Our hockey club, based in East Kilbride, has three teams. None of the players are getting any younger, so we decided to
set up and run sessions for local school children at weekends. I took this on and got in touch with the Scottish Hockey Union
(SHU), the governing body of the sport in Scotland, to find out what 'official' things I would need in order to run these
sessions.
Over the summer 2004 I attended the SHU’s Leader Course then the Level One Course which equips you with skills to
teach hockey to novices. A compulsory part of the level one course was the sports coach UK Good Practice
and Child Protection workshop.
When I got there it was quite interesting - I don’t work with children or young people and haven’t been involved
in any clubs with them so I had nothing to compare the course to. But it was good. Other people had more experience and a
few had been coaching kids who told them they’d been abused. I’d never heard anything like that before and it
was of real benefit to hear them relate their experiences.
Shortly after the course, following a Disclosure check, I set up a junior hockey group in East Kilbride which is still
going strong. I coach a number of kids aged between 6-13 years. The training certainly makes me think about how to approach
the kids – especially on a physical level. I think about where to stand when I’m talking to them and how to react
to them. One day a child split his head open and I was well prepared in how to deal with that – my first aid was adequate
and I was armed with his mum’s contact numbers. He was back within a week for more!
The gents club is due to merge with the local ladies team next year and plans are already in place for a number of the
girls to undergo the same training that I did. That means that they’ll be able to help out with the juniors, who will
hopefully feed into the senior teams as they progress. I’ve been handing out self declaration forms to everyone who
will be involved and have drawn up a child protection plan based on SHU guidelines, which will be used by the new club.
I do think it’s really important that we ensure coaches act appropriately and that the kids are protected while enjoying
playing the game. It’s also some reassurance that if a child was to come forward with a problem, we’d have some
idea of how to deal with that sensitively and appropriately.
For more information, contact me:
Scott Taylor,
Junior Coach/Child Protection Officer
East Kilbride Avondale Hockey Club
Tel No. 0141 204 0066
