Working Agenda

Arrival, Networking, and Opening Remarks

Action Planning & Interactive Roundtables

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We’ll set the scene for the day and take the time to outline a plan of action to make the most out of the learnings and insights from day ahead.

High Performance Pedagogy – Structuring Opportunities to Learn, and it’s Impact on Coaching

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It’s very hard to have a learning culture if it’s not enforced by senior leaders. However, it is still possible to learn as an individual without necessarily being in a learning environment. People, and in this case athletes, have to feel safe and supported as an individual where they’re not going to be ridiculed for asking questions or questioning the norm. So, learn from two experts here at Millfield School on how they approach it here with their students, and examine how we as leaders can ensure that opportunities and structures for learning are created for our athletes in our organisations.

Break

Skills Session: Non-Directive Coaching Skills, Pt. 1

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We’ll be reflecting on the learnings from the previous session, and give you the opportunity to unpack them with the peers around your table. We’ll also use the insights from the sessions so far, alongside some research and skills based learning exercises, to delve into the theme of Non-Directive Coaching Skills.

We will explore the six mindset principles, attention restoration theory, and what impact of powerful questions and focused listening can have on how you lead and coach. We’ll combine demonstrations with practice in the core skills of creating psychological safety, asking powerful open questions, listening at depth, and summarising back what you have heard.

Reflections & Interactive Roundtables

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As a follow on from the previous sessions, we will take the opportunity to reflect on our own understand of pedagogy, and our how we approach coaching and leading athletes, and think more deeply about the skills and practice used in education that could better support athletes and coaches in your organisations.

Networking Drinks

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We’ll save some time at the end of the day to give you the opportunity to network with those in the room you haven’t chatted to yet over a drink. Plus, for those who travelled and staying locally before the second day, we’ll suggest a pub nearby for anyone who wants to continue chatting and drinking for a couple more hours.

Arrival & Networking

Welcome & Action Planning

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We’ll set the scene for the day and take the time to reflect on Day 1, as well as outline a plan of action to make the most out of the learnings and insights from day ahead.

Introduction to Neurodiversity – Supporting and Developing Neurodivergent Pupils and Athletes

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This session will explore the educational practice in identifying and the coaching skills needed to support athletes with different learning needs. It will provide an opportunity to understand more about the skills and practice used in education to better support athletes and coaches in your organisations.

Generational Talent: The Changing Landscape of Leading Young Athletes in Elite Sport

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Coaches will likely recognise that athletes have different ways of picking up new ideas or skills, and it won’t come as a surprise that if a coach can understand these learning preferences, and adjust how they deliver to each individual athlete, they will be much more effective and efficient in developing athletes’ skills and knowledge – something that teachers and leaders within education are very strong at. We’ll use this session to pick the brains of two leaders within elite sport to ask how their approaches have changed down the years, how they approach leading different generations of athletes in different ways, and reflect on what skills and approaches used within education could be taken and used within elite sport.

Beyond Words: Navigating Neurodiversity in Communication and Coaching

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Leaders who reach the top do not simply pay lip service to the importance of effective communication. Instead, they study the art in all its forms — writing, speaking, presenting — and constantly strive to improve on those skills. However, it’s one things being a leader with good communication skills – it’s another thing to have the ability to really engage and connect with those members of their team, and essentially put themselves in their shoes to understand their point of view, and even the problems that they face. This session will examine the impact that communication can have on an individuals ability to learn and perform at their best, and we’ll once again learn from one of the best in this case study from our hosts at Millfield School.

Morning Reflections

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As a follow on from the previous sessions, we will take the opportunity to reflect on our own leadership and approach to coaching young athletes, and think more deeply about the skills and practice used in education that could better support athletes and coaches in your organisations.

Non-Directive Coaching Skills, Pt. 2

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Like in Part 1 of these Skills Sessions yesterday, we’ll be reflecting on the learnings from the previous session, and give you the opportunity to unpack them with the peers around your table. We’ll once again use the insights from the sessions so far, alongside some research and skills based learning exercises, to delve into the overarching theme of Non-Directive Coaching Skills.

Specifically, this session will look at how important relationships are as a leader and coach, and introduce techniques that can arm leaders to put themselves in the shoes of an athlete. Like yesterday, we’ll make this as interactive as possible, combining demonstrations with practice in the core skills of creating psychological safety, asking powerful open questions, listening at depth, and summarizing back what you have heard.

Collaboration & Problem Solving: Learning Approaches, Complexity Science Models and Andragogy

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How do you support collaboration and problem solving through networks? This talk will look at different approaches in the way in which people learn inside and outside of sport, and how you can use methods and models complexity science models to compliment those approached. It will also look at andragogy and reflect on how adults learn compared to the younger generation, and it will finish off with an interactive task on problem solving, reflecting on the difference between teaching and coaching and understand the complexities involved in both.

Final Reflections

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We’ll take time to debrief at the end of the session, and ensure you have a clear plan of action to take into Day 2, as well as looking at how we can implement today’s learnings back into your organisations.