Pathway to Performance
Working together to develop players and coaches
Pathway to Performance: Elevating Wheelchair Rugby
Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby (GBWR) is excited to announce the launch of our Pathway to Performance initiative! This program is designed to support athletes and coaches in developing their skills and achieving excellence in wheelchair rugby.
What to Expect:
- Monthly online sessions for coaches
- Talent Camp session plans
- Collaborative athlete goal setting
- Competitive opportunities
Interested clubs should contact Stuart McLindon at stuart.mclindon@gbwr.org.uk to get started.
Purpose
To provide athletes with aspirations to develop and progress in the sport, access to a supportive and high-quality local club environment.
We aim to:
- Keep athletes at their “home” club and slow the current trend of athletes moving to the “big three” clubs.
- Elevate the overall standard of clubs to create a more competitive and balanced competition.
- Align club and pathway delivery to support individual development and transition
Expectations of the Pathway
The Pathway will support clubs by:
1. Providing Resources and Guidance
- Deliver monthly online sessions to introduce upcoming camp principles, skills, and tactics for coaches to integrate into their planning.
- Sharing Talent Camp session plans to help club coaches design training sessions aligned with pathway objectives.
- Managing a WhatsApp group for coaches to ask questions, exchange ideas, and discuss best practices.
2. Collaborating on Athlete Goals
- Sharing individual development goals of pathway athletes with club coaches to ensure alignment in their training and progress tracking.
Expectations of Clubs
To achieve these objectives, participating clubs are expected to:
1.Align with the Pathway Philosophy
- Embrace and implement the Play the GB Way framework in both language and delivery of training.
- Engage with GBWR Coaching Courses
2. Support Athlete Development
Provide a club environment that supports athletes’ growth through well planned training sessions.
- Tailor training sessions to meet the individual development goals of pathway athletes.
- Provide regular feedback to aid continuous improvement.
3. Offer Challenging Competitive Opportunities
- Ensure athletes have access to meaningful competition opportunities that challenge, stretch and consolidates their skills.
Have a team competing in the domestic competition structure, with a goal to progress into higher divisions.
This collaborative approach aims to create a network of clubs that develop athletes in alignment with the pathway while retaining talent locally.
While we appreciate that fully aligning with the Pathway may not work for all clubs, we would expect any club with athletes on the Pathway, achieve points 2 and 3 above of the Expectations of Clubs section.
This opportunity is available to all GBWR clubs, whether you have players on the Pathway or not, including WR5 clubs.
Next Steps
Interested clubs should contact stuart.mclindon@gbwr.org.uk to organise an online call to assess your club’s readiness to align with the Pathway.
Year one would be a pilot of the project. Clubs that stay engaged in the whatsapp group, attend monthly meetings and can evidence session and game plans would be recognised as being Pathway Clubs and continue to receive the benefits outlined in Expectations of the Pathway section.
