnership embraces: 7 UK universities (Cardiff Metropolitan, Durham, Edinburgh, Loughborough, Northumbria, St Andrews, and Stirling), UK Sport, Basketball England, England Netball, Volunteer Zambia Foundation & Sport in Action.
In the summer of 2023 four students and two staff members spent eight weeks in Zambia working with Sport in Action (The largest Zambian Sporting NGO), to deliver sport development programmes within the Community Sport Hubs based across the capital Lusaka.
The students impacted the local Community Sport Hubs by developing the 3 key sports (basketball, netball, and women's football), through working with Zambians volunteers to develop their skills within coaching and coach education, officiating, leadership, and wider volunteering in order to create a sustainable sport offer.
Each year that students go to Zambia, they continue to build the capacity by creating sustainable opportunities for people to play and progress in sport.
CVA Alumni
When the students leave Loughborough, we keep in touch to see how the development the CVA has offered them has helped them to gain employment. We are continuously blown away by the successes of the students and this is reflected in the CVA graduate & alumni survey.
- 96%
- of graduates reported that volunteering with the CVA enhance their overall university experience
- 98%
- of graduates are currently in some form of further education or employment
- 57%
- of graduates in full time employment in sport
- 93%
- of graduated reported that volunteering with the CVA developed their professional skills in adaptability, flexibility, and communication
- 89%
- of graduates reported that volunteering with the CVA developed their interpersonal and leadership skills
We will continue to keep in touch with those who have been involved in the CVA to track their journeys. In turn, we can then set up opportunities for the graduates to ‘give back' to the current Loughborough students, now that they have begun to build professional networks.
Alumni Success Stories
Supported Programmes
In addition, to the strands that we directly deliver, we also support other programmes within the Loughborough Sport offer to recruit, train and deploy an appropriate workforce that then goes on to deliver an exceptional student experience. This has included providing ongoing training throughout the year to 38 student leaders across the executive committees of the Athletic Union, Intra-mural Sport, Social Sport, Para Sport and Recreational Sport programmes.
This year we also supported the Athletic Union to deliver their annual Athletic Union Committee handover training which was packed full of sessions to ensure they are provided with the knowledge and skills to set their club up for a successful year.
4.6/5
4.6 stars out of 5 for delivery of the workshops
Quote from AU Handover Training Attendee:
"I learnt all of the opportunities we provide and the collaborations we have with the AU and IMS, as well as who to contact."
Success Stories
Recognition
A key part of our objectives and values has always been to recognise and reward individuals for their contribution and celebrating the successes of the workforce we support. Throughout last year we continued recognising volunteers' contributions to the Loughborough Sport Ecosystem after a return to life on campus.
We have continued to celebrate volunteers' achievement and share their experiences through our Success Stories and hosted a Thank You Event in collaboration with Recreational Sport & Social Sport's Beach Fest, as well as the CVA Awards for outstanding volunteers and their hosts as a thank you for their commitment and had work throughout the year.
Throughout the year, 336 people hit the 100-hour milestone, which demonstrates the commitment of our volunteers to give back to Loughborough Sport and support our programmes.
Follow us
We are already underway with this academic year and continue to unlock volunteer's potential through the high-quality opportunities at Loughborough University.
Stay up to date with our activities, opportunities, and the stories from volunteers by following us on social media:
Contact us
If you are interested in working with the CVA or getting involved, please contact us at cva@lboro.ac.uk. For more information on the CVA, please head over to our website.
Get involved with the CVA