Second Workshop of Volunteer Zambia 2024 Delivered in Partnership with Sport in Action

On 12^th July Volunteer Zambia student volunteers ran their second coaching workshops for peer leaders from Hub-Sites across Lusaka. The focus sports were Netball, Basketball and Football, and partnered with National Governing Bodies including Football Association of Zambia, Zambian Basketball Federation and Netball Zambia. Throughout the summer Zambian participants will complete a total of six workshops and on completion receive an accredited entry level coaching qualification.

The qualification provide volunteer coaches with growth and leadership opportunities within their communities, increases their coaching knowledge and expands Sport in Action’s outreach across Zambia. The workshops are vital as they cover important topics ranging from health and safety, coaching fundamentals (positive coaching attributes, lesson planning etc), overview of how to teach sport specific drills and much more. This ensures that Sport in Action’s volunteers are equipped with the necessary tools to run safe sports sessions across the country and are able to increase participation amongst young people who wouldn’t have access to sport without the NGO.
Jack Preston, Wallace Group International Sport Development Officer said, “At Sport in Action there is a belief that Sport Development and Sport for Development go hand in hand. The higher the quality and capacity of sport delivery, the greater chance for sport to change the life of a young person through interconnected opportunities. Sport has a unique power to change lives, and the workshops enable these budding new leaders the chance to change not only their own, but thousands of other lives through sport because of their newfound leadership.”

A focus of the most recent Basketball workshop has been drill progression; how to take an exercise, then place it into a competitive game situation. Jude Williams, Basketball Development Officer from Cardiff Met University, explains “Our aim is to support the coaches with their development. Throughout the workshops we are helping them on their way there and it is important we show them how to coach to the best of their ability. I think the future is bright for all these coaches here. We have so much to show these guys and they have so much to show us, it is nice to share what I have learnt with them.”

In addition to knowledge exchange, a goal of Sport in Action is to increase female participation. It is essential that females are encouraged to take part in the workshops, to provide them with equal opportunities and progressions as their male peers. Young female participants can’t be what they can’t see and having leaders within the community advertising the benefits and inclusivity of Hub-Sites, and demonstrating how sport can provide a brighter future is essential.

The Volunteer Zambia students are excited to continue the workshop and to see the progression in the quality of coaching the participants are displaying. It is another positive step towards independently run Hub-Sites, which require little to no intervention from Sport in Action and a future where all young people have access to safe sport.