Crusader Foundation offering young people coach education course
Coventry Crusaders Basketball Club’s charity, the Crusader Foundation, has recently launched a coach education course helping young people who aren’t in education, employment or training (NEET).
Known as Steps to Your Future, the 12-week programme – courtesy of the European Social Fund – is aiming to enhance 16 to 18-year-olds’ employability by providing them with the experience and skills to teach basketball. This is done alongside professional coaches in primary and secondary schools. The course also caters up to age 25 for people with special needs.
This is the Crusader Foundation’s latest project in aiming to promote the development of basketball in the community and improve young people’s lives through sport.
The Crusader Foundation’s new programme already has one success story through 17-year-old Matthew Powers. The programme has provided Matthew with a range of skills that he didn’t have before. These include an England Basketball Level 1 Coach Award, aspects of multi-sport coaching, first aid, and helped nurture goal setting and time management.
Stating why he decided to attend the Steps to Your Future course, Matthew explained: “I like my sports and wanted a working opportunity that fitted in with what I enjoy.”
“I enjoyed learning from the coaching mentors as they were from diverse backgrounds, like the USA and Africa, and the opportunity I had to teach people the game of basketball in schools.”
Matthew put in extra time helping at the Coventry Crusaders Wheelchair Basketball Academy, based at Woodlands Academy, where he was able to put into practice what he had learnt on the course. Matthew has led whole group warm-up activities and has been working on individual skill development, and he values what the whole experience has taught him as he embarks on a career in the army.
“The course has helped me to become more self-confident, especially in my communications with people,” he said. “I know this will help as I move on to the army, in future interviews, and future employment possibilities.”
The Crusader Foundation is looking to recruit for the course over the next month. For more information, please email Crusader Foundation director Scott Neely at scott@crusaders.co.uk.