Written by Nothamptonshire Sport
Through our partnership with Northampton Town Football Club Community Trust (NTFC CT), Northamptonshire Sport have been running the Volunteer Coaching Academy (VCA) for the last 3 years. The aim of the programme is to encourage more people from underrepresented groups into voluteering & coaching, by giving them the skills, qualifcations & experience needed.
Initally the VCA took place online due to COVID-19 restrictions, but now takes place face to face, with participaints recieving 8 hours of training from NTFC CT staff. They are then placed into volunteer opportunities at a local community sports club or within NTFC CT to continue their learning journey. In this time it is expected that those who take on the volunteer placements will act as a mentor to the new coaches, assisting them along their journey. Specalist support from Northamptonshire Sport & NTFC CT also takes place via webinars & coaching days.
Upon logging of volunteer hours, VCA graduates can earn coaching rewards to help their progression. This culminates in recieving £150 towards the cost of a coaching course upon completing 75 hours volunteering. The idea then is that graduates now have everything needed to gain paid work, either within coaching or using the transferable skills sports coaching provides to gain a job in a different industry.
So far a number of our graduates have gone on to do paid work, with NTFC CT, local leisure providers & private coaching agencies. In 2023-24 we aim to expand our offer to more groups across the county, diversifying our workforce & increasing volunteer/coaching numbers.