This week I had to complete my 10 minute presentation talk in front of 5 classmates. Although the audience wasn’t very big I still felt very anxious about this, however when speaking to the other students they also felt the same.

Due to complications with my PVG I had only completed roughly 15 hours however I still had a lot to talk about during my presentation as it was all different clubs I was volunteering and being involved in.  I spoke about my placements such as play unified, Scottish disability sport and boccia festivals.

During my presentation I focussed on the positive aspects and also the negative aspects of all the different events and I also reflected back on what I would change for the future to help me in my careers.  I also spoke about the aims of Active Stirling, my personal aims and I also reflected back into my experiences and spoke about what I would change and why I would also change it.

I decided to volunteer first for my presentation group as I felt if I went last I would compare my to work to my classmates which would effect my anxiety and the way my presentation would flow. Although I was still anxious I was happy I went first as it meant that my 10/15 minutes of Hugh anxiety and nerves was over and I could now relax and listen to the rest of my classmates with no worries.

During the presentation I felt that the sheets we filled out helped as it gives you weaknesses that you can work on to improve your presentation skills and it also highlights what you done well which helps to boost your self confidence within presentations.

Although I still don’t feel 100% confident with speaking in front of groups doing presentations or public speaking, I feel that doing presentations in front of classmates frequently helps me to improve bit by bit.

On Tuesday, we were required to carry out a 10 minute reflection presentation about our current placement. Due to PVG complications, I had only actually carried out 12 hours of my placement, so a lot of my presentation was about things to consider for the future.

With this being said, I was of course able to talk about my previous hours and some stand out experiences from them. Through these, I was also able to demonstrate what I had personally gained, learned and improved on in terms of skills and various coaching styles. It is surprising how much you can learn in such a short space of time!

At the beginning of my presentation, I felt the nerves begin to settle in which made me worry about the speed I was going talking at. However, the breathing exercises we had been taught about in our previous seminar really helped to combat this as I felt as though I kept a steady pace throughout. It was also difficult to try and avoid reading straight from my cards but hopefully I engaged enough with my peers in order to keep them in some what interested in what I had to say!

I wanted to hand out an example lesson plan so that my peers understood that I was mostly carrying out shadow work as I was still in the early stages of my placement. My mentor was happy to provide me with one to use and print off for everyone to have a look at.

My second hand out was some information about the Exercise Referral team and what they do. I wanted to use this as well as it ties in with what I want to do next year, so I wanted to provide a better understanding about the exercise stages they give to certain people and the classes that they offer as I was unable to talk extensively about it within my 10 minutes.

Overall, I think that the presentation went well and I really enjoyed talking about everything that I had learned so far and all my prospects for the future!

 

Work experience – week 8

First task this week was to do my presentation on Tuesday morning. I think this is the aspect of the module that I had been most nervous for because I don’t enjoy public speaking but I  am happy with how it went and glad it has passed.

This week I helped deliver the last session of the archery club at Fallin primary. We structured the session similar to the rest with health and safety reminder, practice and then competition.  This week we pushed the children’s skills a little bit further making the competitions at the end harder than we have in the previous weeks by giving the several target to choose from with varying points. I was obvious that the kids really enjoyed this session and it was obvious that they were sad this was their last session and were quick to ask when we were going to be back to take them for archery or for any other sport.

This archery programme set up by Craig McIntyre at active Stirling feels like it has been a success. Although I don’t know how many of the children are going to look at continuing their archery, I feel like they were a lot more positive and enthusiastic about the idea of us coming back with a new sport to show them in the future.

The final part of my placement has been taking weekly dance sessions in two of the cluster primary schools, Riverside primary and Fallin Primary. This for me has been where I have thrived as dance coaching is something I have done for many years and is completely within my comfort zone so with these sessions I was able to relax and take control over them. Craig has been so supportive with me over these sessions and has gave me his full trust over leading them which has made me feel very encouraged to do well.

The Riverside Primary sessions were at lunchtime which made me a bit anxious as I wasn’t sure if the kids would be willing to give up their lunchtimes to come to dance club. However, I was completely shocked as in the first week 35 pupils showed up for the session which I wasn’t expecting at all. As weeks have went on the club has continued to stay busy and the pupils have shown great enthusiasm towards the sessions.

The Fallin Primary sessions were after school and these were slightly different as they encourage parent participation. The classes were quieter in the first week, there was eight kids and three parents, I think this could have been down to the fact it was a Friday afternoon. However, the parents and kids spread the word and the numbers did increase over the weeks. I felt a bit more anxious going into these sessions as I knew parents were going to be involved and I wasn’t sure how well they would take to them but the parents were a lot of fun and really encouraged the kids. If anything I think the kids actually tried harder as they knew their parents were watching them. This also helped as if there were any behavioural issues in the group the parents would deal with it and there was never a need for me to discipline the kids.

-Rebecca

Overall I fell this module  has benefited myself.  Although it took a while before I could start my placement due to waiting on my PVG, my hours was completed in time. I think 30 hours is an appropriate amount of hours  for the  module,  however it would be ideal to have placement sorted for the semester starting to organise such things as PVG so hours can be spread out over the period of time. That way I feel more skills and learning opportunities can be achieved.

The seminars for the module have been good, which you can take away information and benefit from them in the industry going for jobs etc.. Although I feel some of the things in the seminars could be done as a podcast and we could refer back to the information giving.  That being said some things were more suitable being in class as it was practical based which could help in a practical setting.

Assessments for this module course blog, presentation and report are all beneficial. The blogs each week I found quite hard due to start placement later, so was unsure what to write in blogs those weeks, but one placement started I found it easier to write about things. Make comments on other blogs was also good, as you you got an insight to others placement aswell as how they were about placement, which you could relate to at times.  The presentation for me I was extremely nervous about.  I think if started placement earlier I could of put more into my presentation and would maybe  be more relaxed presenting it, however from what I did do I can learn from it and make changes where needed for future presentations.  The report not yet started however I feel I can benefit from it in some way, even if it’s just my writing skills.

As I am only a few hours away from completing my placement I feel like it’s a good time to reflect not only on this experience but also my presentation and the module as a whole.

After so much hassle in getting my placement sorted it has definitely been worthwhile. I’ve reaped the rewards though as my confidence has increased due to the nature of working with large groups of pupils from a number of year groups. This was also beneficial as I was able to see how teachers cater to different concentration spans and levels of ability which was interesting. Furthermore during my time I was finding myself using skills that I had possibly not used since I done voluntary football coaching a few years ago. Overall I feel like the placement was a great experience as not only has it allowed me to work on my skills and develop as aforementioned but I’ve always aspired to be a PE teacher so I’m glad that I’ve enjoyed my placement this much. I am now more motivated that ever to make sure I achieve this goal which may be one of the most significant things to occur from this placement.

In terms of my presentation I feel like I was a bit unprepared as although I’ve been busy recently I could have used my time a bit better. I was also really nervous as for some reason I struggle with presentations despite being a confident outgoing person who is happy to contribute to group discussions etc. Therefore as you can guess I had an unconvincing start however as the presentation went on I began to feel more comfortable and my confidence grew. I took this as a consolation to my presentation not being the best but perhaps what was my most frustrating was that I missed out some important things I wanted to say as a result of nervousness throwing me off track. However I will learn from the da to be better prepared for my next one and hopefully in turn I will be do a bit better.

To conclude, I’ve really enjoyed the module as it’s gave me the platform to do my placement which has really benefited me while the presentation pushed me out my comfort zone and is something I will learn from. The seminars have also been helpful as a lot can be taken from them that being said though I think some could be done online.

My last day of placement! I was feeling a mix of emotions for this.  I was pleased to have gotten to the end but also sad that I was leaving.  I was talking to them other coaches before sessions started and they were saying that they had forgotten I was only on placement and thought I was working there with them.  This was a really nice feeling.  I am so glad to have made such good relationships with the other guys.  They are all relatively young and at the beginning of their coaching careers but already I can see that there coaching abilities are great with children and they they will continue to do well.
We had 2 new children at the pre school group which was great and we got to do some fun obstacle courses.  The kids really enjoyed this session and were really engaged which was nice.
The next two group also went well and the kids were trying really hard this week.  I always think it is quite amazing the energy they still have coming to these sessions on a Friday after a long week at school.
last session is the day was Dodgeball.  This session was the most challenging it has been.  After the warm up and exercises we split the kids into teams.  I was helping one team when I notice that there were two boys arguing and being quite nasty to each other.  I told them that was enough and they needed to focus on the game and what they were doing.  They weren’t really listening and one of the boys was making hand signals to his dad that he was going to punch the boy.  I spoke to Tony about this and he said they are always like this, although it had been better the last few weeks.  He spoke to them, however throughout the rest of the game the little comments and cheek was exchanged between the two.  It was quite annoying that the parents were up in the cafe area watching and didn’t bother to come and intervene.  I don’t believe it is the role of the coaches to manage the children who basically want to fight.  I understand that there will be disagreements between kids but this is a long standing issue.  It’s a shame that the rest of the team had to suffer and wait around while we were continuously talking to the boys.

At the end of the session Tony thanked me for all my help and asked me if I would be interested in working with them next year.  I was really happy with this as it made me feel very appreciated.  I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at placement.  It has been a completely different setting from my usual work and I have learned a lot and developed a lot new skills and understanding for coaching.

Christina

For my last week on placement I focused on my Continuous Coaching Development (CCD) by completing Football Coach Education at Toryglen Regional Football Centre with the Scottish Football Association (SFA).

I chose to go on the SFA Children’s Pathway since I have already gained most qualifications in the Main/Adult Pathway. I feel this was very beneficial for my own personal development as it allows me to be qualified to work with a variety of ages and abilities in the Football context.

The course had 70 participants who were all attending for different reasons. I had the opportunity to network and speak with the other coaches participating on the course in order to build connections as well learning about their experience and background in Football. This was very enjoyable. Some coaches were just starting out their coaching journey whilst others were there for further training and development. Part of the criteria of the coaching course was to plan and deliver a 20-minute football session. I decided to tailor my session for 7v7s U11s and chose dribbling as the main skill to focus on. I was very excited to deliver my session as I Football is a sport I am very confident coching and I wanted to be able to show my coaching skills. I also knew this would be a very invaluable opportunity as I could gain feedback on my coaching style from individuals from the SFA.

At the end of my session there was a feedback session. This allowed for me to gain external feedback from SFA coaches as well as all the other participants on the course. The feedback I received was great! I was so overwhelmed by the great responses from coaches of all ages and experience. I gained a lot of new drills and practises to use within my sessions and learned more about good coaching practise.
A coach at the SFA also asked if he could interview me regarding the work I have been doing not only in Football but in sport overall over the past 6 years! I was delighted! I grabbed this opportunity with both hands.

Overall, this was an excellent last week on placement. I was able to continue my CCD as well as networking and receiving feedback from external outlets. The main message I gained from this week was regardless of your age and experience there is always new things to learn and there are always ways to improve and develop as a coach and as an individual. Although I have completed my 30 hours of the module, I will continue to take opportunities within sport and push myself out my comfort zone.

– Stephanie.

This week was another busy week at placement as the semester is soon coming to an end.

On Wednesday I attended Castleview Primary for the play unified club. This week Craig was there and when I arrived he had some activities set out. He then explained to me what the activities were and asked if I had any other ideas. So when the children come in they all got a basketball and just played around for the first 10 minutes. Then they all lined up and done some passing drills. They then done a shooting drill. This week Craig had a smaller hoop set up which is easier for the children to reach. So to begin with they just took a shot. But then Craig added in a pass then they took their shot. This session went well.

Then on Wednesday after school I attended Fallin primary school for an after school archery club. This was the final week of the archery club. So as usual the children got split into teams and me, Rebecca and Ronan got selected as group leaders. This week my team was a person short so I had to join in to make up numbers. This was great fun and it got quite competitive. This was a good session but it can become quite challenging as the children can get quite loud and hard to handle. But this was resolved when Craig asked the children to quite down.

On Friday I attended an after school dance club at Fallin Primary. This club is slightly different as it invites children and their parents. Rebecca led this class and it was nice to see her coaching a session in her comfort zone. I joined in with the children in this session. This was a good session and everyone enjoyed it.

-Chloe