That's why I wrote him an e-mail.
Since that e-mail, Jackie gave an insight of the development of korfball in England.
From: Ben Crum
Hi Jackie,
Can I buy?
The Teaching Children Korfball Coaching Manual
Best regards,
Ben Crum
Jackie answered:
Van: Jackie Hubbard [mailto:jackiehubbard123@btinternet.com] Verzonden: dinsdag 25 mei 2010 10:45Aan: Ben CrumOnderwerp: Teaching Children Coaching Manual
Hi Ben
Thank you for your interest in the 'Teaching Children Korfball ' coaching manual.
I am in the process of trying to sort out how to send the book aboard. To be honest I never thought that other people out side of the UK would be interested! So far I have had people from Istanbul, Germany, NZ and Spain contact me.
I had met you several years ago when you visited Buckmore Park in Kent with a Dutch team, but you wont remember me. I have also read several of your books about Korfball which I found very interesting.
Please let me explain why I have decided to write this manual.
I had been teaching infant and junior children for over 30 years before taking early retirement 10 years ago. Since that time I have been trying to develop the sport in schools because to me Korfball promotes the physical, mental, moral, social and cultural development of the player. I think it is the ideal sport to add to our National Curriculum which is taught in school, which just seems to focus on football, netball, hockey, basketball, dance, gymnastics and swimming. This has been very difficult, as some schools and teachers do not want to try a sport that they have never heard of and never seen played. Some junior teachers are even expected to teach sport when they are not sporty themselves, while in our secondary schools we do have trained sports teachers but they have their favourite sports and they too have never heard of Korfball.
I soon realised that it is not enough just to go into schools and get the children hooked on Korfball, it is the teachers and other sport coaches I need to target. I felt I needed to find a Korfball book which would deal with the very basics of the sport and help the teachers causing them as little stress as possible during the learning process. Teachers in England have strict guidelines they have to follow to cover the National Curriculum. I couldn't find a book so I decided to write one.
I do not pretend to know everything about Korfball, and continue to learn new things as I go along. I know that there will be parts of the manual which you will not agree with or wonder why I use certain methods of coaching. I have just put down methods which work for me when teaching a class of 25+ children on my own, using 2 posts, cones, balls and bibs for one hour a week. Schools would not be allowed to teach Korfball during the school day for a whole year as it is felt that the children should experience a whole range of sports such as those mentioned above.
In a few schools in Medway, Kent, I have the support of the local Sports Development Team to teach korfball for 5 weeks and during this time I try to show the class teachers the basics of the sport. This way the children and teachers are learning at the same time. Once the children are keen I offer them the opportunity to join a korfball club. This is very difficult as parents have to be persuaded to bring their child to a Korfball club when they have never heard of Korfball or seen it played. I try to publicise Korfball as much as possible in the local newspapers and gradually people are becoming more aware of the sport.
Another thing which I feel stops the development of Korfball in the UK is the high cost of the equipment e.g. posts, korfs and balls. I can get the posts made in this country but the cost of getting the balls and korfball baskets from Holland is high. Junior Schools do not have a lot of money to spend on their PE departments and have to buy equipment for other sports as well. I would welcome any ideas you have to help resolve this major problem.
To help promote the sport, I started a new Korfball Club called Tornadoes 6 years ago, and now have 13 teams playing in the Kent, Regional and, as from next season, the Premier leagues. Some of the first children to join now play for England and one for Scotland. The club has teams in all the age groups from under 9s to seniors. The seniors cater for those players who just want to play for fun and to keep fit, while the top 2 teams play at a higher level. During this time Dave and Corrine Buckland have joined the club and we have benefited greatly from their expertise and experience at playing top level Korfball.
A few years ago I wrote a Korfball Skills Award Badge Scheme so that children could work towards improving their Korfball skills and get badges to sew on to their skirts and shorts. They have to pass basic technical exercises which I have linked with key stages in the National Curriculum in the hope of making them appeal to schools. At the moment there are some clubs in the UK which use the scheme which acts as a reward to motivate their juniors.
All the Kent Korfball Clubs in Medway and Maidstone are working really hard to encourage youngsters to play the sport and we are seen as being one of the most progressive areas for youth development in the UK.
You can see sample pages of the manual by going to the Kent Korfball Association (KKA) website http://www.kentkorfball.co.uk/ click on 'click here to view pdf sample pages'. Place the arrow on the top right hand corner of the book cover and left-click and then repeat to see various pages.
I will be in contact again to let you know the cost of posting the manual to Holland.
If you wish contact me by phone my numbers are below.
Many thanks again for your interest.
Jackie Hubbard
From: Ben Crum
Hi Jackie,
I am very pleased that there is a book about korfball from England .
I like to read it.
I follow the ideas about korfball from England at Korfball.com Forums.
The discussion started by Karl Sieber is very interesting.
I notice a different culture, atmosphere.
I understand more than ever that korfball is not from us, people from the Netherlands .
But what we have in common is that we like korfball very much.
Another aspect I learnt form your e mail.
Korfball in England gets still more a sport in the school. (Here in the Netherlands we like the club system)
May be it was a basic mistake by Mr Albert Milhado to start korfball in England as well with a club system.
I think that it is the reason that korfball never became a real popular sport in England ?
Any way it last a long time before korfball became an international sport for English players and the BKA.
May be I am wrong?
I am happy that you wrote a book. I will read it with interest.
Send me the book and tell me the costs of the book and the cost to send the book to Holland?
I hope the book will be a success!
Best regards,
Ben
Hi Ben
Sorry for the delay in replying to your email but I have been helping my son to move into his new house.
I found your email very interesting.
The reason I am going into schools is that I can target a large number of children in one go. The normal number of children in one class can be anything from 25-32.
In an hour I can introduce to them to the very basics of Korfball and they will all have experienced playing in a game. Hopefully they will have enjoyed the lesson so much that they go home and tell their parents about it. They will have been given leaflets about a korfball club and sometimes their parents phone me and ask if their child can come along to the club's training session. This is the only way I can think to get Korfball known to more people.
On June 12th I have organised the 10th Kent and Medway Schools Korfball tournament and this year I have more teams entering, especially at the u11 age group. This helps local Korfball clubs to try and get more players to join them. The Tournament has sections for u9s, u11s and u16s. I try to get the teachers to come along so that they can see what this game is all about.
Please find attached and order form for the coaching manual. As I have said before you will probably disagree with some of my coaching exercises but remember I am dealing with a class of children on my own who know nothing about Korfball.
May thanks for your interest.
Jackie
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