Assistant Coach training – A fresh, flexible way to begin coaching in rowing
Read on to find out more about our newly-launched training, who can take it and how we got here
What will Assistant Coaches learn?
This entry-level training has been carefully designed to prepare individuals to coach under either direct or indirect supervision. It’s built around four core themes that reflect what modern coaching truly involves:
- Great Coaching in a Modern Society
- Coaching with Confidence – Safety and Safe Behaviours
- Understanding Your Role and Your Rowers
- Bringing Your Coaching to Life
The training is delivered via a modular format with each theme in a module: three online classrooms and one practical, in-person day. Coaches will receive their credential once they have completed all four modules, at a pace to suit them within an 18 month period.
The training will be supported by newly developed online resources and guided by experienced educators who tailor sessions to each coach’s context, whether that’s in classic, coastal, or adaptive rowing.
Who can do Assistant Coach training?
This training is aimed at aspiring coaches and those involved in supporting rowing sessions at clubs and programmes across the country. It is designed to be the entry-level credential for any coach operating under supervision (direct or indirect).
If you’re a club leader or programme manager deploying coaches, this is the new standard for preparing individuals to support your athletes confidently and safely.
What will the coaches get from the training?
The training will be the recognised entry-level credential for a coach working under direct or indirect supervision. More information about what this could look like in your club or programme can be found on this page here.
Those who complete all four modules will get access to British Rowing Coach membership and all of its benefits.
How we got here
The Assistant Coach Training is the result of an extensive and collaborative development process carried out by British Rowing, in partnership with Scottish and Welsh Rowing. We consulted with 478 coaches, carried out 60 in-depth interviews, and ran focus groups with 32 individuals responsible for deploying coaches.
This work has been led by our Learning, Education and Development team and shaped by feedback from the National Coaching Committee, our Home Nation partners, and the wider rowing community – all with the shared goal of making coach development more engaging, more relevant, and more accessible.
What did the pilot participants say?
We ran three pilot cohorts with 56 coaches to test and refine the training. The response was overwhelmingly positive:
Coaches praised the style of delivery, relevance to their coaching practice, and flexibility of the content — particularly those involved in coastal, adaptive, and junior rowing.
Many highlighted the value of the online learning resources and the in-person practical day, noting how well the training adapted to their needs.
100% of the coaches who fed back said they felt the modules were relevant to them in their role.
“it is a really good way to develop as a coach. It covered the topics really well and the facilitation of the modules were first class” and “I really liked working through the scenarios and getting varied view points from right across the spectrum of rowing disciplines. The delivery team was brilliant” – Assistant Coach Pilot participant
What’s next?
This launch is just the beginning of an ongoing review. The Assistant Coach training, alongside the Club Coach course, now forms one of the two official entry routes into coaching under British Rowing’s new framework.
The Session Coach course has been discontinued, though all other qualifications remain valid. An update on the wider review of coaching qualifications is expected by the end of 2025.
A range of opportunities are now on the course calendar for coaches to access modules at a time and date that suits them. New dates are being added on a regular basis.
If you’re unsure which path is right for you, check out our FAQs to help you decide!
