The Practitioner Development Programme (PDP) is a Sport Northern Ireland funded programme that aims to produce the next generation of coaches, scientists and medics for the Northern Ireland sporting performance system. Northern Ireland currently has a shortage in individuals capable of supporting significant improvements in athlete performance.
The PDP programme is modelled on the highly successful fast -track programmes used by UK Sport, to assemble their current batch of coaches and practitioners.
Sport Northern Ireland Talent Systems Manager, Robin Gregg had this to say about the PDP, “We have taken the best practice from the UK programme and developed our own programme to meet the needs of Northern Ireland. This makes use of expertise already resident in the Sports Institute Northern Ireland (SINI).”
Over the last year, twelve wide eyed sports Practitioners took part in this exciting programme, with participants varying from coaches to sports physiotherapist and sports scientists; it is an interesting mix of people, skills and experiences.
Amongst the group was Irish Cycling Performance Manager Tommy Evans. Tommy used his Award to attend the UCI Headquarters in Switzerland to observe other international coaches and to access online data analysis systems, all these experiences should help contribute to Tommy’s ultimate goal of creating a strong team of cyclists to compete at the 2012 Olympics.
Another “graduate” from the programme is Simon Harland, a self employed sports physiotherapist who had this to say about the programme,
“The Practitioner Development Programme has given me the opportunity to attend one of the largest international sports medicine conferences in the world in Seattle, USA. This funding has been a great boost to my career in high performance sport and one in which all Coaches, Sports Scientists or Medical related professionals should embrace.”
Swimming Coach Andrew Reid is another participant and is coach to Irish triathlete Aileen Morrison, Andrew attended several workshops as part of the programme and two international conferences and had this to say of the programme,
“Attending the British Swimming Coaches Conference provided me with an invaluable insight into High Performance programmes across the world and I also attended some UK Strength & Conditioning workshops which really broadened my knowledge and experience of Strength & Conditioning for swimming.”
Sports Institute Northern Ireland Performance Analysis Intern Laura Ostler is also part of the Practitioner Development Programme and had this to say,
“The PDP provided me with a fantastic opportunity to meet other practitioners and coaches working at the frontline of sport in Northern Ireland, and learn from shared experiences. The PDP has given me a greater understanding of the role of Sport NI in creating a high performance sport network in Northern Ireland with which we as practitioners and coaches fit into.”
This month, the second year of the PDP practitioners were presented with their certificates by Dr Olive Brown, Board member of both the Sports Institute Northern Ireland and Sport Northern Ireland.
Dr Olive Brown is delighted with the development of the programme and had this to say,
“This programme offers an opportunity to develop the knowledge, competences and behaviours associated with High Performance sport. Developing people is crucial step in terms of developing the high performance system in Northern Ireland.”
