Ken Cooper awarded Lifetime Croquet Coaching Award

Lifetime Coaching Award

Congratulations to Ken Cooper, Bowdon who has been awarded the accolade of a Lifetime Coaching Award. The following citation says it all.

Ken has only been the NW Federations Coaching Officer for the last three years and in that time he has totally revolutionised the ‘Thinking and active involvement’ of all our Clubs and individual players into the benefits of good progressive, croquet coaching.  Ken was charged with the job of changing player’s attitude towards competitive play and thereby help develop the quality of our League Games throughout the NWFCC Region. He set about this in earnest by gathering together several of the Federations other coaches and getting their support to assist him in running courses at the various levels required.

To further his own expertise during this period, he also began attending the CA Coaching Meetings and also succeeded in being awarded his Grade 2 Coaching Badge in November 2010. Ken has a quiet but assured way of addressing people, which soon gains their respect and confidence. He has the knack of allowing people to express their concerns and then puts them at ease with clear concise replies, delivered with his cheeky pleasant smile. Ken’s own Official Reports to the NWFCC AGM show quite clearly the impact and progressive success that his coaching and initiatives have had on all the Clubs in the North West.

The skill levels and demand for coaching from Clubs have risen enormously. The number of Teams in each of the Federation Croquet Leagues has increased in number in both Association and Golf Croquet. Whilst doing all this work for the NW Federation it should also be noted that he has continued his long-standing commitment to Bowdon Croquet Club. He has been the Clubs’ Coaching Officer for the last 6 years following two earlier periods; approximately 12 years at a Club that is renowned for producing some of the best Association players in the county.

Sadly Ken suffered some serious health problems during 2012 that resulted in him having to ‘slow down’ and for medical reasons he therefore had to resign from his position as The Federations’ Coaching Officer at the end of the season. The NW Federation Minutes state “The AGM thanked Ken for his Report and all his past efforts with a heartfelt round of applause.”