Coaching

Coaching Activities

Regular Club Activities

All club members young or old, beginner or expert, are encouraged to take advantage of the growing team of club coaches. Mastering navigational skills and improving your fitness can enhance both enjoyment and competition success.

Thursday 6-30pm at Groby College offers a variety of activities including gym based fitness training and forest based skills in Martinshaw wood and if daylight permitting further afield. (Autumn & Winter Terms)

Monday 6-30 at Groby College is an activities evening with the emphasis on beginners, juniors and fun. (Spring Summer and Autumn Terms)

Monday 6-30 at Loughborough will use local woodlands with activities suitable for all orienteers.

Become a club coach

Qualification Levels

Any orienteer 14 years and can become a coach. The club is keen for to take coaching qualifications and assist or lead sessions. Normally financial support needs to be sought from external agencies but the club may also give support for training.

For those wishing to do a one day taster course or just assist the Club coaches then Teaching Orienteering Part 1 could be attended. However most of the day needs to be repeated for the UKCC Level 1 qualification.

British Orienteering has a four level Coaching qualification with UKCC Level 1 Certificate in Coaching Orienteering being the first stage. The training course takes three days, two days instruction and one day assessment.

Orienteering Skills Development

Step System summarised

The step system builds the skills of orienteering sequentially and applies them to appropriate levels of difficulty one step at a time. Moving up the steps before mastering the basic skills can lead to the development of poor habits and inconsistent navigational performance.

At each level, the orienteer should a) master the individual skills; b) apply techniques appropriately; c) adjust speed to deal with the technical difficulty; and e) use relocation techniques appropriate to the skill level. The skills are summarised below.

Step 1

Orientating the map to line features; understanding map colours and common symbols; holding the map with a thumb in place to maintain position; following line features (‘handrails’); making decisions at control points. (White)

Step 2

Checking the map at significant points between controls (‘check points’); making decisions at handrail junctions; using catching features; judging distance by sight (e.g. half way between). (Yellow)

Step 3

Cutting corners and aiming off; using catching features; using a compass to orientate the map and determine direction of travel; interpreting all map symbols to visualise the terrain; judging specific distances (e.g. 100m along track); simplifying legs with several check points; using attack points; making simple route choices; (Orange)

Step 4

Using rough compass directions and catching features on long legs and more precise bearings on short legs; judging distance by pacing; reading simple contour shapes; making route choices taking into account speed, distance and secure navigation. (Light green)

Step 5

Navigating using contours only and interpreting complex contour detail; managing long legs with few distinct check points. (Green, Blue, Brown)

Useful Documents

Session Plan - A blank form to help in planning a coaching session can be downloaded from the links below in either pdf, doc or docx format:

Coach Clothing

All LEI Club coaches are entitled to reclaim the cost of a Coach jacket and T shirt from the Treasurer.