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Williams wins UK Coaching national award
Lexie Williams, a member of the England Touch Association’s High Performance coaching group, was named UK Coaching’s Young Coach of the Year in a gala ceremony in Leeds on Tuesday, December 6th.
Williams was recognised for her commitment to creating an environment focused on empowerment and motivation for the players within the group, whether through identifying areas where players want to improve, or providing positive feedback and reinforcement which builds a sense of community.
As well as being England Women’s Open’s assistant coach at the 2022 European Touch Championships and the South West Regional Lead, Williams coached Truro Trojans to their first ever appearance in a National Touch Series and set up the Cornwall Touch League, which has given numerous players their first step within a competitive environment.
She beat off competition from Rugby Union and Parkour to win the award, and said that it was a surprise and an honour to be named as its recipient.
“I was completely gobsmacked to even be recognised as a finalist for Young Coach of the Year, so you can imagine my surprise when I was named the winner,” Williams said. “It is an immense privilege and honour to be recognised alongside so many talented coaches at the UK Coaching Awards and it is something that I will always cherish.
“A massive thank you to Sammie Phillips, Ben Powell, Chris Simon and Matt Harper for all their support and help over the last few years and for giving me the opportunities to coach at the highest level of Touch Rugby.
“I really hope that Touch Rugby being recognised at the UK Coaching Awards will result in the sport being more widely promoted and recognised amongst other sports. This is just the beginning and I can’t wait to continue coaching touch rugby at all levels of the game.”
Williams, who has completed two UK Coaching courses and is studying for a third, will be continuing within the High Performance programme ahead of the 2023 European Touch Championships and 2024 World Cup as assistant coach with the England Women’s 27 team. England Touch Head of Elite Coaching, Sammie Phillips, says that the UK Coaching award reflects Williams’ commitment to continuous self-improvement.
“We are incredibly proud of Lexie for winning this prestigious award,” she commented. “Lexie is a rising star within England Touch’s High Performance Programme and her dedication and hard work to develop her coaching and upskill herself is exemplary.
“Lexie now has an opportunity to take her coaching experience to a new level working with the England Senior Women’s Team at the European Championships in France in 2023, followed by a home Touch World Cup in 2024. The future is indeed very bright for Lexie.”
UK Coaching’s Chief Executive, Mark Gannon, said: “What an honour it was to see so many inspirational coaches be recognised for their outstanding contributions to coaching.
“These coaches, and all our UK Coaching Awards finalists, don’t just support more people into physical activity and sport, they also change lives, tackle inequalities and help build communities. They also have an insatiable appetite to be the best versions of themselves in order to help their participants.
“I would like to extend a huge congratulations to all our winners. For our 25th UK Coaching Awards the bar was raised once again, and it is so important that we acknowledge and thank all coaches, at all levels and in all settings, as they work tirelessly to support more people mentally and physically through physical activity and sport.”
CLICK HERE to find out more about the UK Coaching Awards. England Touch has developed a strong relationship with UK Coaching in recent years, with a number of High Performance coaches completing courses. One of them, Women’s 27 Head Coach, Gary Lambert, will be speaking at UK Coaching’s NGB Forum on Monday, December 12th.
England Touch has regular coaching courses for individuals who want to develop themselves and their teams, whether within clubs, Regions or within High Performance. CLICK HERE for more information!