Work has been going on behind the scenes for several months to help launch a partnership that it is hoped can be the most impactful across the entire organisation.

Workshops and webinars will be delivered on an annual basis to management, coaches, parents and young players across all levels of the club.

Every parent and coach within the club will be given access to a customised WWPIS/Cincinnati United Platform whilst the new intake of Under 8’s will be given their copy of ‘Our Sporting Journey’, an exciting resource for them to work through as they immerse themselves in the world of soccer.

Sports Performance Parenting is a global bestseller supporting those parents of competitive young athletes looking to help their young people fulfil their potential both in and out of their sport.

Cincinnati United have also created their own version of this book and see it as an integral part of supporting their families alongside the live workshops and webinars that they will be given access to.

CEO WWPIS Gordon MacLelland said, ‘This is such an exciting partnership for us. High quality relationships in sporting environments between management, coaches, parents and young players can be difficult to achieve particularly with the wide range of motivations from different parties.

They do not happen by chance by just providing some resources for them either. This whole package of support helping to align messaging and drive some dynamic change within the context of the club is such an inspiring thing to be a part of.’

Hugh Seyfarth, Director of Coaching, Cincinnati United said, ‘Working with Gordon and WWPIS is an absolute game-changer for our club. Gordon truly understands the complexities of the youth sports environment and offers real-world tools that bring coaches and parents onto the same team. When we all work better together—coaches, parents, and the club—the biggest winner is always the player. That’s what this partnership is all about.’

Currently, entering its third year the partnership has seen a number of workshops delivered to management, coaches and parents through both live and virtual events.

This year will see all parents and coaches within the pathway programme be given access to a customised WWPIS and Badminton England portal.

The portal is world leading in this space with contributions from expert practitioners, guest
bloggers, sports psychologists, well-being practitioners, coaches, sports parents, as well as
the team at WWPIS helping to provide authentic content to support the knowledge and
relationships between the organisation, coaches, parents, and young athletes.

CEO WWPIS Gordon MacLelland said, ‘We are proud of the impact this partnership has had
to date and are looking forward to moving this on further over the next 12 months. During
the workshop sessions to date there have been some fantastic and honest conversations
with the parents throughout the age groups and this has helped tailor the support that we
are able to give them. The portal will continue to strengthen the relationships between all
involved in the pathway programme.’

Programme Manager Nikki Tarrant added, ‘We are excited to continue our partnership with
WWPIS for another year and expanding on the provision of support available in this space.
Workshops have been well received across the Programme and have given the opportunity
for all groups engaged in these, to discuss, challenge and reflect on some of the key topics
that crop up when having a talented young individual competing within Performance
Pathway. We are committed to continuing to support individuals as best we can on their
journey and this is an example of that, which includes the key support network that
surrounds these young players.’

Sessions have been delivered to staff and coaches around ‘Creating Positive Parent Cultures’ and the building of positive relationships with players’ parents to enhance the experience for all involved.

For the parents we have delivered a series of workshops that have taken the parents on the sporting journey alongside their children throughout their time in the pathway.

• Performance sports parenting; an introduction 
• Managing disappointment; avoiding devastation 
• Competition and Game Day – positively supporting and enhancing the experience for our sporting children

The buy in from parents has been phenomenal with over 500 parents attending the three sessions.

As the programme is developing we have refined and tweaked elements to meet the specific needs of those involved in the environment and the virtual sessions have proved incredibly popular.

With so many parents scattered around the country, there are logistical challenges to having everyone in the same place at the same time so the virtual world has provided a positive solution.

This year will see a combination of live and virtual sessions and we are incredibly excited about the discussions that we have been having to try and have the biggest impact possible.

To try and achieve this, WWPIS and Scottish Hockey will work together to deliver a number of specifically targeted and designed workshops and webinars across a number of key stakeholders.

All parents and coaches involved in the programme also be have access to a customised WWPIS/Scottish Hockey platform which includes all of the exclusive WWPIS content featuring over 250 blogs, videos, podcasts and infographics.

Gordon MacLelland, CEO of Working with Parents in Sport, said: “I am extremely excited to be working alongside Scottish Hockey to help support them in creating the best possible environment for young players.

“Everyone has a role to play in this and we are looking forward to working with and learning from key stakeholders to ensure we create the most supportive programmes possible.”

Scottish Hockey Brave Academy Lead, Kelly Fillingham said “The team and I are thrilled to be working with Gordon and the WWPIS team, we are excited about the programme of workshops and support planned over the course of the year and look forward to working closely together to further develop our strategic direction.

Scottish Hockey have been working hard to develop our parent/guardian engagement for pathway athletes and we look forward to taking the next steps in this journey with Gordon. We are excited to see the engagement and conversation this partnership will generate and the support this will offer for our pathway players, parents, and guardians.

Gordon will be leading on a series of workshops for parents/ guardians while also working closely with our coaches and Scottish hockey staff to drive our strategic vision around parent/guardian & player engagement.” 

All parents, coaches and parent coaches will be given access to a customised Leinster rugby platform which includes all of the exclusive WWPIS content featuring over 250 blogs, videos, podcasts and infographics.

Included in the platform are our three main resources Great Sports Parenting, Engage and Two Hats.

Workshops will be delivered across the province by the rugby community officers to bring these resources to life and it is hoped that the project will create a real sense of partnership with clubs, coaches and parents working effectively together to create the best possible environments for young players, putting them at the heart of the sporting experience.

Also available for purchase for clubs and parents is the ‘Our Sporting Journey’ series for Under 7 and Under 9 players incorporating two playing seasons of rugby.

The ‘Our Sporting Journey’ is a series of interactive books for children, putting them at the heart of the sporting experience, allowing them to have plenty of fun, grow as people both on and off the field and immerse themselves in their sporting experience as they progress through their sporting journey.

The books all have plenty of activities for children, encourage positive interaction between children and their parents, require plenty of parental involvement whether that be in having positive conversations, playing in the garden or helping to stick in the pictures that will allow everyone to build up a memory book that will last a lifetime.

Leinster Rugby’s Coach and Player Development Manager, Declan O’Brien commented, “Building relationships, respect and trust with our players, parents and coaches across the province is the foundation to building quality sustainable environments within Leinster.”

“We believe our partnership with WWPIS will encourage and develop a sense of purpose and unity within the rugby community. Everyone’s contribution and support in local schools and clubs is vital to meet the challenges of the future and the specialist skills of an organisation such as WWPIS can only add value to the development of players, parents, and coaches. We have no doubt that we will build and forge stronger relationships throughout Leinster’s rugby community with the rollout of this platform.”

Gordon MacLelland(CEO of WWPIS) said, ‘It is really exciting to be working with such an amazing organisation and brand that is recognised all over the rugby world for what it achieves both on and off the pitch. This partnership will further enhance the outstanding work already going on within the province and we are not finished yet as we will be looking to enhance the programme even further over the coming seasons.’