Secrets of the star coaches

EXCLUSIVEHolly Lam-MooresHow Handball mademy Olympic dream come true

The key principle to good coaching remains the same – communication.

FUNDING TIPSSCHOOLS COMPETITIONCOMMUNICATION SKILLS

YOUR ALL-NEWCOACHINGMAGAZINE!

The official coaching magazine for England Handball

Issue 1 September 2013

AAGET YOUR SCHOOL INVOLVED STAR INTERVIEW MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

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3PASS IT ON!

Welcome...to Pass it on! – amagazine designed tohelp you to furtherdevelop and deliveropportunities forpeople to try ourfantastic sport.

The last 12 months havebeen a period oftremendous growth forhandball at all levels. Theprofile we received after theLondon Olympics has beentranslated into an increasein participation across thecountry. In order to capturethis potential we need totrain and deploy aworkforce of qualitycoaches and leaders as wellas work with our memberclubs to provide places forpeople to play.The aim of Pass it on! is tooffer advice, guidance andsupport for anyone involvedin handball – you are allpart of a highly valuedcommunity and we want towork closely with you. Thisis your magazine and wewould love to hear yourthoughts and ideas of itemsthat you’d like to seecovered in future issues. You can contact us via thesocial media links below orby emailing our editor Anna(agutridge@coachwise.ltd.uk).We hope you enjoy themagazine and thank you foryour continued support ofhandball.

CONTENTS

4-5

6-7 8-9

10 11

Holly Lam-MooresA first-hand account of a PE activity turning into an Olympic adventure.

A sound approachCommunication lessonsfrom coaches who justhappen to be deaf.

Money talksFollowing a massive cashinjection, what next forschool sport funding?

Your chance to shineGet involved in this year’sschools championship.

Handball in 5A quick guide to share andget everybody playing!

facebook.com/EnglandHandball @EHA_PassItOn instagram.com #handball

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Edited, designed and produced by Coachwise Ltd. Published September 2013 Editor: Anna Gutridge Email: agutridge@coachwise.ltd.uk Tel: 0113-201 5533

Photography © England Handball, 2013 and © Anna Gutridge, 2013 90838:4

STAR

PLAYER!!!!ERR!YLAAY

P

RTAARSST

4 PASS IT ON!

POWER!Holly Lam-Moores

Holly is a 23-year-old

Handball player who

represented England a

t The Olympic Games

she tells us about her

life in Handball.

Girl

started to play handball atschool when GB men’s headcoach Bill Baillie introducedme to handball as a one offlesson in my PE class.

I was in year eight at the time and Iloved the session so joined his clubat the time (Haslingden Handball)which very luckily was only tenminutes from my house. The nextclosest club was Chester!Being a part of any big event orcompetition is an unbelievableexperience but a home Olympics isvery special.It was overwhelming to begin with,which is why we entered the villagea week before competing. Stayingfocused on the matches aheadrather than all the huge sportsstars walking around with you wasextremely important.Being very passionate about mysmall sport the Olympics was afantastic chance for us to spreadthe word and handball bug!

Playing in front of 8,000 noisyspectators when you are used tobeing asked if you play volleyballwas very humbling and made mefeel extremely proud. Handball is a very inclusive sportand doesn’t require muchequipment, which means it isfantastic for children and schools.There is nothing more rewardingthan seeing 30 children going wildplaying handball.

The Olympics was fantastic for oursport and there is a lot of hard workto be done to capitalise on thisespecially at grass roots level. Investment in handball will makesure that in 10 years time we couldbe winning gold medals which is

my next challenge and ambition!Our GB head coach Jesper Holmrisused to represent Denmark in myposition. He used to join in andspend lots of time teaching me new tricks most that I could neverdo! But the fact that he invested that time with me motivated me and gave me all the confidence I needed.But on the other hand one coachhas told me that I have too muchenergy and I needed to cool it.People should join their local clubs,and learn as much about the gameas they can by watching it at a highlevel on the internet. The England Handball Associationhave also worked very hard tocreate manageable and easycourses for handball beginners.There are more and more of themcropping up all over the country.If participants and coaches get onthose and spread the word thenthe handball craze will spread likewild fire!

‘I

STAR

PLAYER!!!!!ERR!YLAAY

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RTAARSST

Pre Olympic Games I wouldask a class how many ofthem had seen handball. Oneperson would put their handup. Now nearly everybodywill raise their hands.

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5PASS IT ON!

• Handball is end to end stuff. Very fastand involves moves that you don’t see inother sports such as jump shots.

• It’s a fantastic social activity.• Handball is an inclusive sport, everyone

gets involved.• Being involved in any sport obviously

keeps you fit and healthy.

• Handball has allowed me to travel all over Europeincluding Rome and Barcelona.

• I have had the opportunity to live and playprofessionally in Norway and Denmark.

• The contact and aggressiveness of the sport makesin very exciting.

• It opens up many doors to coaching• I can eat chocolate more than the average person! • Inspiring the younger generation makes it very

rewarding especially off the back off an Olympics.

Why I Handball

? Joined the GB team.? September 2009 –

beat Finland. Themost significantvictory Britishhandball had ever hadmeaning that theyqualified to play in thequalification roundsagainst France,Iceland & Austria. Afirst for a Britishhandball team (Hollywas also top scorer inthis match).

? October 2010 – Hollysigned her first everprofessional contractwith a Danish team inthe highest league –

considered to be thebest in the world forthe women’s game –after playing handballabroad for three years.

? December 2010 –voted Handball Playerof the Year by theBritish OlympicAssociation.

? October 2011 – lost toRussia by eight points.Russia are currentword leaders inhandball and to losenarrowly wasconsidered a victory inthe handball world asGB had only been ateam for six years.

HOLLY’S ACHIEVEMENTS

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‘m nota deafmusician, I’m amusician who happens to bedeaf.’ A quote from world-

renowned percussionist Dame EvelynGlennie, who wrote an essay 20 yearsago in which she admitted that ‘if theaudience is only wondering how adeaf musician can play percussion,then I have failed as a musician.’There are parallels in all walks of life,and for deaf coaches across all sports,the issue is no different. Change theword ‘musician’ for ‘coach’, andGlennie’s quote still stands for many.Memnos Costi is a UEFA ‘B’ licensedfootball coach. He also just happens to

bedeaf. His isan impressivepedigree that includescoaching St John’s Deaf FC for thepast 15 years, during which they havewon the British Deaf Cup seven timesand the Deaf Champions League seventimes in a row. In addition, he coachedthe British women’s team before theDeaflympics, as well as Cyprus’ deaffootball team.There have undoubtedly been barriersalong the way. He likes to say: ‘In the

deafworld, thereare no barriers, I amfree to fly’, before adding ofhis ongoing coaching progress: ‘In ahearing world, it’s much harder.’He says: ‘There are no realopportunities for a deaf coach.Professional and semi-professional

6 PASS IT ON!

We know co

aching is abo

ut

effective co

mmunication

,

but what bar

riers are

there when

the coach is

deaf? And is

there

anything in p

lace to help?

Matt Majendi

e finds out.

APPROACH “

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7PASS IT ON!

clubs do not trust me or have faith thatI can deliver, even with an interpreter.But, again, coaching via an interpreteris coaching through a third party – it isnot effective enough.‘Football is all about communication,and hearing teams/players know this.They need to hear information. Idemonstrate visually – you will see myinformation. For many players, 80percent is communication and only 20percent is skill.’But things have been implemented tochange the attitude towards deafnessin sport, whether it is a coach orathlete with the hearing impairment.Among the initiatives is sports coachUK’s ‘Effective Communication:Coaching Deaf People in Sport’workshop, developed in associationwith UK Deaf Sport and the NationalDeaf Children’s Society (NDCS), aimedat coaches who want to understandmore about coaching deaf people, butalso coaches who are just looking todevelop their non-verbalcommunication skills.Taking part in the three-hourworkshop, that he now leads, Costirevelled in the feedback he was able togive on what has previously been anoverlooked aspect of coaching.Another attendee was LauraCopplestone, a Multi-sports coach tochildren aged four to 18 with an array ofdisabilities, who was part of the firstsession in Leeds. She highlighted itbeing ‘really useful to hear everyone’sideas for incorporating deaf youngstersinto their current sports clubs’.‘It can be difficult for me to hear whatthe children are saying, especially ifthey have a speech impediment,’ shesays, ‘and if they all start talking at thesame time. But I sit them down in asemi-circle and explain one at a timeand make them face me whenspeaking. That seems to do the trick.’Coaches with hearing impairments, inCopplestone’s eyes, can benefit fromthe more alternative nature of hercoaching when compared with thetraditional approaches.‘Non-verbal communication can helpdevelop your overall communication

skills as a coach, as it makes it inclusiveto deaf people,’ she adds. ‘Even when,for example, I am oral in my coachingapproach, if the coach is simplydeaf-aware, it makes it so much easierto partake.’Costi’s viewpoint is different. On thesame subject, he says: ‘It’s how youcoach a team as a whole that makesyou an effective coach – building onyour mistakes, watching and learningfrom others, working with players andbuilding them up.‘To coach a deaf team in sign languageis like coaching a hearing team bytalking to them. However, as you getfurther up the coaching levels, moreand more of the coaching is aboutdemonstration, which means a deafcoach is merely a good coach.’

The NDCS, which has workedextensively with The FootballAssociation (FA) among others todevelop its own workshop for coachingdeaf footballers, has done research onthe communication methods used bydeaf children.Tom Lyons, NDCS’ Me2 sports andleisure officer, explains: ‘At the events,the percentage of children and youngpeople using British Sign Language(BSL) is around 20 percent.’Irrespective of your hearing ability, thekey principle to good coaching remainsthe same – communication.As Microsoft founder Bill Gates oncesaid: ‘I’m a great believer that any toolthat enhances communication hasprofound effects in terms of howpeople can learn from each other andhow they can achieve the kind offreedoms they’re interested in.’

Watch squash coach

Brian Ward describe how

attending the workshop

also enhanced the

coaching of his hearing

participants by visiting:

www.sportscoachuk.org/

brianward

NEXT STEPSFor more information aboutthe workshop visit:www.sportscoachuk.org/communication

The keyprinciple togood coachingremains the same –communication.

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”

There are around 125,000 deafadults in the UK who use BritishSign Language (BSL) plus anestimated 20,000 children.

DID YOU KNOW

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he London 2012 Olympic andParalympic Games’ promise to‘inspire a generation’ hasthrown school sport into focus.

In March, the government announcedthat £150m was to be ring-fenced toimprove physical education (PE) inprimary schools, from where the nextgeneration of British Olympians andParalympians will hopefully emerge. All English primary schools with over17 pupils will receive £8,000 a yearplus £5 per pupil for the next two yearsto spend on PE. Each head teacher willhave complete autonomy in decidingexactly how it is spent.The funding is welcome, but it is finite.Learning the lessons from previous PEand schools funding, thoroughassessment is vital if high-quality PEand competitive sport participation isto be created. As Baroness Sue Campbell CBE,former chair of UK Sport, said: ‘If youleave it to 18,000 head teachers todecide how to spend this money, Ithink some will make great choices,and many might not.‘Each head teacher must thoroughlyassess their school’s needs. Coachesand governing bodies of sport, in turn,need to tailor their expertise to thoseneeds and deliver somethingsustainable.’ Michael Crichton, learning andimprovement adviser for PE and

school sport in Suffolk, stresses theimportance of coaches workingalongside teachers and ideallybecoming embedded in the schoolframework: ‘The perfect scenario isthat the relationship between theschool and the coach is progressive.‘The problem comes when schoolsbring in coaches who just makefleeting visits. There’s no structure, progression of

activities, measures or impact. Itneeds to be tightly monitored by thehead, the PE subject leader, theteachers and other agencies such asOfsted and local authorities, as well asgetting feedback from the children.’Crichton insists that the coach’s initialtraining of a teacher should be just thefirst part of a package offered toschools.Ideally, the coach should thereafterwork alongside school staff in

nurturing and monitoring pupils’development, linking activities withother areas of the curriculum, such asscience, literacy and numeracy, andproviding extra-curricular sessionsand links with local clubs.Jan Hickman, PE adviser for theLondon Borough of Enfield, agrees thata continuous relationship betweencoach and school staff is the idealmodel. ‘I’ve been waiting 30 years for thisfunding,’ she says eagerly. ‘It is up toall parties to forge these relationshipson an individual basis. In many cases,they begin through getting involvedwith governing body initiatives.‘Even if governing body coachescannot commit to becoming quasi-members of school staff, there are ahost of schemes available that enrichschools’ curricular and extra-curricular PE provision and a widerfocus on enhancing pupils’ life skills.’Handball is a sport perfectly suited toteaching fundamental sport skills –run, jump, catch and throw – toprimary age children. Because it’s verymuch an emerging sport, it’s also agreat leveller; no child starts as ‘thebest’ in the class, nor indeed ‘theworst’.Without an established clubinfrastructure, England Handball hasworked very hard to grow its sportthrough schools. It has a very strong

T ££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££

££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££

A continuousrelationshipbetween coachand schoolstaff is theideal model.

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MONEYTALKS

If the UK is to make the most of

the recent injection of cash into

primary school sport, then head

teachers and coaches must work

together. Mike Dale spoke to some

who are already making it happen.

9PASS IT ON!

teacher training pathway, whichbegins with two courses tailoredspecifically for the PE profession.‘Our entire philosophy is aroundworkforce development within theschools, upskilling teachers and theexisting staff,’ says Liam McCarthy,coaching and leadership developmentofficer.Director of performance Mick Hegartyadds: ‘We want to upskill teachers toteach the game progressively, to get itembedded in schools and underpinthe PE curriculum. We want to use it asan educational tool, not a fly-by-nightfad that thrives when there’s a coachthere, then disappears.’The Football Association’s (FA) TescoSkills programme is the first governingbody of sport scheme to be endorsedby the association for PhysicalEducation (afPE).Coaches visit primary schools weeklyfor at least half a term, deliveringlessons alongside teachers andproviding one-on-one bespokesupport depending on areas in whichthe teacher may lack confidence orexperience.Project manager Martin Preston says:‘Football is just a vehicle. Our coacheshave had a huge amount of training incurriculum delivery, invasion games,physical literacy and behaviourmanagement. It’s high quality, verycredible and free of charge.‘Feedback tells us we leave teachers ina much better place. They’re feelinghappier they can deliver PE lessonsthat are fun and engaging and deliveroutcomes in relation to thecurriculum.’The Cricket Foundation’s Chance toShine project aims to develop pupils’personal skills and values. There aremany heart-warming case studies onits website, showing the inspiringeffect it has had on children’sbehaviour and focus in the classroom.Chance to Shine offers different levelsof training depending on eachteacher’s needs. More importantly,because the scheme is delivered byaffiliated local clubs and theircoaches, each school gets apersonalised, long-term commitment,

weekly contact time and leaves a highand lasting impact on pupils.‘One of the criticisms (of cricket) wasthat pupils often felt left out, stuck onthe boundary or waiting to bat. Wedeliver the sport through loads ofinnovative games that get them all

involved,’ says spokesman FabianDevlin. Successful delivery of PE has agalvanising ripple effect into all otherareas of school. It triggers sportsparticipation and helps deliver thatmuch-discussed legacy. Prudent useof this funding now is vital to achievingthose outcomes.

££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££

DO YOU KNOW?1800 teachers have gone through

our courses; 5000 coaches are

Level 1 and 3000 young people

are handball leaders.

TOP TIPS

Audit your staff and pupils’needs thoroughly beforemaking any spending decisions.

The ultimate goal is to leave anenduring legacy of improved PEprovision. Ask yourself: ‘Will thebenefits of this last longer thanthe funding that sustains it?’

Seek out local coaches ororganisations whose help ismore likely to flourish into anenduring, symbioticrelationship.

The most valuable support forprimary schools is coaching that’sdelivered alongside teachers,lending them your experienceand skills. You will learn plenty inreturn too.

Link your lessons as closely aspossible to the curriculum andrelate learning to other subjectareas.

There should be a sense ofprogression in your relationshipwith the school and, ideally, long-term commitment.

For the coach: For the head teacher:

10 PASS IT ON!

SCHOOLS’COMPETITION

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All  Saints School clinched the U13 Boys’ trophy.

The winning u13 Boys team were

Ola Olaiya, Zygi Zubkus,David Nwanna

Nana Oduro, Joshua Ihenacho, Peter

Eboegbulem, Tobi Ola, Antonio Ntiam

Mattithyahu Owolabi, Elliot Okoh,

Rapheal Olu-Jide, Toni Okoromadu, E

Adefila, David Adejori and Michael O

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ith the new academicyear upon us, it’s time tostart thinking about theEngland HandballNational Schools’

Championship once again!

The Championship has boys andgirls’ competitions at year eight andyear ten and it is the largest handballtournament in England. Last yearsaw over 220 entries, with teamsfrom Tyneside to Somerset takingpart.Starting with local rounds in spring,winning teams progress to a regionalstage with the chance of a place inthe National Final at the end of June.The 2012-13 Championship was thelargest to date, with entrants up 40percent off the back of the Olympics. England Handball is anticipatingsimilar growth in the coming schoolyear and are keen to make the pointthat there is a place for everybody inthe tournament.John Thomason from EnglandHandball said; ‘With the growth inawareness and popularity ofhandball since the Olympics, thereare more schools than ever playingthe game. We want to ensure thatthere is a route for all of them intoour flagship national competition.

‘We’re keen to promote morelocalised competition in the earlystages, minimising travelcommitments for teachers, parentssupporters and pupils. ‘Clusters of schools can takeownership of the competition at thislevel it’s a great opportunity todeploy young leaders in supportingand managing an event.’England Handball also has a kit offerspecifically designed with thecompetition in mind –#TheBoxThatRocks. Taking it’s namefrom the atmospheric ‘Copperbox’Handball Arena at Olympic Park, it’sliterally handball in a box –everything that your school needs toplay and compete at secondary levelfrom balls to coaching resources. Iteven includes access to coachingawards for the students.With that in mind, and to support PEand sport teachers, EnglandHandball has recently relaunched anumber of courses. The popularHandball Leader Award has gonethrough a rewrite to make it morerelevant to competition and theYouth Sport Trust School Games. It’sthis course that is ideal for educatingstudents to organise and officiate ata local level. The Leader Award isalso supported by two awards for

qualified teachers Introduction toTeaching Handball, which provides agreat introduction to the game, andacts as a pre-requisite to the newQTS Coach Award ideal for teachersthat want to take their handballaspirations to the next level.The National Schools’ Competitionopens for registration fromSeptember, with the entry feeremaining at just £20 per school. It’sa simple online process to sign-up,with the local rounds taking placeduring the spring term, workingtowards the National Finals at theend of June.• To find out more and sign-up to the

2013–14 National SchoolsChampionship visit –www.englandhandball.com. Boysand girls at year eight and year tencan compete.

• #TheBoxThatRocks for secondaryschools is £165 including balls andsession plans ideal for teaching the sport and working towardentering the championship.

• Handball Leaders Award coursesare just £400 per course for up to25 students aged 14 years and over.

• The Introduction to TeachingHandball is just £250 per course forup to 25 teachers.

It’s over t

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et

signed up

soon!

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It’s a great opportunity to deploy young leaders in supporting andmanaging an event.

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You can take 3 steps and 3

seconds before a bounce or

a pass

Basic rules

www.englandhandball.com

Handball in

Play on a pitchthe same sort ofsize that youwould playfootball ornetball on, witha set of goals ateach end

If your team breaks a rule

then the other team gets a

‘Free Throw’ and you have

to stand 3m away

When a team scores,the other team restartfrom the centre

Only the goal keeper is allowedin the goal keeper’s area

No contact with others,no

snatching the handball

You can’t grab or hit the bal

l

out of someone’s hands

Try to use a ball

that’s bigger than

a tennis ball but

smaller than a

football

Start the Game Each team has to be in their ownhalf. One team is chosen to start

with the ball in the centre andpasses to someone on their team

Out of bounds: ball to the other team & if ballgoes off back line it’s back to the goal keeper

© All elements England Handball

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Only use your hands

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