Health and Fitness Focus
At a time when the route for the Olympic Torch is announced, we here from America that overweight welfare claimants in the state of Arizona face paying $50 (£31) fines if they don’t follow a dietary regime laid down by their doctor..jpg "Olympic Torch")
In the UK there health and fitness has become well established in the National Curriculum and demonstrates an understanding that Education is fundamental to improving the health and fitness of the nation. Currently it is one of 6 areas of study at Key Stage 3, described as exercising safely and effectively to improve health and wellbeing, as in fitness and health activities.
Tacklesport’s soon to be released updated and improved “Fitness and Health’ resource supports the National Curriculum at all levels; it is an invaluable resource for teachers and students with its wide range of content and interactive worksheets and resources. View it now.
Digital Book Sales Soar!
As the debate about goal line technology in football rumbles on with a Premier League Manager and a former World Cup Referee both demanding its use, we can’t help smiling here at Tacklesport. Given the news this week (hardly surprising we believe) that the sales of digital books has soared in the UK and with news in March that Apple had overtaken Microsoft to become the most valuable technology company largely through sales of its iPhone (iPad sales weren’t included!), we really do think it is time for those controlling sport at the highest level come to their senses and understand that they are no longer in tune with modern thinking. Technology in all its different guises is here to stay; it has brought with it a different level of understanding and a different form of intelligence. Indeed they would do well to read Marc Prensky’s 2001 article Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants!
Back in the Nineties, as the first UK company to pioneer the use of multimedia in the teaching and coaching of sport, we were frequently told by National Governing Bodies of Sport that it ‘won’t catch on’ that ‘people prefer hard copy’, and amazingly in 2000, that ‘primary schools aren’t ready for computers’. Now, as more and more NGBs seek to become technologically competent and look not only to embrace PC’s, the internet and mobile technologies Tacklesport is again at the forefront delivering ground breaking coaching resources and Apps for NGBs at home and abroad – watch out for more news about Apps coming soon!
Lies, damned lies and statistics
GPS caution : News emerged last month that the University of Chester (UK) had completed a pioneering study using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology for a PhD study entitled ‘The Demands of Training and Playing in Elite Rugby Union’ The study will have both excited and terrified coaches and players in equal measure. As the technology becomes readily adopted, as it surely will, there will certainly be ‘no hiding place’ for professional athletes involved in team sports. Nor will there be a place in modern sport for those coaches who misguidedly once felt that the step from playing to coaching was a simple one.
The news comes at a time when other forms of technology have made the headlines and adds further weight to the argument that sport across the board needs to address issues related not only to the use of technology but also to its relevance and application. If the phrase “Lies, damned lies, and statistics” is not to become a truism in sport where statistics hold sway over knowledge and experience, there is a need for sports to invest in the education of coaches and coaching in ways they may have probably previously not considered, or may have even ignored.
Mick Owen may have departed confused from the recent Coaching Melting Pot Conference at Headingly but the news from Tacklesport is that we continue to be the company of choice for those organisations serious about getting to grips with the use of technology and the education of their coaches in its use.
Using technology in sport
Using technology in sport
| There can be no doubt that the pace of change in communication technologies is increasing exponentially – where once a laptop was a luxury there are now net-books, i-pads and mobile phones all capable of fulfilling a wide range of functions. Add in the internet, and the possibilities are endless. Whilst these developments create tremendous possibilities they have also undoubtedly created issues, chief among these being confusion. Where once there was clearly a failure by organisations to grasp the potential of multimedia in coaching and coach development (‘We have a video’, or ‘We are producing a DVD’ was often the response) there now exists a lack of understanding by many of what is the best solution in the promotion, delivery and support of coach education programmes. Whilst the growth of the internet has undoubtedly brought endless possibilities, the often ‘blind’ whole-hearted move into it is not without its issues. Tacklesport is working closely with proactive NGBs to provide sustainable solutions to overcome these issues. |
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As we enter the second decade of the century, multimedia, multifunctional, multiplatform programmes and resources must be understood and explored – if resources to support the teaching and coaching of sport do
not embrace this approach they are in danger of being out of date, ineffective and expensive. As previously stated, technology is moving at a fast pace and today’s digital natives operate in a world far removed from that which consisted of large, glossy ring bound folders with ‘circles and arrows and a description on the back saying what each one was’. Media rich software, portable computers, the internet and mobile technologies can now be combined to create, store, interchange and deliver information more effectively than ever before; they are capable of creating highly effective learning environments that can be tailored to the needs of the individual; they allow for training and support to be more accessible, for learning to be more relevant and adaptable to coach and teacher needs, and they offer a more cost effective, long term solution for the delivering organisation.
If you would like any more information or would like to enquire about how we can help you to create a more versatile, cost effective digital solution to the delivery of your sport, please feel free to call us on 0844 8487030.
Andrew Cushing
Integrating ICT in Education
Integrating ICT in Education is a hot agenda in the South African Curriculum – a growing market for Tacklesport
ICT use in education is at a particularly dynamic stage in Africa, with new developments and announcements happening on a regular basis. Tacklesport is working with a range of organisations to be at the
heart of this change.
The ‘E-education White paper’, the policy development on ICT in education dates back to 1995 and the goal of the policy is that every learner in the primary and secondary school sectors should be ICT capable by 2013. E-schools are defined as having learners who utilise ICT to enhance learning, qualified and competent leaders who use ICT for planning, management, and administration, and qualified and competent teachers who use ICT to enhance teaching and learning. The paper also states there should be access to ICT resources that support curriculum delivery and connections to ICT infrastructure. In such institutions therefore, the teachers and learners will be able to function across three dimensions such as operational (referring to skills to use ICT), Cultural (developing cultures that support the practices of using ICT) and critical (ability by teachers and learners to challenge assumptions embedded in the success stories about ICT)……….. Click here to read the full article
Adrienn Cushing
Latest Technology
Latest Technology
ECB Coach Education Tutor Weekend
ECB Coach Education Tutor Weekend .
Tacklesport recently attended Lords as guests and partners of the ECB Coach Education Department. Regional ECB Coaches Association representatives and Lead Field Based Trainers had been invited by
the Coach Education Department and the ECB Coaches Association to join them in a series of workshops and presentations. The weekend also included the Sky Sports Coach of the Year Awards held in the Long Room at Lords
For the past two years ECB Coach Education, in conjunction with other ECB departments and Sports Coach UK (scUK) have been examining cricket’s playing population in order to determine how cricket, through coaching can best meet the needs of their participants……..Click here to read the full article & view more photos
Mike Crisp
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Flair’s flair
Following England’s poor performance in the FIFA World Cup I heard Chris Waddle saying that we should be coaching young players to have “more flair”. Flair is one of those things that many people can recognise, but few can define. The words finesse / flamboyance / elegance could just as equally apply. Typically a player who takes risks in order to achieve success is deemed to “have flair”. Eoin Morgan’s wide range of shots would identify him as having “flair”. However the level of success he achieves isn’t down to merely flair, but he has been allowed (encouraged?) to practice these shots and then utilise them appropriately in the game.
If we accept that a greater of lesser extent “flair” is innate, then it is the PE teacher’s / coaches responsibility to allow it to flourish. Too often I witness young players being told what they should not do, rather than enabling / empowering / encouraging them to try a new skill or move before suggesting how they might refine or improve. The motivation behind this no risk taking mentality is to comprehend. Perhaps the danger of the under 11’s loosing a match is greater than allowing a player to develop!
If flair can’t be taught or coached, it can certainly be crushed. My plea is for the provision of learning environments where young players are given opportunities to try / experiment / rehearse with what is possible. Teachers and coaches have a responsibility to support their players in this exploration.
Let the children play; let the flair flourish!
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