Programme lead, Craig Palmer, says he is excited to see the first of the 382 coaches undertaking Core Knowledge complete all 12 workshops over a three year period.
“While Core Knowledge is a programme delivered in partnership with NSOs, what is impressive with Jonathan is the way he has driven his development with the endorsement of Athletics NZ. He has totally ‘owned’ his professional development,” says Craig.
“His commitment to his professional development has seen him travel from his home base in Hastings to participate in the workshops and it is evident the in-person learning with his fellow, cross sport colleagues is real gold.”
Jonathan, for his part, seems a little surprised when he heard he was the first ‘graduate’ of the inaugural full Core Knowledge programme, which began in 2022 following a pilot in 2021.
While an experienced coach of some 15 years, Jonathan has previously self-funded through a series of workshops, conferences and engagement with fellow coaches to help his professional development.
Core Knowledge is, however, the first comprehensive coaching-specific structure he’s been involved with.
“I’ve been coaching at most levels for para and able-bodied athletes including being part of the Rio 2016 Paralympics coaching team, the World Para Athletics Junior Championships in 2017 and Oceanias in 2015 and 2019,” says Jonathan.
“To achieve my goal to be the best coach I can be of HP and pre HP athletes meant I had to take a step up. Because my group of athletes can typically include youngsters learning how to move, through to older, experienced athletes recovering from injury, I knew a structured, foundation programme like Core Knowledge was going to be an important part of my development.”
Of the many benefits he has seen through the programme, Jonathan is quick to highlight his top three.
“The workshops provide the opportunity to connect, listen and learn with other sports, to explore different ideas and challenges from colleagues with a wide range of different experiences.
“Secondly, I see Core Knowledge as being the scaffold to build coaching knowledge and to try important skills which is often difficult for many coaches who are typically volunteers with sporadic learning opportunities.
“Probably the most important benefit for me has been clarifying the ‘why’. Why am I doing this in the first place, how do I know I’m any good, what is the craft aspect, the philosophies and values, where are my strengths? These all help clarify why I want to be the very best coach I can be.”
Jonathan has been particularly impressed with the openness of instructors and the ability to sit down and ‘chew the fat’ with them both inside and outside the classroom.
With his Core Knowledge ‘graduation’ hat on, Jonathan says he would love to move up to the next level coaching programmes HPSNZ offers, if the opportunities present themselves.
