Rutland judo coach bound for Japan

Lee Rowberry, SkillsActive - 02/06/09

Mike – who has more than 30 years experience in judo – beat out 57 applicants from around the country to receive one of six SkillsActive and Nancy Ovens bursaries, awarded annually to paid and un-paid individuals working within the sport, fitness, playwork, outdoors and caravan sectors. The bursaries are designed to help individuals improve their skills through an innovative training programme outside the scope of regular training.

Mike, who also manages a software company, is a judo stalwart in Rutland. Since helping to establish Vale Judo Club in 2003, Mike has helped grow the membership of the club to more than 180 members – more than half of which are girls or women. Under Mike’s direction, five of the club’s junior club members have gained places within national judo squads since the club was established.

Vale was also the first judo club in the East Midlands to be awarded the bronze and silver club mark awards and aims to be the first community judo club in the region to be awarded the gold club mark. Helping deliver 13 classes each week, Mike has helped grow the club’s coaching team from two to six coaches and also establish a schools judo programme. Today, the programme delivers judo courses to more than 550 children from eighteen schools around Rutland.

As well as coaching the Leicestershire judo squad for the past three years, Mike has also been studying towards a Foundation Degree in Sport Performance at the University of Bath, during which he has gained exposure to various international coaching systems. He is due to graduate later on in the year.

As a volunteer, Mike has dedicated over 10,000 hours to coaching more than 3,000 children and adults. He says: “In my view, every minute of my time has been worthwhile and well spent. I hope to be able to give even more to the sport going forward.”

Vale Judo Club is also sponsoring Mike’s trip, but he will need additional financial support if he is to board the plane next year.

In line with the bursary guidelines, Mike has created his own training experience in Japan to meet his learning and development needs. He plans to travel to Tokai University Sagami High School next February to shadow some of Japan’s top children’s judo coaches. During his five-week tenure, Mike will live and breathe judo, working with some of Japan’s finest young talent.

“There is not a wealth of learning opportunities like this in judo here in the UK, so what I wanted was to create a learning experience that would be more beneficial to me than another coaching qualification,” he says.

“Going to Japan will allow me to develop my understanding of how to teach core and advanced judo technical skills to children and improve and extend my range of coaching methods and techniques. I hope to increase my understanding of how judo is delivered as part of the school curricula and community and how the sport of judo is being developed in Japan. My specific area of interest is the infrastructure in place that helps coaches to identify, select and nurture talented junior judo players.

“I feel very fortunate to have been awarded a bursary from SkillsActive and the Nancy Ovens Trust and hope that I can gain enough financial support to fulfil this goal and come back from Japan a better judo coach.” 

SkillsActive – the Sector Skills Council for Active Leisure and Learning – and the Nancy Ovens Trust developed the SkillsActive and Nancy Ovens bursary in 2006 to enable individuals to take advantage of the wealth of potential learning opportunities within the active leisure and learning sector – both in the UK and abroad.

SkillsActive group chief executive Stephen Studd says: “SkillsActive is committed to improving the skills of individuals working in our sector, so is delighted to be able to offer a personal development bursary in partnership with the Nancy Ovens Trust.

“We hope that with our support and the backing of his local community, Mike will be able to go out to Japan and bring back new and improved skills which he can implement and use within his current role or future roles in the sector.”

For media enquiries, or for more information on Mike Newton, please contact Lee Rowberry from SkillsActive’s media team on: 020 7632 2025 or email lee.rowberry@skillsActive.com. For more information on the SkillsActive and Nancy Ovens Bursary, please contact Miriam Farley on: 020 7632 2918 or email Miriam.farley@SkillsActive.com.