My fourth week of work experience seen me work as a mentor for Smithycroft Secondary’s Sports Leaders. Firstly, I ran a ‘Good Coaching Practise’ Workshop for the Sports Leaders and then I mentored them at the local Primary Schools. After winning Sports Leader of the Year in 2015 as well as previously attending Smithycroft as a pupil, the role of a mentor gave me the opportunity to share my coaching experience and teach the leaders about good coaching practise. I was very excited about this opportunity and I couldn’t wait to get started.

The Sports Leaders are doing a 4-week block of Tennis coaching in the learning community which will then lead to a Tennis Festival at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow. I feel this is a great opportunity for the leaders to make a change in their community as well as getting to experience a first-class sporting arena.

This was the first time the leaders had coached young people before, so I knew I would need to step in and support them during the session. I was more than happy to do this, however, I found it difficult not to step in too much and I realised it was important to let the leaders learn from their mistakes. At the end of the session I had a feedback session with the leaders discussing what they did well and what they could improve upon. I feel this was very invaluable for both myself and for the leaders because it allowed for reflection and evaluation to take place in order for any adaptions to be made for the future.

This experience made me reflect on my journey as a coach and how far I have come. Starting as a sports leader to now qualified in a variety of sports, coaching abroad and working for a variety sports organisation, it has shown me that I have worked hard, took opportunities and pushed myself out my comfort zone.

-Stephanie.