Peter Walker named Performance Development Coach of the Year

by RYA on 22 Nov 2014 Peter Walker, coach for the British Sailing Team’s Podium Potential Laser Squad, has been named Performance Development Coach of the Year at the 2014 UK Coaching Awards (Wednesday 19 November).

The UK Coaching Awards, hosted by Sports Coach UK this year at Glasgow’s City Chambers, honour sports coaches and coaching organisations who have demonstrated outstanding success over the past 12 months. The annual event is seen as one of the most prestigious within the industry as it raises the profile of coaches and the role they play in encouraging participation, performance and excellence within sport.

Walker, 35, from St Agnes, Cornwall, has been a high performance coach for the RYA for more than 14 years and has been instrumental in producing a talented stream of British Laser sailors who have over the years achieved resounding success on the international stage.

On winning his award, he said: 'It is great to be recognised within the British Sailing Team and to be nominated for such a prestigious award, but to then go on and win the award against so many other coaches that have come through the nominations is a fantastic achievement.'

'I was nominated for the same award in 2011 when fellow British Sailing Team coach Oli Woodcock won, so personally it is really satisfying being nominated for the same award twice. To finally win is great and to prove that all the hard work that the lads have done in terms of delivering results has worked, and that all the experimentation, innovation and looking for different ideas to deal with the specific situations really does have an impact on results.'

Walker has seen his young charges secure podium success at a number of World and European Championships this year, with 20-year-old Lorenzo Chiavarini claiming back to back titles at the 2014 Laser Under 21 World and European Championships and an impressive 11th place at the senior ISAF World Championships in Santander.

Walker continued: 'The highlight of the year is obviously Lorenzo’s performance at the World and European Championships. What is great is that there are numerous other guys who are medalling as well, as the next generation of potential medallists who are coming through in the Under 21 category. There is so much depth within the group which is great for the future of British Sailing.

'My role is to facilitate their development and try and create an environment where they can take control of their campaign. I provide the structure and the direction for them for them to really just let rip and be the best that they can be. 'I have an amazing group of guys who have come together through various parts of the journey, they all work really well together as part of a team which makes it a real pleasure to go to work day in day out to work with such a talented, committed and enthusiastic group of sailors.'

David Mellor, RYA Coaching Development Manager, added: 'Over the past year Peter has made a significant impact on one of our future Olympic contenders. His results are the best we have ever achieved with a Podium Potential level sailor in the class and signal a continued golden future for the Laser Pathway, following in the footsteps of Laser Olympic Gold Medallists Sir Ben Ainslie (2000) and Paul Goodison (2008).

'It is difficult to put into words quite how challenging the Laser class is. It is a one design class where the sailor, not the equipment, is tested to the limits of physical and mental performance. It is raced by more nations than any other class in the world and has strength and depth far beyond any other Olympic or International sailing class.

'For Peter to develop a young sailor that can achieve this set of results in the harshest of competitive sailing environments is testimony to his commitment, knowledge and skill as a performance development coach and worthy of Performance Development Coach of the Year 2014.' British Sailing RYA website