Coaching builds confidence. Coaching creates connections. Coaching builds community.
ACT coaches contribute enormously to our orienteering community, whether delivering Sporting Schools Programs in Primary and High Schools, squad coaching with Blue Lightning or with other squads and groups such as Focus on Girls and Women, or MTBO.
Everyone comes to orienteering from a different starting point. Perhaps the love of the bush, maybe dragged along by parents, some might be looking for a non-contact sporting option while others are just sick of the gym. Regardless of the how or why someone chooses to try orienteering, to reap the greatest reward, one must know how. This is where the coach comes in.
As in all sports, many of the skills of orienteering are passed on to offspring. Over dinner time chatter, attending events with mum and dad, and even just having maps about the place. But for the majority, orienteering skills have not been learned this way.
Some have learned through informal post-run ‘chats’ and for others, this might be coupled with formal training. Most importantly the coach provides the individual sport specific skills PLUS motivation, inspiration, self-confidence and enthusiasm.
The coach helps make the right connections. They might link up adults of similar abilities or link up kids with similar interests so that there can be a joy in learning together.
The coach helps map the path for those people wanting to continue with orienteering, for those keen prospective orienteers.
Making orienteering visible in the ACT is one way to share the joy of the sport.
Did you know that OACT has delivered to over 7000 ACT school kids through the Sporting Schools Program since the start of 2019 that’s over 800 hours of time in ACT schools sharing the love and passion of our sport.
As Grant Bluett recently said, discovering and believing that orienteering is a real sport, is empowering for keen athletes of this sport.
To that end real sports need real coaches. They don’t have to be top level orienteers, but they need to love the sport they’re in and be keen to motivate and inspire. They help orienteers can become the best that they can.
If you are interested in contributing the coaching space in any way contact Toni Brown OACT Development Officer.
Toni Brown teaching year 10 at TCS at Wanniassa 
Rosie teaching year 6 at St Clare of Assisi Gordon 
David with an athlete from Radford College Squad 
Tara Melhuish with Blue Lightning Squad members 
Marina Iskhakova – MTBO and accredited foot O coach. 
Grant Bluett pitching in at SCORE School Orienteering 
Jo Hobson helping at the Women and Girls Training sessions. 
Toby Lang and Stephen Goggs preparing for a session at Melba Copland High School 
Ken Mansell and Paul de Jongh (Ken pictured left, as keen facilitator of Map Mates and a constant behind the SCORE School Orienteering participation program and Paul as the 2022 ASOC Coach and the former Radford College Squad Coach). 
Max Neve strategically nabbed to pitch in with Yr12 Daramalan College students. 
Year 12 Daramalan College students take to wild running on Mt Ainslie 
