This last year has been a really good one for me and I have grown a lot in terms of my coaching knowledge and coaching practice. I started my Post Graduate Diploma with the University of Central Lancashire in Elite Coaching Practice, which has challenged me a lot. Being given specific areas to research and add to my practice has meant I am starting to really assess what I am doing, how effective it is, and what else I can do to really add value to my players and programmes.
Another huge factor in my development has been my experience with England U16 Boys as an Assistant Coach under Mark Bateman and alongside Jerome Goudie. I’ve loved watching them, listening to them, and talking to them about all things Talent ID, Development, and Hockey. It’s also been great to work with a team of boys who are high achieving within their age group and helping them prepare for competition against the best of Europe. The programme started at the back end of the Summer last year and finished this afternoon as we beat Ireland 5-1 in the last game of the 6 Nations Tournament at Nottingham Hockey Centre, having already beaten Germany earlier in the week.
Unfortunately, due to some funding cuts, the role of Second Assistant Coach for each of the England National Age Group Squads is being made redundant. Having a Second Assistant Coach was a luxury and very much a role for the development of the coach within that position. It’s been amazing, but it means I won’t be working with the U16 Boys again next year and that development opportunity for me is no longer there. I had a few moments of being rather upset about this as I’ve genuinely loved every minute of this programme, but then I sat back and realised that this is just part of my own Rocky Road as a coach, and that the ups and downs will make me really hungry for development and ultimately a better coach in the long run. With that in mind, rather than focussing on my England U16 role being taken away due to a lack of money from England Hockey, I am spending my efforts focussing on how I can keep adding value to the game and keep developing my coaching so that I might potentially be in a position to secure a job within NAGS when they go to advert again in 12 months, as well as making sure I implement my learning from the experience with NAGS in my other coaching. This development might be here in England or even elsewhere. One thing I learned early in my life; success is not about resources, it’s about resourcefulness. Time to get resourceful!
I want to thank everyone that has supported me so far, both this year and before. Andy Rogers, Ian Wood, Mike Joyce, Danny Newcombe, FIH, England Hockey, Mark Bateman, Jerome Goudie, UCLan, Arsenal, DKH Trust, CCHC, Max Caldas, Jami Mulders, and countless others. All of them have helped in different ways and have helped me become me.
Darren Cheesman 