Sporting giants speak at ICCE
England Rugby Union Head Coach, Eddie Jones, and Olympic gold medallist in hockey and LJMU Honorary Fellow, Kate Richardson-Walsh, are leading an international sporting line-up descending on Liverpool this summer to speak at the global conference of the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE).
Previously held in Paris, Sydney and Beijing, Liverpool John Moores University successfully bid to bring the conference to ACC Liverpool. The University has now secured Eddie Jones and Kate Richardson-Walsh as keynote speakers at the conference, a biennial event held by the ICCE. The ICCE leads and develops sport coaching globally, and its members seek to enhance coaching at every level of sport and give athletes around the world the chance to pursue excellence.
Talking about his decision to present at the conference, Eddie said: “It’s an honour to be asked to share my experiences at this prestigious international coaching conference. Coaching is clearly a great passion of mine and it is fantastic to see the ICCE and LJMU taking a proactive step to further support the development of sport coaching as a recognised field of expertise.”
Kate, who captained England and GB’s hockey teams for 13 years, added: “I’m delighted to have been asked to speak at ICCE’s global conference. I am currently playing club hockey in addition to working as a coach, which gives me a fairly unique perspective on coaching from both perspectives, as athlete as well as trainer. I look forward to sharing my experiences with many of the world’s leading authorities in coaching.”
LJMU is renowned for being at the forefront of innovation and development in sports coaching and sports science - last year the University celebrated the 40th anniversary of its Sport Science degree programme, the first of its kind to be offered in the UK. Liverpool’s proud history of developing elite athletes, alongside LJMU’s world leading research in sports coaching, were integral to ICCE choosing Liverpool as the host city for the global conference. Excellence in delivering sport coaching educational programmes is recognised through awards such as the Skills Active and Sports Coach UK’s Higher Education Endorsement Scheme and UKCC Level 4 accreditation.
Tabo Huntley, Chair of the Conference Committee and Senior Lecturer and Sports Coach at LJMU, said: “We’re delighted that two such well-known and inspirational leaders in high performance sport are speaking at the ICCE Global Coach Conference. The combination of applied experience and academic research will shine a global spotlight on Liverpool and LJMU as a key player in the development of sport coaching practice at an international level for years to come.”
The conference will provide delegates with insight, experience and debate about how the global sporting community can extend the frontiers of knowledge and practice in order to pursue coaching excellence along the sport pathway. Delegates will have the opportunity to integrate with international business, world-leading academics and internationally-respected expert practitioners though lectures, practical sessions, discussion and demonstrations.
The conference takes place from 31 July to 2 August 2017 in ACC Liverpool - home to BT Convention Centre, Echo Arena and Exhibition Centre Liverpool - on the banks of Liverpool’s world heritage waterfront. It has been voted Best UK Conference Centre for four years running.
Kerrin MacPhie, Director of Conference and Exhibition Sales at ACC Liverpool, said: “ICCE is a prime example of the important partnership between the University, the city and the venue – highlighting the team effort that goes into bringing and hosting an important conference of this nature.”
