‘It’s been tough – some coaches are unable to pay mortgages’
MATTHEW NASH SPEAKS TO UK COACHING’S EMMA ATKINS ABOUT HOW LOCKDOWN HAS HIT THE NATION’S SELF-EMPLOYED COACHES
THE nation’s army of self-employed coaches face huge problems as sport continues to be locked down, umbrella organisation UK Coaching has warned.
Sport has been decimated at all but the elite level since the pandemic first struck last March and after almost a year of little in the way of work, many are coaches struggling financially.
The organisation’s director of coaching Emma Atkins has highlighted the issues facing many of the country’s three million coaches with sport on hold and gyms and sports centres closed.
‘It has been really hard for coaches. A lot of people think coaching is just voluntary and it’s not,’ she told Metro. ‘Half are paid in some shape or form and half are volunteers.
‘It’s also more than just a job – it’s who you are, you’re a role model in your local community and when you haven’t got that anymore it’s tough, financially and for your mental health.’
Atkins regularly speaks to coaches of all varieties, across all sports, and says she has heard of schools not honouring long-standing commitments, leading to some paid coaches entering uncertain financial times.
She believes the public need to ‘give back’ to coaches when sport returns in full and said: ‘We’ve seen coaches not being able to pay their mortgage and also some self-employed coaches not being trusted with mortgages at all.
‘A whole range of things are affecting coaches and all self-employed people, you’ve got this loss of identity, this vulnerability and all these pressures impacting on the coaches.’
Digital platforms have helped coaches adapt and Atkins adds: ‘Coaches have had an eye-opening moment in that respect. But we’ve also seen others really struggling and worrying about their future, their career.
‘We have to be positive for them and coaches have certainly adapted.’
UK Coaching exists to support and develop the nation’s three million coaches. They have recently launched their Coaching Through Covid Hub to empower coaches to hone their skills until they can return to work. To find out more, visit www.ukcoaching.org
DEAN GEORGE IS A SELF-EMPLOYED BADMINTON COACH FROM HORSHAM, WEST SUSSEX, WHO DUE TO LEISURE CENTRES BEING CLOSED, RECEIVED A £500 GRANT FROM BADMINTON ENGLAND BUT HAS BEEN UNABLE TO DO HIS JOB. ‘I remember being on court coaching someone and the parents at the back were relaying to me what was going on and that everything was getting shut down. That was my last session on court for a long time.
‘The biggest effect on me was financial. The chancellor Rishi Sunak started the furlough scheme and I realised quickly I didn’t qualify as I had been coaching a young player, employed by his family, so 50 per cent of my income came from this employment.
‘Suddenly my income dropped, you never think anything like this will ever happen. Three weeks ago, my wife gave birth to our second child.
‘The bit I found hardest was not knowing what the future held. When leisure centres reopened in July, I had trouble finding a leisure centre that was open to work from. Everything was stop-start – I had two days off in six weeks at one point because I knew we needed a financial buffer when the next lockdown came in.’
MEL YOUNG IS A PERSONAL TRAINER BASED IN MEDWAY, KENT, WHO ALSO WORKS AS THE STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING COACH FOR THE GB SITTING VOLLEYBALL TEAM AND NEARLY GAVE IT ALL UP LAST YEAR.
‘There was a real void in what the future looked like for our industry. I train some elite athletes and that all stopped. Financially, I lost a bit (of money) and in June I was abruptly told I was going to be evicted from my venue, which was a lot of stress.
‘I tried to find another venue but landlords wouldn’t touch me as soon as I said “leisure”. So I converted my garage into an online studio.
‘It was tough but what I found was a real community feel among members. Zoom was such a good find. But there is no sign of when competitions will start up again for the elite athletes.
‘I now have a new gym on the cards and have invested heavily, although some people think I’m mad doing that in a pandemic. It’s massively stressful and I’m putting myself in masses of debt but I’m being Miss Positive and now we need that go-ahead to return.’
EVERYONE is wondering whether the great Serena Williams will decide to play on at the highest level after her latest near-miss at a major tournament. She lost to Naomi Osaka in the semi-final of the Australian Open despite being as fit as she has looked since the birth of her daughter Olympia and having beaten Wimbledon champion
Simona Halep in the previous round.
There was a poignant farewell to a half-filled Rod Laver Arena after her loss and there were tears in a shortened press conference.
Asked whether she would ever be back competing at Melbourne Park, she responded: ‘I don’t know. If I ever say farewell, I wouldn’t tell anyone.’
Serena then became tearful during a question about unforced errors and said: ‘I don’t know. I’m done,’ before leaving the room.
It’s at this point that we are supposed to feel sorry for departing champions but there are two reasons why I don’t.
The first is that Serena is 39 years of age and has a glorious career to be proud of and a backstory that even Hollywood may not have had the
courage to dream up and secondly, we don’t know whether she is going to retire. She hasn’t said so.
Losing is horrible at whatever level you play and each time Serena loses it is a big story because she is probably the finest player of all time.
She may or may not put herself in a position to equal Margaret Court’s 24 grand-slam singles titles but if it is going to happen I think Wimbledon offers her the best chance.
It will rankle that she has had four opportunities in grand-slam finals to achieve this ambition and four times she has failed to win a set. This
Australian Open may have offered her the best chance because of the limited crowds which can sometimes help but often hinder Williams’ frame of mind.
None of us can forget the disgraceful scenes in New York in 2018 as she went into a meltdown in front of a global TV audience and a baying New York City crowd.
I’m sure the umpire, Carlos Ramos, had even more of a life-changing experience than the player that day, I know that because I have known Carlos for 25 years and he didn’t deserve the treatment he got.
Naomi Osaka is now the dominant player by far in women’s tennis and, having remained undefeated in a completed match in a whole year, the 23-year-old may make a run at some of Serena’s records.
The most endorsed female sportswoman in the world, Osaka is said to have collected £30million last year, around ten times the average salary of a Premier League footballer.
Commercial organisations are not daft, they know a global star when they see one and unless we see the biggest surprise in decades Osaka will surely claim her second Australian Open championship tomorrow against American Jennifer Brady.