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Ellina Mhlanga
Senior Sports Reporter
TRIATHLON Zimbabwe national coach, Pamela Fulton, has hailed the Women’s Sport Leadership Academy High Preformance Coaches course.
The programme is designed for high-performance coaches, with the aim of preparing coaches to step up, and be part of an increased number of female coaches at continental, international and Olympic Games.
It looks at coaching skills in high-performance areas, leadership behaviour, and confidence, to progress in their career path.
Fulton was among 26 female coaches, from around the world, who were offered a place for the WSLA High Performance Coaches course in 2019.
They graduated recently.
“I was ecstatic but also overwhelmed when I heard that only 26 female coaches, from around the world from six different sport codes, were going to be on the course,’’ she said.
And, then to hear that I was one of the only five triathlon coaches to be invited, it’s a fantastic initiative to increase the number and standard of High Performance woman coaches around the world.’’
This pilot course consisted of a week-long residential session at Hertfordshire University UK, under the mentorship of a WSLA leadership mentor and a sport specific mentor.
The course finished 12 months later, with another residential week, at Hertfordshire university.
Fulton, who is also the Triathlon Zimbabwe vice president, said the course helped her come out of her comfort zone and prepared her to mentor other up-and-coming coaches.
“Due to Covid-19, the final residential week became four months of online sessions.
“Despite my first residential week being cut short, due to tragic circumstances regarding my parents, I gained so much experience, confidence and knowledge.
“I met some really inspiring facilitators and coaches and built some strong friendships.
“We were divided into groups and given many challenges often taking us out of our comfort zone and learning how to best work together to achieve.
“My leadership mentor, Linda Lowe, very patiently assisted me with catching up the missed sessions and continued mentoring me throughout the year.
“A very big thank you to Linda for bringing me back on track whenever I strayed from the 25 leadership competencies we had been introduced to.
“The online sessions were unbelievable. Often using new technology, connecting with friends, once again taking us out of our comfort zone, forcing us to self-reflect, be creative, learning how to work in teams online, on different time zones.
“Being able to come away from this course, with clear goals, and knowing I will always have a great support team, is very comforting,” said Fulton.
She paid tribute to World Triathlon, the International Olympic Committee Solidarity funding, WSLA, the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee and Triathlon Zimbabwe for the opportunity.
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