Level 2 Coaching Course

Neil and Clare completed their second assessment of the course on Saturday. They made the short trip to Royal Hollaway in Egham to each run a fifteen minute training session that was assessed by Celine Lassaigne and Kat Longshore of BSUK.

Unlike their first assessed session where subjects were chosen at random, Neil and Clare got to choose what they were going to cover. Clare chose an infield session concentrating on fielding a ground ball on the glove hand and Neil chose to use a 2B-1B-3B drill to work on some skills at second and third base.

Both sessions went well and feedback was positive and very encouraging. Having completed all the required workshops and CRB checks, both now only have to plan four linked training sessions, and provide evidence of having run six club training sessions.

If anyone in the club would like to start coaching, then please let either Clare or Neil know and they will look into getting you booked on a Level 1 course.

Open Day - Sunday 18th April

We will be holding an Open Day on Sunday 18th April from 10:30am until 12:30pm on Goldhill Common. Everyone is welcome from beginners to experienced players. The session will comprise basic skills and drills followed by a game and finishing up with drinks in the Village Hall pub afterwards.

2010 Tournaments

This year we will are planning to enter the following tournaments:

Windsor First Ball - 24th April

Diamond Series - 8th & 9th May, 5th & 6th June, 31st July & 1st August

BSUK - 22nd & 23rd May

Windsor Invitational Tournament - 17th & 18th July

Bristol wRECk - 3rd & 4th July

Edinburgh Festiball - 28th & 29th August

Pre-season Training

Pre-season training will be starting on Sunday 7th March, 10am-12pm on Goldhill Common, followed by drinks at the Village Hall Pub. Training will then continue on Sundays throughout the spring and summer (except on tournament weekends).

This will be a great way to get back into softball before the season starts with "First Ball" on Saturday 24th April, so please make the effort to come along.

Give It a Go - Sunday 21st February

On Sunday 21st February, Chalfont Softball Club will be joining in with Bucks Sport's "Reactivate Bucks" and "Give it a Go" initiatives by holding an Open Day. We will be running a taster session from 10:30am until 12:30pm on Goldhill Common - everyone is welcome, from beginners to experienced players wanting to blow away the winter cobwebs.

ClubMark - Yet More Progress

CSC is well on its way to attaining ClubMark status. In terms of workshops these have all been booked up - Chris and Donna attended the "Club for All" workshop on 21st January, Neil and Clare are attending the "Equity in Your Coaching" workshop on 9th February and Helen and Emma are booked to attend "Running Sports: Valuing your Volunteer" on 15th February.

In addition, we are in the early stages of establishing links with a local school and setting up softball sessions for a small group of teenagers that are interested in playing softball but would not otherwise be involved in sport. Stanley Doney from BSUK is going to help run the sessions once we've got it all set up. The ultimate aim is to encourage the teenagers to keep playing softball, hopefully, for Chalfont.

Level 2 Coaching Course - They've Started

On the weekend of 16th and 17th January, Neil and Clare took the first steps towards becoming Level 2 coaches. They completed the theory modules of the coaching award on Saturday and Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon was spent putting what they'd learnt into practice.

On Saturday, they were given an aspect of softball to coach in the practical session on Sunday afternoon, so Saturday evening was spent doing "homework" - they thought they'd left that sort of thing behind a long time ago! Clare was given the warm-up to run whilst Neil was allocated the task of coaching the group on how to run round the bases properly. Both sessions seem to run fairly smoothly without too many hiccups and Clare and Neil received positive feedback.

So now they're onto the next stage - drafting session plans, running a minimum of 6 training sessions, attending an "Equity in Your Coaching" workshop and convincing the BSUK regional coaches that they are good enough to pass their final assessment. With pre-season training starting in a few week's time, they're hoping to be able to be qualified by the start of the season or shortly thereafter...watch this space!