Northumbria academic named ‘Coach Educator of the Year’

Anita Navin, Head of the Department for Sport Development, won the category of Coach Educator of the Year at the 2011 UK Coaching Awards ceremony in November.

Hosted by Sports Coach UK, the awards recognise and celebrate the talent, hard work and dedication of sports coaches and those involved in developing coaching. Sports Coach UK praised her commitment to sports coaching, citing her “continuous professional development and coaching research” as key to ensuring netball has appropriately skilled coaches at all levels and environments.”

Anita has worked with various sporting governing bodies, including British Tennis and the League Football Association, to embed bespoke university-level study into coaching education and development programmes.

Speaking about her success, Anita said: “It was a fantastic evening, celebrating all those involved in coaching. I am so grateful to all those in Netball, Higher Education and other sports who have allowed me to take so many opportunities and develop as a coach and educator- those people know who they are. To receive so many good wishes from those operating in over 30 sports was truly amazing.

“I was in Liverpool last week to watch England become the World Netball Series champions, so to receive this award comes at a fantastic time for the sport.

“The staff at England Netball allow me to experiment with ideas, accept the research I do to inform their work and it is a great team to be in. In addition, to be applauded by HRH Princess Royal made the night very special!  

“It's also nice to be bringing the trophy to the North East at last.”

England Netball describes Anita as “one of the most recognisable faces in English Netball.” She is a commentator on Sky Sports for the FIAT Netball Superleague and has over 25 years of service within the game.

A member of the Higher Education Advisory Group with Sports Coach UK, Anita also serves on the International Federation and advises on global coaching developments. She supports the legacy project with UK Sport which works to train coaches in Africa.

This month Anita will travel to Botswana where she will lead on a coaching development strategy with the sport ministers of six nations. In addition she will work with coach developers on innovative training approaches with the young coaches in their respective nations.

Sports Coach UK is a leading UK registered charity which aims to facilitate UK coaching excellence by supporting and challenging partners to improve their coaching systems and grow their contribution to a cohesive UK coaching system; developing coaching learning and support that complements sports-specific programmes and aligns with public policy; and providing research and good practice that benefits coaching.

Competition for this year’s awards was exceptionally strong in all categories, with more than 300 nominations received from over 30 sports.