Powerchair Football Coach

**Volunteer Trainee Powerchair Football Coach Required - Tuesdays in the sports hall at the Citadel in Ayr**

**Description**

Ayrshire Tigers Powerchair Football Club launched in 2015 in response to a lack of activities for children and adults, male and female, in the Ayrshire area who are Powerchair users.

The club is run by players and volunteers. We promote the sport of Powerchair Football and make it as accessible as possible to all wheelchair users who wish to try it. We also support those who wish to progress in the sport and show their talent and natural ability at national and international level.

Our mission is, “to help improve the lives of all disabled powerchair users, by reducing social isolation and engaging the whole community through the sport of Powerchair Football. We believe that all people regardless of ability should be able to engage in sport. Powerchair Football can be used as a vehicle to take sport out to the people in the Ayrshire community that are excluded from mainstream sport.

Ayrshire Tigers is all about inclusivity to all, allowing our players to play on a level playing field despite their impairments, meaning they forget about their challenges in everyday life when playing. The sport of Powerchair Football should be used as a way to increase self-esteem and confidence, while developing social skills and helping players to reach their full potential.”

The Club runs its own powerchair football training session on Tuesday evenings between 7pm and 10pm at the Citadel in Ayr. Session primarily for powerchair users across the Ayrshire region but manual wheelchair users can be provided with a club powerchair to allow them to play.

The Club is a registered charity which works in partnership with Scottish Disability Sport, Ayrshire Sportsability and the Scottish Powerchair Football Association (SPFA) to provide equal opportunity for powerchair users in Ayrshire to engage in team sport. The Club is an independent organisation run by its own board of trustees which is elected by its members. The club is focused on providing opportunities to play, coach and referee powerchair football and is open to everyone. The club's team is currently playing in the Scottish Powerchair Football League and Cup competitions.

We are currently looking for a coach to help run our weekly training session. The role will be voluntary to begin with but there is potential for this to become a paid position. The position will involve coaching the team on match days which take place on Sundays mostly in Stirling. These take place between 6 and 8 Sundays each year.

Powerchair football is an adaptation of football and no previous coaching experience is required; only an enthusiastic approach, commitment, and a willingness to learn. There will also be opportunities to gain coaching qualifications, through the Club’s affiliation with SPFA and the Scottish Para-Football, as part of the individual’s continued professional development.

The Club is committed to increasing opportunities available to participants with a disability and therefore would like to offer inspiring coaches the chance to learn how to coach Powerchair Football. You will be supported to develop your ‘personal’ coaching skills (communication, organisation, adaptability, and compassion) and your ‘how to’ coaching skills (instruction, demonstration, observation, analysis, feedback and questioning).

A full UK driving licence is desirable but not essential.

In return for your time, the club will help you to gan SFA coaching qualifications, First Aid training and put you through your PVG.

**We are interested in speaking with people that have a background as a/or worked for**:

- Sports Coaching
- Football Coaching
- PE Teachers and Teachers with a love for Sport
- Teaching assistants with a love for Sport
- Primary Teachers with a love for Sport
- Experience of working with disabled children/adults

**What is Powerchair Football?**

Powerchair is a competitive team sport for people with disabilities who use power wheelchairs. Powerchair Football is the most popular sport for power wheelchair users around the world and was created in France during the late 1970s. With steady growth, the sport is now played in over 25 countries, with more joining every year. Powerchair football is a disability team sport played by 2 opposing teams on a basketball sized court with four players per team, a goalkeeper and three attackers/defenders. Equipped with a metal or sturdy plastic foot guard attached to the front of the chair, players manoeuvre their chairs and use the foot guard to pass and shoot the ball.

**Opportunities**

Opportunities will include:

- Observation and the chance to deliver Powerchair coaching sessions.
- Coach observation and feedback.
- Mentoring opportunities.
- Opportunity to gain coaching and refereeing qualifications
- Coaching at SPFA match days.

Our aim is to support your understanding, knowledge and experience o