The JudoScotland Kaizen Academy

We are excited to launch the third intake to The JudoScotland Coach Academy in association with Neil Adams Effective Fighting. This two year programme will recruit up to six coaches from across the country with a view to improve their awareness of the ‘craft of coaching’; improving their technical knowledge and help them on the road to independent coaching through a dedicated programme of continued professional development.

On completion of the programme each coach should be qualified to Level 2 in Coaching Judo and be in a position to support improved sustainability, additionality or development of the club’s programme. They will also have a clearer view of our performance pathway and be on their way to working with athletes within it.

We are delighted that Neil Adams MBE from Neil Adams Effective Fighting and Japanese Superstar Shohei Ono will work closely with each coach throughout the programme looking at their technical aspects of their coaching and providing the coach with some golden nuggets to add to their coaching..

Each coach will be able to access:
• 3 x Blueprint Sessions
• 3 x Disability Inclusion Training for Judo
• The Gathering annual weekend seminar
• 2 x Kata course
• 1 x 1 hour online one to one sessions with Neil Adams MBE
• 1 x exclusive academy group session with Neil Adams MBE
• 1 x exclusive academy group session with Shohei Ono

Overview of Course Content

The Coach Academy offers coaches a variety of opportunities to develop their coaching:

Neil Adams MBE is a former World Champion and Double Olympic Silver medallist, he is a 9th Dan in the sport of Judo and is recognised as a world expert in our sport. Neil will be doing one-to-one sessions with our coaches more on the technical aspects of how to coach a technique and later in the programme will take an exclusive session with the group.

Three-time World Champion and Double Olympic Champion, Shohei Ono will lead an exclusive academy group session for the Coaching Academy on the Friday night of The Gathering.

The Gathering is a weekend seminar where we share our judo coaching philosophy through judo and non-judo-based sessions with coaches from all over the country. The Gathering also provides a unique social opportunity for the Scottish Judo Community.

Through Kata practice, coaches learn the principles of techniques and how they work in their most effective form.

The JudoScotland Blueprint sessions have been developed in conjunction with our new Player Development Framework. They aim to breakdown the key components of the Framework for coach education through sessions with experts in their fields.

Our Disability Inclusion Training for Judo Workshop aims to provide coaches with improved confidence in supporting players with disabilities while also developing the tools to help them.

The Cost

The approximate overall cost of this programme is £2000, to access the programme we are asking clubs/coaches to invest £250 per year with JudoScotland supplementing the remaining costs though membership investment. Acceptance to this programme is upon application and preference will be made to clubs who:
• Prioritise workforce development;
• Have demonstrated a commitment to personal development;
• Demonstrate a commitment to membership or pathway development;
• Are committed to providing performance pathway opportunities for judoka.

Coaching & Volunteering

The Coach

We are looking for coaches at Level 1 or 2 who have the support of their club and who are keen to attend a series of professional development courses and work with coach developers to help them improve their craft of coaching. Following the programme, any level 1 coach must have completed their Level 2 course and we would be expecting the coach to take over a night at their club with the support of their club or open a satellite club, again with the support of their club or start a club on their own but we would hope this in partnership with their parent club. This coach would not currently be doing any of the above as the programme is not aimed at head coaches but the coaches that work under them.

For further information please contact Paul McGuinness using the details below:

Paul McGuinness BSc MSc
People Development Executive
PaulMcguinness@judoscotland.com