#development

Uruguay hosts pair of Coaches Courses, Introduction to Refereeing

By United World Wrestling Press

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (November 11) --- Keeping with the series of UWW courses that are taking place in the American continent, on this occasion was the time of Montevideo from November 1 to 7. The courses were: Coaches Course Level 1 and Level 2 and Introduction to Refereeing. A total of 31 participants took part in the course. The majority of the coaches were from Uruguay, but there also were participants from six other countries.

This course is part of the UWW's education program, and the purpose is to provide the coaches with tools to strengthen their professional work. The course consisted of several sessions between theoretical and practical, structured in such a way that what was learned in the classroom was applied on the mat.

This course was made with the support of the Olympic Solidarity, the Uruguayan Olympic Committee, and the Uruguayan Wrestling Federation.

URUParticipants from the Uruguay courses gather for a photo. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

All the activities were held in the brand-new Combat Sports Training Center, founded in 2019, with two mats and a classroom that makes it easy to take the course.

The opening ceremony was held on November 2 and was attended by distinguished personalities such as the President of the National Olympic Committee, Julio C. MAGLIONE, the National Secretary of Sports, Sebastián BAUZÁ and the President of the Uruguay Wrestling Federation, Dante STEFANO.

We had the educators Pedro ROJAS (PUR) for the coaches and Ignacio D'Alessandro (ARG) for the referees. 

"We are very pleased with the outcome of the course. We found a group of participants with a basic level of knowledge of the sport but who were willing to learn and make the most of the concepts and tools provided. We had five days of very fruitful work, and we went back home knowing that we had left the bases for Uruguay to start implementing a successful development program. We want to come back in a while to help them take it to the next level". say Ignacio D’Alessandro, Referee Educator.

The Uruguayan Wrestling Federation is starting to work very hard in the development of the sport in its country. And from the UWW, we hope to continue working in this way with them and accompany them in their growth and institutional strengthening.

#development

British Wrestling hosts Level 3 Coaching Course following first-ever GB Grand Prix

By United World Wrestling Press

MANCHESTER, England (January 8) – British Wrestling organized the first-ever Great Britain Grand Prix December 2-3. This competition was part of the UWW Development Department’s REDT programme and conducted in conjunction with Olympic Solidarity and British Wrestling. The REDT (Regional Education Development Tournament) is a programme designed to partner education activities with a competition to help develop wrestling across a region. Prior to the competition, a Level 3 Coaching course was conducted for 15 coaches from Great Britain (GBR), Austria (AUS), and the Netherlands (NED). This course focused on developing a coaching philosophy and an introduction into periodisation principles. 

The course was conducted by Mr. Zac DOMINGUEZ (USA). Coach Dominguez is a Gold Level Coach for USA Wrestling and has coached at numerous Continental and World Championship events. He also runs a top club and was able to relate very well to the coaches as many of them were coaching at their own clubs. “My favorite was discussing philosophy, because many of them had their own clubs and I could relate to their “problems” very well,” said Dominguez.

In addition to helping the coaches develop their philosophy for coaching, the course also targeted performance planning for wrestlers through video analysis, periodization principles, nutrition, and better understanding the rules of wrestling. The sessions included theoretical and practical sessions. Dr. Saam FALAHATI (Chief Medical Officer for British Wrestling) led the training on Nutrition and Hydration. Mr. Vaclav SCHEINER (CZE) was the assigned Referee Delegate for the competition and a certified UWW Educator. He conducted a session with the coaches on better understanding and using the rules of wrestling.

“The participants were very competent and understanding of the course materials. They were prepared very well from Level 1 and 2 UWW Certification. I was very pleased because we had great conversations and practical sessions” said Dominguez.

“British Wrestling targeted the level 3 UWW coaching course to help develop our coach’s knowledge of performance planning and developing athletes over the longer term," said Craig Anthony, Chief Executive Officer for British Wrestling. The course was expertly delivered and incredibly well received by our pathway coaches. Zac, Saam, and Vaclav provided expert knowledge and a fun learning environment that benefited everyone in the course. We are excited to see how this learning translates into improving our young developing athletes."

“After successfully finishing both levels 1 and 2 of the United World Wrestling coaching course, I was eagerly anticipating the opportunity to engage in the UWW level 3 course held in Manchester. During the program, I gained valuable insights into periodization in planning, video analysis, coaching philosophy development, evaluation of holds for Freestyle, Greco-Roman, and Women's Wrestling, as well as nutrition and hydration for wrestling," said Steve McKeown. "I extend my gratitude to UWW Educator Zac Dominguez from the USA, UWW Referee Václav Scheiner from the Czech Republic, UWW Doctor Saam Falahati from Scotland, and British Wrestling for hosting this event.”