With significant growth in Junior participation being experienced in our sport post pandemic, our ability to produce enough referees and coaches is being highlighted.  Traditionally, these development pathways have been separated, however the sport needs both pathways thriving in order to continue to grow.

 

We are grateful for the hard work of the SQBD technical panel, particularly with long standing servants Peter Topp, John Singh, and Tristan Mana working hard to pull together representative coaches for SQBD.  On the back of that work, we’ve identified a need to expand our reach to look at our total sport development from grass roots up.  We also need to find a way to make it easier for affiliates to benefit from our expertise and frameworks.

 

The pathway development challenges we face currently are:

• Getting enough coaches to apply for SQBD representative positions.

• Introducing new coaches to the game at grass roots junior level.

• Helping our junior referees see the opportunity to progress their skills via coaching and mentoring.

• Helping our junior referees transition into senior competitions.

• A generational gap in our referee ranks with very few active referees between the ages of 16 and 45.

• That our Coaching pathway does not interact with our referee pathway which contributes to friction between the referees, coaches and players, and is a factor in referee retention.

 

Discussions at SQBD Board level and with affiliates suggest that the way forward is to ‘crowd source’ this body of work.  Empowering more people to champion and mentor our pathways in whatever capacity they choose under a common ‘Sharks’ framework.  The success of our head coaching roles at NYC and NTL are examples of how such a framework can help.

 

That leads us to announce the formation of the SQBD Sports Performance panel.

 

Purpose

The purpose of the Sports Performance Panel is to develop the sports Refereeing and Coaching pathways. This can be achieved by providing expert advice on processes and decisions made across the SQBD Region.  By informing the direction and supporting the development of SQ Sharks Representative Programs. By viewing Refereeing and Coaching pathways as critical to player development and the sports continued growth.

 

The Panel understands that the development of the sport includes, the entire pathway from park level referee, coach and participant, through to  to affiliate, regional, state and national teams. 

 

For more information, read the PDF below.

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To express interest, complete the EOI Form.