Six brand new coaches and one coach tutor-in-training were taken through their Introduction to Coaching paces by Squash Ireland tutor Kieran Doherty at Belfast Boat Club last weekend.
Over a full day, Doherty took the group through the fundamentals of coaching squash for diverse audiences, including children and adult beginners.
This brand-new fundamental coaching award is a complete rewrite of Squash Ireland’s Leaders Course and brings the opening step on the coaching pathway fully into line with the Sport Ireland coach development pathway for Ireland.
Craig McCourtney, the Sport Ireland coach development officer, was in attendance in Belfast along with Niall Jackman, Squash Ireland’s Northern Ireland development officer and Dave Broderick, the Squash Ireland coach education lead.
Squash Ireland wish the very best of luck to the new coaches as they begin their club assignments and look forward to seeing them back with us for future learning opportunities on the Squash Ireland coaching pathway.
We also look forward to bringing this event around the country in 2026 and helping aspiring club coaches to begin their coaching journey.
Squash Ireland CEO Scott Graham said: “From our recent club survey, we recognised a strong theme from our club network around increasing availability and presence of grassroots coaches within the squash community who can empower their own clubs to deliver training opportunities for new players of all ages, and to upskill existing coaches to higher-level awards on our coaching pathway.
“The brand new Introduction to Coaching Squash course represents an important first step on the coaching journey for players, parents, teachers and club members across the country.
“We hope this is the start of an expansive nationwide programme that brings continuous coach development to all four provinces in the years ahead.”
