Chetham flies flag for England at CEV Coaches' Convention 2026

This year’s event focused on the role of grassroots coaches in creating positive, inclusive and development-oriented experiences for children and young players. 

The programme combined theoretical sessions, practical demonstrations, group work and open discussions, allowing participants to not only learn from experienced speakers, but also actively contribute their own ideas and coaching approaches. 

The Convention featured internationally-recognised experts, including John Kessel, Mark Lebedew, Rosana Krajnc and moderator Jana Kulan, who guided participants through key topics such as grassroots coaching, age age-appropriate physical preparation, player development and creativity in training. 

The convention was delivered through Friday evening classroom presentations followed by all-day practical demonstrations from the experts, using junior players and delegates on Saturday. 

Sunday morning saw delegates grouped in teams of 10 and assigned coaching tasks. Each group presented back as a practical demonstration and received feedback from the experts. 

"There were lots of valuable opportunities to chat and share information with other delegates and with the experts, outside of the formal sessions," said Jon. 

"There were lots of takeaways for us as coaches, including such things as measuring your practice in smiles per hour, playing small-sided games on a kids-sized court, with a kids-sized net, designing games to aid the acquisition of skills and encouraging over over-arm serving from an early stage, using torque from core and shoulders." 

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