Trudy is a standout learner on our Sport Coaching Course.

 We spoke to her and asked her to share her experience!

Trudy, where are you from.

The Far North!

 What is your role as coach?

I was the Northland Men’s and Women's Volleyball Development squad coach for 2023, 2023 high school indoor coach, 2025 High school beach coach 2021-2025 Beach Volleyball coach for a pair that won the North Island Junior secondary schools beach volleyball championships, 2nd in the Auckland schools beach champs and one of the pair went on to place 4th at the IPC beach tournament.

 Why I joined the WILSS sport coaching course;

I joined the WILSS sport coaching course as I was being overlooked for beach volleyball and indoor coaching opportunities. I wanted to get a formal qualification to go along with practical experience.

 How have you found the course?

I have really enjoyed the content and everything we’ve covered is very practical and just gives you a wider appreciation of all different kinds of coaches and coaching styles. It makes you take a good look at yourself and how you coach, interact with players, how you structure your trainings and how they flow.

 The interactions with other students on the course is fantastic.  We are all from different backgrounds, coaching at different levels, some elite high level, some volunteered to coach as no one else put their hands up for that particular team, coaching different age groups and different sporting codes makes the conversations lively and informative and people drop different pearls of wisdom or share some specific insight which gives you a whole different perspective.

 The facilitator runs the program smoothly and with humour, keeps things moving and actively listens to each individual's perspective.

 Any key learnings or Reflections?

Every athlete that plays a sport is driven by different goals and each athlete is an individual. Get to know your players, find out why they are there and what they want to achieve; some players just want to be with their mates and some may want to represent NZ.

I love the following quote

 “A good coach can change a game.  A great coach can change a life”

 I would add on to that quote with

 “Equally a bad coach who plays favourites, has poor communication and has no clear pathway for athletes to play at a higher level, destroys the athletes the love of game and turn players away”