IHA Youth Leader workshop in Pembroke on Sun, Dec 18th

The Irish Hockey Association are running a Youth Leader workshop in Pembroke Wanderers on Sunday, December 18th. It is open to anyone aged 15-21.

Pembroke members please contact Sinéad Guilfoyle if you would like to attend.

What is the Youth Leader Programme?
The Youth Leader programme was set up to introduce young people, aged between 15 and 21, to volunteering in their hockey club. The aim of the programme is to enjoy all aspects of the sport of hockey rather than concentrating on playing only. To do this, the programme focuses on 3 main areas which are umpiring, coaching and team management. The Youth Leader programme helps to pass on skills, top tips and most importantly confidence so that Youth Leaders can get back out to their clubs in order to put their new found knowledge to use!

How does it work?
Each Youth Leader starts the programme by coming to a 4 hour Introductory Workshop which covers coaching, umpiring and team management. In order to come onto the Youth Leader Programme, each Youth Leader must attend and complete the Introductory Workshop. Once the Youth Leaders have attended the workshop, they head back to their clubs where they are required to complete 5 hours of contact time.

How do the logged sessions work?
At the introductory workshop, each Youth Leader is given a Youth Leader Workbook. The workbook holds a number of blank sessions that the Youth Leader must complete. This is done by completing 5 hours of sessions within the club. The five hours can be made up of coaching, umpiring, team management or a combination of all three! Once the sessions are completed, each Youth Leader must get their workbook signed off by a club representative. When that is done, the club lets the IHA know and we release the certificates at the end of each season. It is up to the clubs to then present the certificates to their Youth Leaders.

What can my club do to help our Youth Leaders?
The IHA gives responsibility to each club to make sure that they give their Youth Leaders meaningful and enjoyable responsibilities. And also to make sure that each Youth Leader is helping out in an area that interests them! In order to help do this, each Youth Leader completes a Self-Evaluation form at the workshop. We then ask the Youth Leaders to show this to their club so that the club clearly understands what the Youth Leader would like to get out of their time on the programme.