Academy Coach Profile
Peter Pearse
Boccia Coach
With his performers aiming for the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Paralympics, the Disability Sport Wales Academy Boccia Coach was crowned the Sport Wales Coach of the Year for 2010. A former Paralympian himself, Boccia Wales Head Coach Peter Pearse has been heading up the Welsh Academy since 2007. In 2010, his squad won countless titles across the UK and Europe.
Ace Feet in Motion
ACE work closely with many top athletes and sports people throughout the UK.
Ace Feet in Motion was established in the beginning of 2001 to provide podiatric biomechanical sports injury services using computerised pressure plate scanning equipment.
This equipment allows ACE to analyse the biomechanics of the foot and identify any irregularities in foot function.
Sport Wales
Sport Wales provides support so that we can produce effective strategic plans for disability sport in Wales.
Sport Wales encourages us to:-
•achieve financial stability;
•maintain and increase membership;
•improve the performances of individuals and teams representing Wales.
To help us achieve our goals, Sport Wales provide:-
•professional advice and financial support;
•specialist support services in sports science, sports medicine, strength and conditioning, coaching, administration and the development of elite competitors.
THOMAS SELECTED FOR BOCCIA TEST EVENT
1 February 2012
The London Boccia Invitational event, which will act as the Test event for the London 2012 Paralympic Games, will see a Great Britain team which will include Jacob Thomas from Narberth in Pembrokeshire. He will compete in both the Individual and Pair event over the Bank Holiday weekend of May 4th until the 7th. The test event will be held on the Olympic Park at the Basketball Arena, although in the Games itself the Boccia competition will be held at the Excel Arena.
2011 was a rollercoaster year for Jacob and his family, as the early part of the year saw him battle through a major illness, which saw him battle through a life-threatening infection on a high dependency unit in the Children’s Hospital in Birmingham. He soon bounced back, and once home returned to training progressing his weekly training regime whilst he was returning to full health.
Jacob went on to compete for Great Britain in his first international event over the Summer where he finished 5th at the Boccia World Cup in Belfast and 4th in the Europa Cup out in Norway.
Jacob initially started playing Boccia when he was introduced to the sport locally by the Disability Sport Wales Community Programme, very quickly he showed some talent to the sport and was invited to become a member of the Academy Programme, created by Disability Sport Wales to ensure that any athlete showing potential to climb the pathway to GB representation had every support and opportunity to make that possible. Over the last couple of years Jacob has been an integral part of the GB Team, and he’s currently the British Champion in the BC3 category.
Boccia
Boccia is a traditional recreational sport for athletes who require a wheelchair because of physical disability. Its name is derived from the Latin word for ball – bottia. It was originally designed to be played by people with cerebral palsy but now includes athletes with other severe disabilities affecting motor skills. In 1984 it became a Paralympic sport, and in 2008 was being practiced in over fifty countries worldwide. Boccia is governed by the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association(CPISRA) and is well known Paralympic sport.