Since 2017, ITU Development has been working on the Coach Education Partnership Program.  In September 2017, the ITU worked with Triathlon Ireland to pilot the delivery of ITU Level 1 coaching courses in Ireland using the ITU Online Education Hub and course resources.  This has led to five successful Level 1 courses being delivered in Ireland over the last 12 months.  In September 2018, a pilot to deliver the Level 2 course was initiated.

The course was delivered over three separate weekends, using an approach that suited the needs of Irish coaches and their commitments.  The existing team of Triathlon Ireland Coach Developers (Facilitators) were guided and supported by experienced ITU Facilitators Emma Brunning (GBR) and Tony Jolly (GBR) to deliver the course.  The delivery of the course was a success and everyone completed the face to face elements of the course and are working towards completing their post course assessments.

This is the next step in an exciting development project, which ITU Development aims to expand to support more National Federations in developing a viable and sustainable coach education program for their own country, with the aim of enhancing and developing the sport of Triathlon around the world.

Niamh O’Gorman (Head Of Education): “We were delighted to be given the opportunity to pilot the ITU Level 2 course as part of the Coach Education Partnership Programme which allowed us to contribute to the development of the programme. We have a dedicated group of Triathlon Ireland Coach Developers who received amazing support from the ITU facilitators and Moodle administrator before, during and post course. The ITU facilitators provided significant tutor development opportunities and guidance around course delivery so that TI Coach Developers could deliver the course and receive feedback and support throughout the course and ongoing. We now have a really strong group of Level 2 coaches who will be fully qualified early in 2019”. 

Emma Brunning (ITU Facilitator): “The course proved successful, with both the coaches and facilitators showing significant development in knowledge, confidence and application of the learnt material. The course offered a great opportunity for everyone to share experiences and continue to build a great coaching workforce throughout Ireland. I believe this opportunity will enable everyone involved in Triathlon to benefit and continue to excel.”

Olivia McCartin (Coach): “I definitely think the practical element was fantastic, the bike, the run and the pool session. Picking up coaching tips from the other participants on the course as well was very good. I suppose you grow in confidence and that’s the main thing as a coach, you’re always growing and there’s never enough to learn and I guess that’s what I’ve gotten most from this course.”

Denise Murphy (Triathlon Ireland Coach Educator): “Having the ITU Facilitators to lead the course was great.  As tutors (facilitators) we got a chance to deliver and develop.  Emma and Tony pushed us to test ourselves, and provided great feedback and even got us to work together as a team.  Triathlon Ireland has worked hard in conjunction with the ITU to get us to where we are now with Coach Education and I think we have a great ITU accredited programme to offer coaches with the L1 and L2.“

In 2019 the ITU Development Team will be looking to expand the work of both the Accredited Coach Education Program (ACEP) and the Coach Education Partnership Program (CEPP) to further help National Federations expand their Coach Education Provision and help develop the sport.