All roads lead to Fulham Reach BC: Ashley Ntumba’s coaching origins
Ahead of British Rowing’s Coaching Week, Fergus Mainland sat down with Ashley Ntumba to find out how her British Rowing Assistant Coach Training shaped her journey to coaching on the tideway
Ashley Ntumba has gone full circle with her rowing journey. Having rowed with Fulham Reach BC as a junior, she returned to the Hammersmith-based club just over a year ago to take the first steps on her coaching journey.
Ashley’s enthusiasm to learn and passion to help people discover rowing is evident to anyone who speaks to her. Now involved with British Rowing’s Assistant Coach Training development, she’s growing in confidence and bursting with ideas to take back to Fulham Reach BC.
“I got involved with rowing through London Youth Rowing. I was going to school in East London for secondary school. I did a programme there which was where I was first introduced out on the Docks,” explained Ashley.
“I feel like it was the easiest place to start my coaching journey because there was so much support.”
“I really enjoyed it, but then moved areas for sixth form and started rowing at a school called Hammersmith Academy for Fulham Reach BC. They did a similar thing where they had a school’s programme.
“I went back to my sixth form, which I was rowing with through Fulham Reach BC. They asked me to do a careers talk about what I was doing at the time. I got chatting with staff after the career event and they remembered that I really loved rowing when I was at school and they suggested, because I was looking for work, how about we get you back in contact with Fulham Reach BC.
“I enjoy the whole environment. Fulham Reach BC is one of the friendliest clubs on the tideway. They welcomed me back in so well. I feel like it was the easiest place to start my coaching journey because there was so much support.”
Ashley was welcomed back to Fulham Reach BC with open arms and has now been coaching for over a year, celebrating her one-year coaching anniversary the day of this interview! Along with getting her Powerboat License, Ashley has completed several modules of the British Rowing Assistant Coach Training, which has also seen her attend a practical session at Dorney Lake, sharing experiences and gaining insight from other coaches at similar positions on their rowing journey.
“Doing the Club Coach qualification is a big thing for me, which will help solidify my coaching credentials in that way. Even though rowing is such a big world, when you are in your club it can feel quite small. Especially as someone who is new and starting out, you feel like you are going on that journey by yourself because I was the only new one at the time.
“It felt comforting to know that there were people in a similar boat and that we were all learning together. It allowed us to be more open and ask questions, even if they sound silly. It helped push me out my comfort zone.”
“As someone who hadn’t done a qualification before, it was a good way to ease in”
“I’ve found it really fun, especially the practical session we had at Dorney Lake. I feel like that day brought everything we had learned online to life, it was a really good way to progress through the steps.
“As someone who hadn’t done a qualification before, it was a good way to ease in and then we had opportunities to ask questions if we needed. Especially for me, it really helped with the technical side of things. I would say I had a gap in that because I didn’t come from a rowing background; it was a way to refresh what I had previously learned.”
As Ashley has developed as coach, her responsibilities at the club have also expanded.
“Back in March, I started working with a group of adults independently. Because we have so many coaches, when we have school sessions there’s about four to five coaches per session all working together. This was my first step of being independent and I was responsible for coaching this group.
“At first, it was a lot to dive into but I feel like it helped me feel more confident as a coach and just be more independent and not rely on anyone else. Seeing the tide, planning ahead; these are all things I had to do by myself – whereas if you are with other coaches, one tends to take charge as a lead coach.
“I also do some coaching on land, especially using my personal training knowledge as well. There was this guy in his sixties and they wanted to help improve his rowing form. I started working with him in March and even seeing his improvement from March to now is nice.”
British Rowing Coaching week takes place the week commencing 27 October. Following the successful Coaching Conference in January, British Rowing will be building on the theme of ‘Inspirational Coaching’, delivering new live sessions, sharing new initiatives and resources, and celebrating coaches across the sport. Check out the overview of the week below!
