On the weekend of the 18th and 19th of May an Introduction to Coaching Taekwon-Do course was held in Shannon Taekwon-Do Centre under the auspices of the Taekwon-Do Advisory Board and IMAC. 13 Participants undertook 2 days of training covering topics such as; the child athlete, the role of the coach, motivation and discipline, observation skills, warm up, physical development, technical skills and instruction methodology, games for understanding and sparring tactics.

As usual the course followed a largely practical format with Tutor Adrian Byrne providing feedback and facilitation with the assistance of Mr Stephen Smullen. All coaches had multiple opportunities to try the coaching strategies and techniques discussed, sometimes with their peer coaches but also with young children from Shannon and Quin Taekwon-Do clubs who came along to help out.

I would also like to thank the children and their parents who volunteered their time on a Sunday afternoon to help new (and experienced) coaches to develop their skills. Finally I would like to thank and congratulate the coaches on their attendance and active participation on this seventh Introduction to Coaching Taekwon-Do course.

Adrian Byrne, Tutor