Slough rowing coach wins national award for innovative child-focused approach

Hannah Vines. Credit: UK Coaching Awards

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A rowing coach from Slough has won a national award in recognition of her impact delivering child-focused coaching within the sport.

Hannah Vines, rowing manager at Dorney Lake, won the UK Community Coach of the Year – Children and Young People Award - in Leeds on Tuesday night.

Hannah’s main role is to introduce the sport of rowing to young people in Slough and the surrounding areas. However, she also uses her expertise to equip young people with additional life skills – which is why the UK Coaching Awards felt she was a ‘beacon of great coaching practice’

Her work has also been praised by the Children’s Coaching Collaborative Initiative – ‘Play Their Way’ which champions the delivery of child-first coaching with an emphasis on children’s rights within sport and activity.

Dorney Boat Club coach Hannah Vines has won @_UKCoaching's Community Coach of the Year Award! ⭐

The award recognised Hannah's outstanding contribution to coaching young people to meet their sporting aspirations‍♀️

Read morehttps://t.co/yCrgGTVxuX@DorneyBoatClub @vinezy https://t.co/U9H1x3GxWq

— British Rowing (@BritishRowing) December 11, 2024

After being presented with the UK Coaching Award at Tuesday night’s event in Leeds, Hannah said: Incredibly proud!

“I am very, very proud and very blown away. It wasn’t expected with the strong finalists in my category.

“But it is so fabulous, I am just absolutely over the moon, and I know there's an army of community coaches that I represent, so we're all winners really.

“I think child-first coaching is the fundamentals really, we need to allow young people to have their voice in a space where it's away from the structure of school sometimes which gives them that freedom, and it allows them to express themselves.

“As coaches, I think we have the ability to allow them to express themselves but give them that guidance.

“I often use the phrase handrails, not handcuffs, sometimes where we're not telling them off, but we're giving them some feedback that says, ‘Oh, do you know the way you behave there?’ and this is certainly my own practice, is, ‘I think you had a better choice, can you explain to me what you think that might have been? and if you can't see it, I'm going to tell you but I'm not having to go at you, I think we have another opportunity for you to behave in a different way’.

“I think they really appreciate kind of that mature approach to helping them develop and then they trust you, and then you have that connection moving forward meaning you have a really good developmental relationship with them.”

Hannah focuses on building life skills across groups of mixed ages, backgrounds and abilities and to make her coaching sessions more accessible to a diverse range of people.

She has also created an innovative ‘pay it forward’ membership scheme which allows members to round up their subscriptions – with the extra money going towards funding a young athlete who may want to row but can’t afford it.

Kit is also ‘earned’ through milestones at no cost to members, while young rowers take huge pride in being selected as Club Captain – achieving it through positive behaviour and by becoming a role model to others.

During her 35-year-career, she has supported around 200 young people every year to develop these skills through rowing. She became a coach after having competed as an international athlete and tries to tailor her sessions towards understanding members’ individual needs, ambitions and experiences.

She has also been instrumental in building relationships with local schools in the Slough area which led to the first Slough Schools Water Sports Festival.

The UK Coaching Awards is regarded as the most prestigious event within the coaching community. Previous award winners have included Sarina Wiegman, Judy Murray, Aston Moore and the coaches behind Lucy Bronze and Ben Stokes’ path to success.

Congratulations Hannah Vines, awarded UK Community Coach of Year - Children & Young People by @_UKCoaching ‍♀️Hannah, Rowing Manager at #DorneyLake: "I'm delighted & honoured. It's been a privilege to coach & work with 1000s of young people over the years." #CommunityCoaching pic.twitter.com/AfLAUOoo3M

— Eton College (@Eton_College) December 11, 2024

UK Coaching’s CEO Mark Gannon congratulated Hannah on the profound impact her coaching has had on others.

“This is our favourite night of the year because it offers the perfect opportunity to celebrate the remarkable coaches who go above and beyond to deliver exceptional experiences for those they coach,” he said.

“Hannah, and all our winners, finalists and nominees should take extreme pride in what they have achieved. Great coaching and coaches make such an impact on individual’s lives, and within their communities helping to keep a whole nation active.

“Coaches are often unsung heroes, setting the right environment for their participants, supporting their growth and success through sport and physical activity and contribution to a healthy and active nation.

“From the finalists to the very worthy winners, and on behalf of the whole coaching workforce, it’s an honour to recognise such inspirational individuals like Hannah who truly deserve this spotlight."

Find out more about this year’s winners and the awards by heading to www.ukcoaching.org/uk-coaching-awards.