This Girl Can Coach gets royal seal of approval

• PGA pros meet HRH The Princess Royal
• Highlight This Girl Can Coach campaign
• Spotlight on female coaches involved in high performance coaching

Two PGA Professionals helped put the spotlight on the This Girl Can Coach campaign with a royal audience this week.

Sarah Bennett (right) and Lysa Jones (left) met HRH The Princess Royal at Loughborough as part of the ‘Women into High Performance Coaching’ development programme. 

• “It was brilliant, she really took time with us,” said Jones, who is based at The Oaks Golf Club  in Yorkshire.
• Bennett from Three Rivers Golf and Country Club in Essex, added: “It’s great to have the support of HRH who was extremely knowledgeable and very interested in our roles.”

The pair, who coach for the England Golf Performance Squads, revealed how they have benefitted hugely from their involvement with the programme over the past six months, acknowledging the positive impact their experiences have had personally and on their effectiveness as a coach.

• “Having the opportunity to meet and talk to female coaches from other sports has been invaluable.” said Bennett.
• “Golf can be a very individual sport and as a PGA Professional you can find yourself feeling very isolated.
• “Coming together with like-minded, ambitious women to discuss coaching experiences has been fantastic and I know that I will continue to benefit from my new network of support in the months and years to come”.

Jones added “For me this programme has encouraged me to believe that I can achieve anything and has helped me to understand how to overcome any barriers that appear along the way.

“I have always been ambitious and am proud of my coaching success to date – I now feel more confident in pushing myself onwards and upwards.”

The duo were nominated for the programme by England Golf’s performance director, Nigel Edwards, and reflect the PGA’s Right Coach; Right Place; Right Time philosophy.

Both believe their increased confidence and self-awareness will mean that they can continue to be the ‘right coach’ for the players with whom they work on a daily basis.

This final workshop, the third in the programme, was focussed on raising the profile of women in high performance coaching and the attendance of HRH The Princess Royal provided fantastic motivation for everyone involved.

During her visit HRH took part in a discussion with a number of governing bodies of sport, including The PGA represented by Jane Booth, Head of Coaching Systems, who said:

• “Raising the profile of female PGA Professionals as a key part of a diverse workforce is an important priority for The PGA over the next few years.
• “Golf is a fantastic game that can be played by anyone, and it is important that women are able to see golf as a possibility for them – both in terms of participation but also perhaps as a potential career opportunity.”

sports coach UK, the country’s leading agency for coaching, believes that more women coaching offers more choice and more coaches, which means more women participating in sport.  

• Although women coaches account for 30 per cent of the workforce overall, the number of qualified female coaches drops to 17 per cent.
• sports coach UK has identified that lack of appropriate female coaches is one of the main barriers preventing women taking part in sport.

Referring to a specific campaign launched at the event attended by HRH, Helen Davey, Deputy CEO of sports coach UK, said: “This Girl Can Coach is about women of all ages and backgrounds, coaching with real confidence, whilst having fun.  Coaching not only helps women build leadership skills in the sporting arenas, but empowers them to reach out confidently in all aspects of their lives.”