Nancy Ovens bursary 2007

The bursary, sponsored by the SkillsActive and awarded by the Nancy Ovens Trust, is aimed at paid or volunteer coaches and leaders who work with children and young people in the active leisure and learning sector. Building on the fantastic experiences of the first year, eight people from across the sector are to be given the opportunity to increase their skills through a truly innovative range of placements and experiences.

The bursary awardees and the initiatives they are undertaking to develop their skills include:

• Richard Ashby, the current Lincolnshire U-17 and U-19 squash champion, will expand his squash coaching programme with Lincolnshire primary schools; 
• Norman Greenhouse, a voluntary coach with Welsh Badminton specialising in coaching disabled athletes, will gain experience with the disability badminton world champion and his coach in Holland; 
• Matt Johnson, Head of Development at Reading Rockets Basketball Club, will travel to Davidson University, one of the top Basketball Colleges in the USA, to train with their head coach; 
• Tom Lloyd, who runs a Portsmouth-based football academy, will spend a month at the Cary Soccer Association, pioneers of women’s football development, in Chicago; 
• Scott Nicholls, a full time lecturer in the Sports Department at York College, will train with and be mentored by professional coaches at the Headingley Cricket Academy with a view to establishing a cricket academy at York College; 
• Andrew Osborne, Head coach of Stroud Swimming club, will develop his coaching skills with top swimming coaches Graham Bassi and John Rudd at Bournemouth Dolphins and Plymouth Leander; 
• Rehanne Skinner, a women’s football coach for Leicester City Women’s FC, will gain football coaching experience with various men’s football teams including Everton, Hull and Sunderland, in preparation for undertaking her level 4 licence; 
• Janet Warrington, Head Coach at Hoddesddon Swimming Club, will shadow top swimming coach Chris Martin at the Scottish Institute of Sport in Stirling.

Click the names above to find out more or look at the following news items:

2007 in focus: Nancy Ovens bursary

Nancy Ovens bursary Update: Tom Lloyd

Nancy Ovens bursary update : Matt Johnson and Janet Warrington

Nancy Ovens bursary update: Norman Greenhouse, Scott Nicholls and Matt Johnson