Adam Woods, a coach at Sedgefield Water Polo Club, and at Wear Valley ASC  won Young Coach of the Year for the whole of County Durham at the County Durham Sport & Physical Activity awards night held at Ramside Hall, Durham held on 10th October.  This is the second year in a row he has fought off competition from other areas to win this prestigious award,  and he is only just 18.
Adam has now been selected as a Regional Finalist for the 2014 UK Coaching Awards, hosted by Sports Coach UK and will be competing for the Gillette Community Coach Award, held in Glasgow City Chambers on 19th November.
Adam has been coaching for over 4 years,  giving up on average 10 hours a week of his time to coach water polo players ages 8-18, and swimmers ages 4 to adult, including disabled swimmers.
Sedgefield Water Polo Club training is held at Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre and the club has achieved great success over the years with several team members playing for local, national and international teams.
Recently, Adam has been made Head Coach for the North East region girl’s under 14 water polo squad, which will culminate in a national competition in November.  This is a huge achievement for someone of his age.
Adam coaches 2 swimming sessions a week for Wear Valley ASC, including a session for disabled swimmers. He also teaches Rookie Lifeguard sessions and 1 to 1 swimming lessons at Spennymoor Leisure Centre.
Adam, a former pupil of Whitworth Park School, is studying a degree in Sport’s Coaching at Sunderland University where he will continue to develop and enhance his coaching skills. He is also a lifeguard at Spennymoor Leisure Centre.
Adam conveys passion and motivation to his athletes, bestowing a positive attitude and enthusiastic outlook upon them, inspiring them to excel.  He has exceptional communication skills, setting defined goals, gives direct and constructive feedback, reinforces vital messages and acknowledges success.  He values the coach-player relationship and puts winning aside, he listens to the athletes, all the while welcoming feedback. He is consistent, tough, fair, compassionate, hardworking, honest and ethical in all aspects of his conduct; he connects with his athletes, inspires quality performance and achieves great results.