Leadership Congress – The Language of Leadership-Bridging Intention and Impact
(By Invite Only)
Mr Brendan Spillane
Session Synopsis
This is a by-invite-only congress session that brings together the leadership in the sport ecosystem.
A leader's language plays a critical role in driving performance while protecting wellbeing. Most of the leaders I work with have a good INTENT for their work and for the people they work with. But intent does not define IMPACT. Becoming more intentional about the way we speak as leaders helps us to ensure that we maintain the directness that performance and outcomes require while also maintaining the empathy that underpins wellbeing and good relationships. This Session will also examine psychological safety as a key pre-condition of the trust that strong teams achieve. Participants will be challenged to reflect on their own practice as leaders in the light of these key concepts.
Presenter Profile
Brendan Spillane Consulting
Founder
Brendan Spillane works with leaders in business, education and sport in the area of leadership capability and team cultural norms. A Keynote Speaker at conferences in many countries, he has worked with coaches in preparation for both the Rio and Tokyo Olympic Games. A former teacher and Principal, he has held representative roles at state and national levels in Australia. Pre-Covid, he was a key part of the Coach Accelerator Program, a professional learning program run by High-Performance Sport (NZ).
Singapore Badminton Congress: Profiling Players and What It Means!
Mr Martin Andrew
Session Synopsis
How well do we know our players? As a coach we think we do – but do we?
As we enter a 'new' period for Performance Badminton in Singapore we need to refocus our efforts on getting the best out of players, learning what skills are required to achieve in the future.
Players need a greater individual focus in their training - this does not mean individual sessions, but training with a greater influence on their development areas.
Coaches need to enhance this systems so they can get the best out of their players, and understand how their players learn.
Stronger profiling will improve talent identification mechanisms, taking us away from simply selecting on results with young players. Which in turn could improve the drop out rates that we see – this is across sports!
Why profile and what is it? In order to develop players to a world class level we need to know what is required of them at that level. Badminton is the world fastest racket sport! A skills based sport where players must be strong in each of the 5 elements. Technical, Tactical, Physical, Mental, Lifestyle. Any weakness within the elements will be exploited at the highest level. By using a profiling system, we can identify strengths and weaknesses in line with the parameters we identify at the top levels.
Profiling is a scoring system which needs to line up from junior through to the seniors levels, coaches can then identify whether players are on track and identifying the preferred traits.
Coaches can then shape the players training plans – focusing on their individual needs.
Presenter Profile
Singapore Badminton Association
Technical Director
Martin Andrew is Technical Director for Singapore Badminton Association. He is English and has been National Coach in New Zealand, Australia and Head Junior Coach in England. He is a Badminton World Federation Tutor, Assessor and Tutor Trainer, delivering all three of the BWF Coaching Levels. Martin is highly focused on working with players, encouraging them to get the best out of themselves and accept accountability – coach led, player based. Coaches need to understand players - each player is different!
Singapore Water Polo Congress: Leading Water Polo Into the Future
Mr Paul Dean Oberman
Session Synopsis
Can Water Polo return to the rich successes of past glory in Asia and South East Asia? This seems to be a question many within the sport ask but do not know the answer. By providing a uniquely Singapore Water Polo system through placing the individual player at the centre and supporting them with a development framework, educational workshops and a clear simple pathway structure which aims to progress them and Water Polo into the future.
Singapore Water Polo has rich history at the Asian Games and perennial SEA Champions since 1959 however the other nations are catching up and some have passed. To catch up we must learn what barriers and challenges we face, devise what best suits Singapore, adapt the best learnings from the strong Water Polo nations of the world and implement our system.
One question often asked is: How do I get to the National Team? Through this workshop participants will gain an understanding of the new Development Pathway Framework and how best to track, communicate and shown the players progression and hopefully retain the talent – ultimately growing the sport.
Presenter Profile
Singapore Swimming Association
Technical Director (Water Polo)
Paul Oberman is an Australian Olympic Water Polo athlete and coach. He has been coaching High Performance Water Polo for 20 years and been the Australian Men’s Assistant Coach for the last 12 years. He is the first ever Australian Men's Coach to win a World International event – 2009 World University Games.
Through his background as a Primary School Teacher (10 years) and the Water Polo Men's Head Coach at the Western Australian Institute of Sport (12 years), he has been integral in forward planning terms, seasons, years and 4 year cycles.
The Future of Coaching In Singapore
Mr Azhar Yusof & Mr Wayne Goldsmith
Session Synopsis
In the last five years since its inception in 2017, CoachSG has been working closely with its partners and stakeholders to elevate the quality of coaches in Singapore such that the true value proposition of coaches and coaching is realized. The introduction of the Singapore Coach Excellence (SG-Coach) Programmes has certainly raised the standards of coaches. Coaching education and development have now taken on a contemporary competency-based model and blended learning approaches especially with the launch of the SportSG-Education & Development (SportSG-ED) online learning platform.
As we begin the next lap of coaching education and development in Singapore, the question of what lies on the horizon for coaching in Singapore should be addressed. This is especially important given the learnings from the Covid-19 pandemic which has shaken up sport and coaching, and how we engage in them in future. Whilst the larger Vision 2030 aspirations of Living Better Through Sport remains unchanged, how we realise it may need to be relooked.
In this interactive session, Mr Wayne Goldsmith, a global expert in coach development shares his perspectives on the future of coaching and what it means for coaching development whilst Mr Azhar Yusof, Head CoachSG shares how these learnings and more have shaped the ideas and plans CoachSG have to create a new narrative for coaching in Singapore.
Presenter Profile
CoachSG
Head
Mr. Azhar Yusof is the Head of CoachSG at Sport Singapore.
He has a diverse background; having been a national athlete, an international referee and a multi-sport coach. A teacher by training, he headed the Physical Education Department at Raffles Institution before joining the National Institute of Education as a Senior Lecturer. His role in Sport Singapore also includes leading the Safe Sport Taskforce.
Presenter Profile
Moregold Performance Consulting
Managing Director
Wayne Goldsmith has been one of the leading creative minds in sport for the past 30 years. A mentor, educator, coach, writer, speaker and innovator, Wayne has been at the forefront of leading new directions in coach education and development across the globe for more than a quarter of a century. Wayne lives on the Gold Coast, Australia.
My1st Coach Congress: Coaching Kids: You Only Get One Chance to Make a Good Impression
Dr Sergio Lara-Bercial
Session Synopsis
Children's physical activity levels have continuously decreased in the last few years. Organised sport participation is one of the ways in which physical activity levels can be raised. In this session, Professor Lara-Bercial will explain the importance of delivering positive early sport experiences to foster children's love for physical activity and sport. Sergio will provide top tips to create appropriate motivational and learning climates that children want to keep coming back to for more.
Presenter Profile
Leeds Beckett University
Professor, Sport Coaching
Dr Sergio Lara-Bercial is a Professor of Sport Coaching at Leeds Beckett University. He has published widely in a variety of sport-related topics and presented world-wide. Sergio is also the co-founder of ICOACHKIDS, a global movement helping coaches put kids first in sport, and consults for multiple high-level organisations such as Nike, UEFA and FIBA. He is also a basketball coach and at club level has coached teams to 17 National Titles in the UK.
Safe Sport Congress: Developing Resilience and a 'Duty to Care': How do Coaches Navigate the Environment
Dr. Emma Kavanagh, Dr. Mustafa Sarkar, Ms Sonya Michelle Porter, Mr Philippe Aw Thiam Hor, Mr Terry Tay & Ms Debbie Soh
Session Synopsis
It is evident that much work needs to be done to understand how to foster climates in sport that place importance on performance whilst supporting mental health for all.
The development of resilience in athletes in order to deal with the demands of high-performance environments has been championed as an optimal psychological capacity for performance. There is a need to develop strategies which can increase the awareness of fostering facilitative spaces and reducing the likelihood of creating unrelenting environments.
The aims of this presentation are to:
- define more clearly the scope of welfare in sport and the duty to care
- introduce resilience and mental fortitude training where the notions of challenge and support are fundamentally important
- explore the importance of developing psychological safety and the benefits of such spaces
The session will focus not just on athletes but also coaches, and the potential to thrive as both people and performers.
Presenter Profile
Bournemouth University
Senior Lecturer, Sports Psychology & Coaching Sciences
Dr Emma Kavanagh has prepared athletes and teams for the Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games. She is a Senior Lecturer in Sports Psychology and Coaching Sciences at Bournemouth University. Emma's work focuses on understanding abuse in face-to-face and virtual sporting environments, articulating the duty of care and enhancing safeguarding in sporting spaces, including managing abuse in sport and understanding inequalities related to race, gender and sexualities. Emma is currently part of several international research networks which have a clear vision to enhance the environment for high-performance athletes.
Presenter Profile
Nottingham Trent University
Associate Professor, Sport and Performance Psychology
Dr Mustafa Sarkar works closely with organisations on creating environments and cultures to develop resilience, including the Football Association, the Premier League, and the United States and Netherlands Olympic Committees. An Associate Professor of Sport and Performance Psychology at Nottingham Trent University, Mustafa’s research focuses on individual, team, and organisational resilience in elite sport and other high-performance domains (e.g. business). In addition to presenting international conferences and being on the editorial board of peer-reviewed journals, he has won multiple awards for his published research and professional practice.
Presenter Profile
Sonya Michelle Porter is the Technical Director of Singapore Swimming Association and has more than 25 years of experience in her sport. Originally from Australia, she cut her teeth coaching both men and women in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 level at some of the best college swimming programmes in the US and has been a national team coach for Austria, Argentina, Egypt, Romania, Switzerland and the USA. Sonya has coached athletes for the NCAA, European Championships, World Championships and the Olympics before coming to Singapore
Presenter Profile
Philippe Aw Thiam Hor is a Coach with the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), taking charge of the Singapore National Youth Teams. A former player and police officer, Philippe spent a decade at Home United Football Club coaching from the youth levels to the senior first team level. He later became the Head Coach of Hougang United Football Club before joining FAS. Philippe is also a FAS Coach Developer and a coach mentor, regularly sharing his learned experience to other coaches through the Game for Life Mentoring Programme. He is currently the Head Coach of the Young Lions, participating in our Singapore Premier League.
Presenter Profile
Terry Tay is the Singapore Men's Gymnastics Team Captain who has medalled and competed at the Commonwealth Youth Games, multiple Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, Asian Games and World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. He carved his name into history as the first athlete from Southeast Asia to have a skill named after him, "The Tay", in the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique Code Of Points. After two decades in the sport, Terry continues to hone his craft and is passionate about mentoring others. He is currently working towards the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Presenter Profile
Debbie Soh is five-time Gold and two-time Silver SEA Games medallist in Synchronised Swimming. Now a veteran of Singapore’s artistic swimming scene, Debbie made her senior debut in 2013 at the FINA World Championships at 15 years of age and in 2018 became a recipient of the Singapore National Olympic Council’s Sportsgirl of the Year. Debbie has just come off setting personal best score with her partner in the women’s duet at the Tokyo 2020 qualifiers in June 2021 and is working towards the Asian Games in 2022.