The BWF has recently held its first “virtual graduation” activities, recognising the accomplishments of our pioneer groups on the groundbreaking Coach Education Level 3 course. The first two pilots were run in Asia and Europe, with candidates exploring high-level topics in coaching, followed by a long-term course project, under the supervision of the course tutors.
Both the course topics and the subsequent projects challenged coaches to examine various aspects of their practice, including the way they interact with their players, the respective roles of coaches and players, and the role(s) of coaches within their national systems. As such, the Level 3 course goes much deeper into certain aspects of coaching, while also pushing coaches to look at the broader system to which they belong. On one hand, this helps coaches explore the nature of elite coaching as different from other levels of coaching. On the other, it also encourages them to consider their positions within the overall player pathways in their respective countries, not only in terms of how this affects what they do, but also how they may be able to positively impact those systems.
The first of the pilot courses was held in Asia (Malaysia) and the second in Europe (Denmark), both in 2018. The Asian course saw six graduates, from Singapore, Lebanon, Bangladesh, and Kazakhstan, as well as from neighbouring Oceania (New Zealand). In Europe, the 14 graduates represented Finland, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Slovenia, Czech Republic, and Netherlands. The new Level 3 coaches expressed their satisfaction with what they had learned over the challenging process and how they have been able to put the concepts into practice. We are looking forward to seeing their continued development and impact on badminton!
Coach Level 3 Graduation - Europe
Coach Level 3 Graduation - Asia
The third and final pilot course was held in Pan Am (Peru) in 2019, with a group of candidates nearly ready to graduate and join the ranks of their fellow Level 3 coaches around the world.
