As lockdown happened in March 2020 all of the WimX face to face delivery had to be cancelled. People were bored and there were many reports of Mental Health warnings. This led to WimX working with partners around the UK to offer a free L2 Certificate in Mental Health First Aid qualification to sports coaches. Within 6 weeks we delivered to 68 sports coaches from the fields of cricket, tennis, football, rugby and archery.

After recognising a gap in the market and the need for the WimX Tennis Academy players to have the opportunity to combine professional tennis while studying for a degree we approached the University of East London to discuss setting up a High Performance Program. As the University’s quest was to become the no.1 University for Sport in London the timing was good. We managed and oversaw the development and delivery of the project plan and went from 2 to 24 Scholarship players and currently sits in the top University league. Since 2016 it has grown to include a supported scholarship experience plus a workforce development program for UEL students which supports tennis in the local community.

Our parks was founded in 2014 to harness the legacy of the London Olympics, it had the purpose of ensuring that easy, barrier free access to quality exercise is available to everyone. It provides FREE free group fitness classes with qualified instructors and was founded in Waltham Forest. As it grew though they needed some help in recruiting local based fitness instructors so in 2017 we teamed up to love this problem and sourced funding to provide them with 25-50 free spaces per year and in return they then provide work opportunities for the successful students within their program.

While the advice to become a sports coach is often to obtain a University degree, the actual degree itself doesn’t make students eligible to gain insurance and work in the sports coaching industry. University course leaders were frustrated that despite the high cost of the education, their students still had to go out and qualify themselves with a vocational certificate so we teamed up with two university to alleviate this problem. WimX sourced some funding and we were able to offer 30 funded places at each University.

The Youth workers at Tottenham Hotspur Foundation want seeking work opportunities for their cohort throughout the Summer and we had identified some Summer Camp Coaching opportunities both in London and some residential camps. We found the simplest solution for this particular cohort and delivered a 3 day coaching course. The learners were supported by the youth workers and this hard to reach group earned themselves a recognised coaching qualification.

Growing on our work in 2018, we began to look at ways to acknowledge the great work of the youth workers and suggested running a mentoring program for them. We adapted the L2 Certificate in Mentoring for delivery in this environment.

See video here.

WimX were asked to become a partner in 2018 after delivering coach education qualifications to BSC students. With a desire to support lower rated players as well as performance players together we drew up a plan to cater for up to 20 students each year. A joint funded approach led to a very successful program and the only one of its kine the UK offering a fully funded tennis training package to students aged 16-19.

The LTA (Lawn Tennis Association) London and regional teams identified a workforce problem with both the number of coaches available to grow tennis participation and the retention levels of coaches who are working. The opportunity to take tennis coaching qualifications was available, but the coaching courses alone do not fully equip the non-traditional workforce to be ready for work or help them find it. We suggested accessing the Coaching Tennis Diploma (only previously delivered as part of an apprenticeship). This pilot was a great success as it provided a much deeper learning experience as we grouped together the following elements as part of the overall program to enhance the learning experience:

Safeguarding Training
Tournament Organisers Course
Cardio Tennis
Disability Training
Active delivery experience alongside lead tutor 30 in field mentored experience hours

The LTA then asked if we could do the same thing in the Northeast which was equally as successful. This is what lead to the develop of our Learning Bundles.

With a shortfall of qualified Stewards for the 2012 Olympics, WimX was approached by the College of Haringey, Enfield and NE London (CoNEL) to market and deliver a steward qualification to 300 learners aged 16-18 in the London Boroughs and East of England. Through our partnership we delivered to 450 learners and ensured the college met its targets. The success of this project led to a long term partnership with CoNEL delivering Stewarding and other qualifications.