Coaches Chris O'Connor and Sara Norton achieved their Level 2 CCA coaching accreditation this year. Having caught up with Chris last week, we continue the series with Sara to ask her about her coaching and the significance of the accreditation.

CNC: How long have you been coaching?

SN: I have been coaching for about 14 years now. I started when my youngest daughter Beth decided she wanted to play netball and there was no-one to coach the team so I thought I would give it a go.

CNC: When did you first decide that you would like to work on coaching qualifications and when did you start these?

SN: When I first started coaching I had no idea that you could attend coaching modules and gain qualifications, so for the first few years I self-taught by using that wonderful thing called the internet. Eventually I was approached by Hornby Netball Club and asked if I would like to coach for them and that was when I was introduced to coaching modules. I completed my first five CCA modules in 2015. I had previously completed Starting Out in Coaching about 3 years before that and I had already completed PCC but it was rewritten so I had to complete it again.

CNC: You have now achieved your level 2. How long have you been working towards it?

SN: It has taken 3 years to finally complete all of the modules. Coaching and work commitments prevented me from completing these sooner. It feels great to have successfully completed them all.

CNC: Who are now coaching, how have you gone this year and how have recent courses helped?

SN: I have been coaching Hornby A for 5 years and the team continues to successfully move up a grade each year, this year finishing in Senior 2. This year I also took over coaching of the Hornby B team who are seeded in 2nd grade. I coach Middleton Grange A U19 team, they made semi finals this year and will be heading to SISS schools tournament to compete there. I coached the U14 White CNC representative team who came 3rd in their grade at Zone tournament and I do some coaching for Selwyn House School Year 7-8 team in my spare time. I used a fab activity from the Defence module with the Rep team this season which worked really well.

CNC: Do you have any advice for level 1 coaches thinking about undertaking their level 2?

SN: My advice is to do them, I always find at least one really awesome bit of information out of every module that I take away and apply in my coaching.

CNC: What is the best thing about coaching?

Sara: The best thing about coaching is seeing the players develop and grow as athletes. It is really rewarding to see players improve over each season. And having fun along the way is always helpful.

CNC: Describe your coaching style in three words

SN: Player/Team centred

Thanks Sara and congratulations on a great season! Sara is also the Junior Netball Coordinator at CNC.

Article added: Sunday 02 September 2018