Volleyball England- Simon Loftus appointed as Coaching Lead

Simon Loftus has been appointed as Volleyball England’s Coaching Lead.

The England Senior Men’s Head Coach will help develop the volleyball coaching strategy in his new role, with help from volunteers and individuals from the Pool of Experts.

“I’ve been lucky enough in my coaching career to develop and work with great players and great coaches,” says Simon. “I’ve ended up being a professional coach for the last ten years. I want this opportunity to give back to other people.”

A vastly experienced coach, Simon has worked in the UK and abroad. He has coached at universities in the UK and USA, and was coach of a professional volleyball team in Sweden. At international level, Simon was part of the Great Britain volleyball coaching team for the London 2012 Olympics, has coached the Scottish national sides at junior and senior level, and is the current England Men’s Head Coach.

“Simon is the ideal person to lead coaching forward,” says Gillian Harrison, Technical and Talent Coordinator at Volleyball England. “His own journey in coaching has seen him gain a huge amount of experience which will help him in the role. He is really enthusiastic and keen to get started in developing education and opportunities for coaches at all levels of the game.”

Developing a new coaching strategy and philosophy will be a long-term project but the current priority for Simon is listening to current volleyball coaches.

“It is an exciting time because there is a lot of change and attention around coach education, not just in volleyball, but across the UK,” says Simon. “So it’s a good time to be involved and have some influence on what we can do. In terms of the immediate priorities, it is to meet people and get a feel for what is working in coach education and trying to work with existing coaches and tutors to try make some adjustments.”