Natasha Jonas wows Female Coach Development Programme session

Former Olympian and now professional boxer Natasha Jonas was guest of honour at the latest Female Coach Development programme meeting at the weekend.

The former England Boxing Elite National Championships winner for Rotunda ABC fielded questions from coaches on a Zoom call, giving them the benefit of her years of experience in boxing.

Her welcome appearance came about after one of our the FCDP coaches, Donna Harvey-Arnell, flagged up the programme Driving Force, which is playing on Sky Sports Mix and features female athletes across different sports.

Jonas, who was the first woman to compete for GB at an Olympic Games in 2012, was one of these athletes and it was recommended to the cohort’s WhatsApp group as a must-see.

Mentor Lorna Moser then suggested asking if the Liverpool boxer would consider doing a Q&A for the group as a follow-up and, as programme leader Amanda Coulson is great friends with Jonas through their training at GB, she agreed.

The session was very well received by all the coaches and Laura Sargeant, who is helping deliver the FCDP, said: “It was a fantastic session, with all the ladies asking some great questions on topics that we have discussed or had been working on within our programme that link in with our world of coaching.

“They included such as things as how helpful do you find video analysis?, how do you handle emotional regulation?, how do you perform under pressure?, how do you handle athlete/coach relationships and how do you control mindset and self-doubt?

“Tasha was brilliant, taking on board all of the questions and giving very open and honest answers. We all agree that she is an absolute inspiration and role model to all females in boxing and she shared some valuable insights on her journey so far and what it is like to compete in the different levels of the sport.

“My personal favourite quote was “Don’t be scared to get it wrong or fail… every step is one step closer to your dreams/goals!”

“The coaches really enjoyed the session with all saying it was very insightful and inspirational. I know they have all taken a lot away from it to reflect upon.”

Find out more about the FCDP by clicking here.