February Newsletter
Gordon MacLelland
CEO at Working with Parents in Sport (WWPIS) - 'Supporting organisations, coaches, parents and children to work effectively together to help young people fulfil their potential both in and out of their sport.'
Dear Subscriber,
We hope this edition of the newsletter finds you well and you have enjoyed the wide range of announcements and resources that have been added into the WWPIS community over the last few weeks.
We have enjoyed being out on the road and meeting lots of different people across the sporting landscape this month. The more work we do in this space the more we believe that there is no silver bullet and not a one size fits all solution to every scenario. Context is undoubtedly the key and the ability to work with nuance is proving invaluable in our work.
We use a lot of storytelling in our delivery but also recognise in every picture we paint there may well be people in our audience who can either connect, contradict or be curious about it and opening up these conversations are having a really positive impact on those who attend our sessions.
The Parents in Sport podcast this month saw us joined by author and founder of ‘The Changing the Game Project’ John O’Sullivan to discuss being a champion teammate(his latest book) and how we as sports parents can help support our young people to fulfil this role.
Our ‘Meet the Parent’ series was back this month where we were joined by former Scotland Rugby International Duncan Hodge. It was great to welcome Duncan on the show to discuss sports parenting, having run a session with both his son and daughter in 2023 as part of their school programme.
Content in the WWPIS membership platform continues to grow and we have a whole host of experts across the sporting landscape contributing content via blogs, videos, Q and A’s and downloadable resources to ensure that we are all in the best position to help our young people fulfil their potential both in and out of their sport.
You can find out more about all of these items in this month’s newsletter.
IAPS CONFERENCE
It was a privilege to speak at the IAPS prep schools Director of Sport conference in Oxford this month in a sector we know particularly well.
We spoke to a wide range of practitioners around 'Building a Positive Parent Culture' within school sporting environments where everyone has a role to play to help young people fulfil their potential.
It was also an added bonus to see Emma Ross (The Well HQ) and Alison Oliver (Youth Sport Trust) in action.
BRISTOL CITY, BRISTOL ROVERS AND CARDIFF CITY VISITS
In the footballing world, this month saw us visit Cardiff City, Bristol City and Bristol Rovers, clubs we have also worked with in previous seasons.
It was great to see the fantastic new training complex at Cardiff City and speak with parents of the youngest players as they look to navigate the early stages of the academy journey.
Our session with Bristol City was on 'Managing Disappointment, Avoiding Devastation.'
This is often our most popular request, particularly from parents, a topic that they tell us they need lots of support with.
Disappointment can include poor performances, results, things not going according to plan, and of course ultimately being released from a programme to name but a few.
It can be a really tough time for parents to navigate, and hopefully, we were able to support them in some way.....
We rounded off our trip by visiting Bristol Rovers for the first time in person to deliver to the parents of teenage players.
Feedback from the trip was hugely positive and we are looking forward to visiting all of these clubs once again at the beginning of next season.
MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS AND CUSTOMISED PLATFORMS
Alongside our live and virtual sessions we are seeing an increased demand for customised WWPIS platforms.
This month saw us add more exclusive content for our membership including ‘The Stress Container’ and James Fleming our resident nutrition expert providing some valuable tips for us all.
These platforms give organisations the opportunity to resource entire communities in a cost effective, sustainable way. Many organisations use the content within their own social media channels, team and parent meetings and regular newsletters to help support those within their communities.
The added bonus is that organisations are also able to add some of their own content to the platform, which certainly helps in bringing it all to life.?
If you would like to find out more about customised platforms then email us at [email protected].
THE ACADEMY GYMNASTICS VISIT
The end of January saw us pay our first visit to The Academy of Gymnastics in Portishead working with management, coaches and parents of both junior and senior performance gymnasts.
We were made to feel incredibly welcome, had some fantastic discussions with everyone involved and explored what we can all do to help support everyone involved in the club to create the best possible environment for people to thrive.
We really enjoyed the parent sessions, going off on a few tangents due to specifics being raised in the room and it is always great when parents hang around afterwards to chat further.
We look forward to working together again in the future.
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIPS
领英推荐
We are delighted to announce our 'Annual Memberships for 2024.'
This model has proved hugely successful across the world in 2023 for National Governing Bodies, Sporting Organisations, Clubs and Schools.
The benefits of an Annual Membership include ongoing consultancy and an opportunity to really embed continued support within existing programmes.
Annual Membership also includes discounted rates for access to the WWPIS platform and all of our resources which can also act as a revenue stream for organisations.
The most important benefit of an Annual Membership is that it will give you priority on securing dates for live workshops and webinars. WWPIS has become a world leading brand in this space and securing dates and times to suit is becoming more of a challenge and we never want to let people down.
The diagram above gives an overview of the memberships that are available but if you would like to discuss finer details then please email [email protected].
PARENTS IN SPORT PODCAST - JOHN O’SULLIVAN
In this episode the author and founder of 'The Changing the Game Project' John O’Sullivan joins Gordon MacLelland to discuss being a champion teammate, what that actually means and how we as parents can support our children to fulfil this role.
During the conversation they discuss amongst other things:
To listen to the episode click here.
MARKETING VIDEO AND BROCHURE
We have recently added some new products and services to both our General Brochure and National Governing Body Brochure.
Be sure to check out our video and brochure highlighting the many services that we offer.? We have worked really hard to ensure that there is so much flexibility in the product that we can really customise it for every individual need whether you are a sporting organisation, coach or parent.
A large part of the success of WWPIS has been to relay information specific to the environments and contexts that people find themselves in and that is something that we will continue to work hard to achieve through as many different mediums as possible.
To watch the video and read the interactive brochure please click here.
Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you would like us to design something specifically for you and your requirements.
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR 2024
We are seeing increasing interest from Sponsors wishing to work alongside the amazing projects that we have created here at WWPIS and are looking forward to making some exciting announcements very soon.
“Aligning with WWPIS has been a real success story for Spond, underscoring our commitment to fostering positive relationships among sporting organisations, coaches, and parents. Through our combined efforts, we aim to create a safe and fun environment for everyone involved in grassroots sport at the junior level.
“This partnership is not just about improving safeguarding and best practice, but also about strengthening the community around grassroots sport, and we’re excited for further initiatives we will roll out together in the coming year.” (Spond CEO Trine Falnes)
If you are interested in the following then we may be the partnership opportunity for you:
You can request our latest Sponsorship pack by emailing [email protected]
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
We are now taking face to face bookings and virtual bookings for 2024.
March and April are filling up fast, so please get in touch as soon as possible if you are thinking of running something in these months. It is also worth making you aware that people have already started booking for September and October, traditionally two of the busiest months here at WWPIS.
Virtual and face to face engagements are already in the diary including dates with British Gymnastics, Charlton Athletic, Scottish Football Association, PADSIS, IAPS, Oxford United, Morecambe, Grimsby Town, Northampton Town, The True Athlete Project, Welsh Gymnastics, Bath Rugby, Badminton England, North Carolina Fusion, Marlow Hockey Club, NCU Cricket and Cheshire Cricket.
Please contact [email protected] or call us directly on (+44) 7897517671 if you would like to discuss specific requirements or make a booking.
We hope that you have enjoyed this mini-edition of the newsletter.
If you would like to leave us any feedback, a review either on the website or on facebook, or even contact me directly on [email protected] about any aspect of our work then we would love to hear from you.
Gordon MacLelland CEO
?? "The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future." - Theodore Roosevelt ??. The February Newsletter sounds like a fantastic way to keep your community informed and engaged. Kudos to the WWPIS team for putting it together! ?? #StayInformed #CommunityEngagement