Borough Life Autum 2006: Sport is… making the difference
Times and venues for coaching courses
Active Coaching Session take place at the following times and venues:
- Hindley Leisure Centre – Every Friday from 7pm until 9pm.
- Hindley Leisure Centre – Every Saturday from 9am until noon.
- Leyland Park – Every Thursday from 6pm until 9pm.
- Orrell Holgate School – Every Monday from 6pm until 9pm.
- Orrell Holgate School – Every Wednesday from 6pm until 9pm.
- Winstanley Primary School – Every Friday from 6pm until 9pm.
- St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School – Every Monday from 6pm until 10pm.
- Stubshaw Cross Park – Every Tuesday from 6pm until 10pm.
- Jubilee Park – Every Wednesday from 6pm until 10pm.
- Ed Collins Park – Every Thursday from 6pm until 10pm.
- Platt Lane Multi-Use Games Area – Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6pm until 10pm.
Simply turn up to one of the sessions or call the sports development unit on 01942 404982 for more information.
Tiger Woods has got one, so has tennis ace Roger Federer, while England cricket star Andrew Flintoff’s got a couple!
Behind every great sporting hero there is just one thing… a great coach.
Whatever your game, if you want to make it big then you need the right person on the sidelines, taking you through your paces and spurring you on.
But here in Wigan you don’t need to be a superstar to get a top class coach of your own. In fact all you need to be is a young person.
Wigan Leisure & Culture Trust (WLCT) has launched the Active Coaching Team and it’s taking top class coaching skills out into the communities of the borough.
Sports development manager Lynsey Randall explains: “This is all about getting Wigan active and getting more young people taking part in different sports.
“We have a team of 12 community coaches working all over the borough. Some are dedicated to teaching particular sports such as football and rugby whilst others are there to do multi-skills training.
“The idea is that instead of children and young people coming to us, we will go to them.
“So it’s not just at sports halls and school playing fields – you might find our sports coaches at all sorts of locations.”
In a short time the project has already scored a number of major successes. In its first three weeks, more than 300 young people across the borough got involved.
Over the summer holidays, summer sports camps for children and young people have been a great success.
Former barla international Rugby League player John McMullen was in charge of the summer school at Hindley Leisure Centre, which regularly saw more than 80 children a day come through the doors.
“We had a great time and I think the young people really enjoyed it,” he says. “When you think of the numbers, that’s 80 kids that were off the streets and taking part in enjoyable activities every day.”
John adds: “The level of coaching means we can appeal to kids of all abilities. We do general activities looking at co-ordination and fitness for children who may not have shown any interest in sport in the past, right through to top quality coaching for those who are already into their sport. It’s also a great opportunity to introduce young people to sports they may not have had any experience of before. It’s not just all football and rugby.” n