Sorry for the long pause before finally starting to write, but here's what I've been up to over the summer.
I started with a week in Luxembourg, training as a Medical Educator for World Rugby and Rugby Europe. World Rugby has a drive to improve player safety and part of that is the First Aid in Rugby (FAIR) course. It's designed as a basic course for parents, teachers, coaches etc. who may come across injuries when no medical staff are immediately available to deal with it. You can see the theory part of the course here:
http://playerwelfare.worldrugby.org/firstaidinrugby
I think this basic first aid knowledge is very important for anybody who is involved with the game and I'm pleased to say I'm now qualified to teach the FAIR course.
The instruction we received over the week was mainly focused on the 'how to teach' aspect of the role, rather than the skills we will be teaching. This is in marked contrast to the second CPD course I did - the German Weightlifting Association's Barbell Trainer License. Whilst not aimed at competitive weightlifting it did focus on the Olympic lifting techniques and variations, aimed at coaches who use them as part of their S&C/PT/cross-fit programs. We did a lot of lifting, drilling every movement hundreds of times and using video feedback as well as the instructors to correct patterns.
Whilst the instructors did give tips on how to spot and correct flaws there was very little actual coaching performed by the candidates. The two courses were polar opposites of each other in terms of their focus, and to be honest I believe somewhere in middle would be the sweet spot for such courses - trying to ensure you are a good teacher AND that what you are teaching is correct.