One of our Areas of Focus here at British Dodgeball, is our #GetIntoCoaching area. Over the past couple of years, we have introduced Level 1, Level 2 and now Level 3 Coaching courses as well as tonnes of other resources for coach education, including our educational Dodgeball Explained series on our YouTube Channel. Whilst the standard and quantity of dodgeball coaches has increased drastically within the UK, we wouldn’t be able to do this singlehandedly; we rely on Tutors who deliver our coaching courses to a variety of participants and prospective leaders and coaches. Pat Lewis, is one of those Tutors.
Pat, 55 (who “feels 25”), plays dodgeball recreationally with Worcester Virtue Empire, but he predominantly focuses on the coaching side of the sport, supporting his club where possible – with such rising stars as Jamie Hughes, Tom Bell and Charlie Hopkins, all of whom originating from Virtue Empire, pat and the other coaches at Worcester must be doing something right! Starting just over 12 months ago, Pat has delivered four Level 1 & 2 courses for British Dodgeball, with the “intention to deliver many more”. But what got Pat into coaching and why dodgeball?
Impressively, Pat actually has 25 years of coaching experience under his belt, stemming from football (goalkeeping coach (GK)) and rowing. His child wanted to learn how to play football but there was a lack of local opportunities, so Pat took it upon himself to set one up and begin his journey as a coach. After years of finely crafting his ability as a GK coach, Pat gained interest in another sport, dodgeball, and when British Dodgeball advertised regional co-ordinator roles, Pat jumped at the opportunity. Then, the “dodgeball bug” hit him. Thoroughly enjoying the sport, Pat dived deeper into the opportunities available, finally landing on coaching and ultimately, becoming a British Dodgeball Tutor.
After receiving a couple of days in-person and online training, that was “very well delivered and not your bog standard powerpoint and go”, Pat was ready to deliver his first course as a BD Tutor! Finding a lot of “overlap” with his time as a GK Coach for the FA, as there were many “transferable skills”. But in contrast to his work as a rowing coach, Pat highlights his the speed of dodgeball and “how fast it is”; compared to rowing where you have time to “feedback to rowers”, if you don’t do something quickly within dodgeball, the “message will get lost”. In regards to the courses themselves, Pat would highly recommend them as:
“The courses are so good, as they are so condensed”.
Making the course “very accommodating for those with busy lives”, as you can learn all the necessary information in just one day! A comment we are very proud of is that Pat claims that we have constructed our courses better than other governing bodies, such as the FA and rowing, who he has delivered courses for in the past. If Pat’s totally unbiased review has intrigued you, you can find out more about our numerous available coaching courses and sign-up today!
When asked what he enjoyed most about coaching, Pat revealed that coaching allows him to “Interact with so many different people”, and he loves the challenge that comes with having to “work differently with each player”. You get to know them and find the best way to communicate with them; he states that this then spreads into other social/work areas of his life too. Pat went on to explain why more people should #GetIntoCoaching:
“We need coaches. Without coaches, you don’t get players. You get so much enjoyment from the role, from helping others in different ways; it’s not always just about helping with a throw, but also those 5 minute chats before a game, about life outside dodgeball. You are helping people and that is the best part of it.”.
Pat Lewis is a great example of a coach and we are tremendously lucky to have him as one of our Tutors! If you have been inspired by Pat, you can start your coaching journey today with one of our online or face-to-face courses. Who knows, you may just see Pat there! You can even start by simplifying “shadowing your coach” and learning from them. If you would like to learn more, you can head to our #GetIntoCoaching page, and if you’d like to become a paid Tutor like Pat, email hello@britishdodgeball.com to start the conversation today.
5 is the NEW 6!?
The second ever BUCS Dodgeball season came to a climactic end on Saturday 25th March, as the top University teams from around the country competed at UEA for the 2023 BUCS Finals Day! It was a phenomenal day of dodgeball which saw Derby Seahawks (University of Derby) crowned the Men’s & Women’s 22/23 BUCS Champions! A huge feat which any club would be proud of; however, the women’s team had to make their achievement even more impressive…
The Seahawks played with a team of only 5 PLAYERS for the entire Finals Day! Playing with no substitutes is impressive enough, but starting every set with a player down and winning the entire event is a miraculous statistic. The Seahawks claimed a comfortable 24-4 win over MUDS, followed by a thrilling game against the reigning BUCS Champions, Imperial Wolverines, which ended 16-10 in favour of the orange and blue. They then moved onto the finals where they faced Birmingham Lions, where they were crowned champions after an amazing 19-5 performance.
After watching the Seahawks play in such fashion, we spoke to Captain & Derby Phantoms player, Maddie Smith, about the victory and how they managed to pull it off with only 5 players:
Whether it meant having more room to dodge or just relying on a greater team synergy, clearly having 5 players isn’t as much of a detriment to the Seahawks as it may be for others. We would like to further extend our congratulations to Derby and to all of the University clubs for another fantastic BUCS Season! We cannot wait for the University Championships, the final University event of the year, this Saturday at DMU. Stay tuned!
The Community Celebrates the Women of Dodgeball!
At the start of March the dodgeball community celebrated International Women’s Day. A time to focus on the women and girls of our sport, without whom the sport would be worse off. From players and coaches to parents and staff, clubs from around the country came together to highlight the contribution that women have made to our sport. 2 of these clubs were Derby Phantoms and Manchester Bees.
The Phantoms took to social media, asking the community who their inspirational dodgeball woman is and why? Many tributes were sent in, such as: that of Bree Darcy for being the “definition of positive energy” and “hype queen” for the other female players of her club; Emily Walker for being the “nicest person to play with and against”; and our very own, Alice Bowler for her “tireless work giving thousands of juniors chances to play at school and club level”. It was a lovely movement by the Phantoms and we enjoyed seeing all the wonderful tributes that were sent in.
Manchester Bees took a different approach by hosting their annual International Women’s Day sessions. A time for female players to take to the court together, showcasing their ability and having a fun time. The Bees stated “We’re lucky to be surrounded by such dedicated and inspiring women at Bees as well as across the dodgeball community! However, there is still more that can be done! One of our main aims as a club is to encourage more women to give dodgeball a try!” – This is why their Academy session was free of charge and they ran a free session for adult women.
We were amazed by all the amazing celebrations across the community and we again, want to thank the women of our sport and highlight our #GirlsDodgeToo page, our dedicated Area of Focus.
Join our Coach Forum!
Our Coach Membership gives members access to a hub of available resources and open discussions every month! This month we have Easter themed activities for coaches to lead in their sessions; we even revealed a couple of these on our social media channels recently.
The recent Dodgeball Survey (2023) (page 3) highlighted that our members would like a Coaches Forum, to discuss all things dodgeball and coaching, well, we have a fully built forum, which any of our Coaching Members can access at any time!
Sign-up today through Just Go, to claim all the benefits available to you!
The Dodgeball Zone
Sign-up to our Level 3 Coaching Course in Kettering!
The Dodgeball Survey Report 2023 – The full report is now available for you to read!
Watch the ‘South Mixed University Open’ video, to get a taste of how exciting University Dodgeball has been this year.
Enter the annual Delicious Open! The charity event is now open for entry.
Got something you want to shout out to the dodgeball community in the next newsletter? Let us know by dropping us an email at hello@britishdodgeball.com.
