Athletics Northern Ireland’s Annual Coaching Conference, which will take place on Saturday 29th September at Ulster University, Jordanstown is now open for bookings. This year’s coaching conference themed ‘Aspiring to Coaching Excellence’ will feature a range of experts. Simon Harland, who was the lead physiotherapist for Team NI at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast has been confirmed to deliver a keynote presentation and practical session.
Coach Development Lead, Laura Kerr explains “we are delighted to add Simon to our list of established speakers, he brings a wealth of knowledge and applied experience. With almost 20 years’ experience in sports Physiotherapy, half of them spent at the highest professional level, Simon Harland is one of Ireland’s most respected and highly regarded sports Physiotherapy specialists.”
Simon’s work with Arsenal FC, the Ireland and Ulster Rugby Teams, Athletics Ireland, Sailing and Cricket, as well as his role at the Sports Institute of Northern Ireland, tells its own story of a practitioner at the very top of his game. He has travelled the world with teams and has wide ranging experience in all facets of integrated delivery to performance athletes. Most recently Simon led the physiotherapy team in the Gold Coast and has been a key member of the integrated team supporting Commonwealth Youth High Jump Champion and World Junior Silver Medallist Sommer Lecky (Niall Wilkinson.)
Simon will join a stellar line up for the conference including Olympic High Jump Coach, Fuzz Caan, Steve Vernon (Team New Balance- Coach to 2018 European 4th placed Ciara Mageean) and Dr Richard McCann (Sport NI Sports Institute Physiologist.)
As we reflect on the successes of Northern Ireland’s Athlete-Coach pairs in 2018 and look forward to the transition of more of our talented junior athletes to senior teams in the future, this conference serves as an excellent opportunity for local coaches to come together and immerse themselves in current best practice. The conference will meet the needs of the next generation of coaches, club coaches striving to develop talent and performance coaches working with integrated support teams.
The schedule for the conference is below with further speaker profiles.
Schedule
09:30am- ‘Vision for Athletics in Northern Ireland’ - J. Newton, T. Reynolds & L. Kerr
10:00am- ‘Coaching Communication’ - Fuzz Caan
11:45am- ‘Common Injuries in Athletics & Warning Signs for Coaches - Simon Harland
1:15pm- Coaching Awards
1:30pm- Lunch - Provided by ‘Cafe Cuisine’
2:00pm- Breakout
Transitioning from Athlete to Coach (Steve Vernon)
or
Practical Injury Prevention Exercises for the Lower Limb (Simon Harland)
3.30pm- Breakout
Applied Physiology in Athletics (Dr Richard McCann)
or
- Planning for 400m Performance (Jared Deacon)
5pm Close
Speaker Profiles
Fuzz Caan
Fuzz Caan will deliver a keynote presentation on ‘Coaching Communication’ and the importance of this in building and managing the athlete-coach relationship. Athletics NI would like coaches to consider how and when they can most effectively communicate with their athlete but also how they deliver under pressure and tailor their style in different situations, for example championship coaching. Fuzz, who himself jumped 2.21m aged 20 and has since guided Robbie Grabarz to Olympic Bronze in London 2012, will share his experience of managing relationships in coaching and building trust and rapport with support personnel including medics, team staff and funders etc.
Simon Harland
With almost 20 years’ experience in sports Physiotherapy, half of them spent at the highest professional level, Simon Harland is one of Ireland’s most respected and highly regarded sports Physiotherapy specialists. Simon has worked with Arsenal FC, the Ireland and Ulster Rugby Teams, Athletics Ireland, Sailing and Cricket, with a lengthy spell at at the Sports Institute of Northern Ireland. He has travelled the world with teams including the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Team in 2018 and has wide ranging experience in all facets of integrated delivery to performance athletes.
Simon has a genuine commitment and passion for Sports Medicine. He works with private individuals and teams at his practice (Replay Clinic, Belfast) and is a respected researcher and is a consultant specialist for many leading sports brands including Nike. Simon will deliver a keynote reviewing the most common injury presentations in athletics and warning signs coaches should be aware of. Simon will also deliver a practical session demonstrating strengthening exercises to prevent injuries in the foot, ankle and lower limb.
Steve Vernon
Steve Vernon is Head Coach at Team New Balance Manchester & coach to 2018 European 4th placed Ciara Mageean. Steve will discuss his personal transition from athlete to coach, his coaching journey and philosophy. First representing Great Britain in Belfast in 1999 as an 18 year old Steve will explain how he pursued his interests in coaching through his athletics career in his 20s and then later took on voluntary coaching on his way to a professional role with New Balance. With a growing number of Northern Irish athletes undertaking coaching qualifications and pursuing coaching following their own competitive career we believe this will be a timely message for the next generation of coaches and we will be offering a special discount to young coaches wishing to attend this year's’ conference.
Dr Richard McCann
Richard is a physiologist with the Sport NI Sports Institute. In the lead up to Gold Coast 2018 Richard joined our Athletics NI Commonwealth Games Preparation camp for Endurance Athletes in Murcia. Ricky who was also head of Sports Science for the Irish Football Association during their incredible Euro 2016 campaign will share his experience of applied physiology in relation to athlete wellness, acclimation, hydration and load management so that coaches can consider how an understanding of physiology and monitoring may support the coaching process in athletics.
Jared Deacon
Jared Deacon, Great Britain Olympic 400m runner and European 4x400m Gold Medallist is currently coach to Emily Diamond (4x400m Olympic Bronze medallist) and combines athletics coaching with his role as S&C coach to the Scottish Rugby Academy. Jared has successfully transitioned from professional athlete to coach and will discuss his approach to planning for 400m. Jared will explain his views on talent identification for 400m and progression of training through the teenage years transitioning from 200m-400m. Jared will also share his system of annual planning with reference to Emily Diamond.
