The BF Coach Developer will be running an introductory coaching course in Doncaster on 5th and 6th October. Sign up today!
Ev Van Gemeren is an active member of the British Fencing community, known to many of us for his roles as coach, athlete, referee, and East Midland region committee. He is also one of the Coach Developers supporting the delivery of BF’s Coach Education and Licensed Partner programmes.
He has trained almost 900 instructors in the Core Coach course, BF’s specific training for organisations in the leisure and education sectors introducing the fundamentals of fencing to absolute beginners. Since 2018, he has also delivered several Introduction to Coaching Fencing (ITCF) courses, and taught nearly 70 fencing coaches the skills and attitudes to thrive in this career.
With vast experience in the field, Ev shared with us some of his views on coaching fencing, and advice that will inspire novices and fencers considering starting their coaching journey.
Ev is running one of the ITCF courses in partnership with Kingswood in Doncaster on the 5th and 6th October 2024, with exclusive FREE benefits. Sign up today to save your place, or click here to see all courses.
For those not familiar with the terminology of our Coaching Framework, BF call Community one of three distinct spaces where fencing is experienced (the others are Development and Performance). This is the space where beginner fencers are discovering the sport and connecting with their community.
The specific training here will be either Core Coach (mostly recommended for candidates with no fencing experience) or ITCF (for candidates already trained in Core Coach or who have at least 12 months of fencing experience).
Coaches who wish to work mainly with Development and Performance fencers should start with ITCF and then move on to Coaching Fencing Level 2 and Weapon Specific Level 3, as these progressive courses require you to understand and master the skills built in the previous ones.
Ev has a focus on this space and explains the coach’s role in it: “The Community coach is often the first friendly face a new fencer meets, so a warm welcoming approach is vital, an ability to be creative in their coaching styles, putting explanations in words or methods that a novice understands. You can be a Community coach if you have an open mind and a desire to listen and learn, we learn as much from our pupils as they do from us”.
Stepping into the salle as a fencing coach for the first time may sound daunting, especially if you are still new to the sport. That’s why our Coach Developers create a controlled, welcoming environment for candidates to practice, cooperate, and start building their confidence.
“I really enjoy taking the nervous, shy person who thinks that they may fail, can’t coach, and has little confidence, and working with them to prove they can!”. Ev remembers a non-fencing parent he trained and who later became a creative and coach, talking confidently with a more experienced colleague and showing tips and tricks on how to get better results.
The coaching journey is one of personal growth. When asked what candidates can expect to get from his courses, Ev says: “My courses probably push the boundaries and make my pupils think. I promise you will have fun, though!”.
A coach should be constantly learning, whether by taking formal training, getting real-life experience, or looking for all sorts of helpful content.
A final word from Ev to inspire everyone wondering if coaching is for them: “If you are thinking about it, then that means you have a desire to help others. This is all a new coach needs: knowledge we steal from others and quality by failing and trying again”.
Don’t miss the chance to learn from him in person and register today for the upcoming ITCF course on 5th and 6th October 2024, at Kingswood Dearne Valley, in Doncaster. Click the button below to book:
Find other BF courses here: Upcoming Courses
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