Coaching Programme

Structure

Our Coaching Programmes consist of a well organised Chess Curriculum. The Curriculum takes kids from not knowing anything about the game right through to advanced concepts.

Each lesson builds on the last to ensure continual learning. The Curriculum is organised in a way that ensures kids learning of Chess is fast and progressive. We have found that within a single term, students are ready to compete in our Cluster school tournaments and the Sarapu Cup.

If you are a parent, you can register your child for one of our coaching programs. It is best to do this before the beginning of each term.

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Each one-hour lesson in our Coaching Programme consists of three phases.

Phase 1

First, we introduce the lesson by sharing an interesting story about Chess wrapped around a specific topic. The story fascinates the kids and ensures their focus and attention span is maintained. We introduce a new topic and take students through the topic starting simple and then applying more complexity.

Phase 2

The kids then pair up and practise the topic they have just learnt, guided by their Chess Coach.

Phase 4

Once students' have completed their tournament games, they can play fun mini-games, challenge matches against friends and engage in various Chess variants like Zombie Chess, Tower Chess, Caïssa™, Small World™,  X-Chess™ and Doppelgänger Chess™.

Recognising Achievement

At the end of each term, each student is rewarded with a certificate recognising their effort and attendance. We also recognise special achievement around behaviours and values with badges. Some behaviours we recognise are Honesty, Courage, Helpfulness, Respect and Gratitude.

Lesson Times

The best times for Coaching varies between each school. The approach we recommend is for the school to undertake Chess Coaching as part of the schools elective programme if they have one.

If a school doesn't have an elective programme, Chess Coaching can be done before school, at lunch times or after school. It really is up to you.

Coaching Support

There are six key support mechanisms that we recommend to further accelerate students learning and confidence.

Post-Lesson Support

After each lesson students can visit www.chesspower.co.nz in their own time and access the Learning Centre. The Learning Centre contains a bunch of great tools for learning.

The Learning Centre also has games from all the Chess Giants of the past and famous female players in our Girl Power section.

The key tool we offer is a Chess Development Plan where we provide a road-map for kids to move from a beginner to becoming an Expert.

School Chess Club

We encourage schools to start a School Chess Club. The more chess the kids play the more confidence they gain and the more they enjoy the game. A school Chess Club can be run by responsible students and overseen by a teacher. The School Chess Club can be run at one or two lunch-times each week.

The school would need to purchase some Chess Sets and possibly Chess Clocks. We recommend each class has two Chess Sets and the school has an additional 12-15 sets for their School Chess Club. Note that schools receive discounts for bulk equipment purchases.

Interschool Tournaments

A great way for kids to practise what they have learnt is through Cluster tournaments and Regional tournaments. We run several tournaments every term and the tournaments are fun, encouraging and non-confrontational.

Chess Power Sarapu Cup Tournament and Public Tournaments

For players passionate about their chess, we encourage them to play in Sarapu Cup tournaments. The Sarapu Cup events are individual events open to all held on Sunday afternoons every month. You can see a full list of the available Tournaments on our Upcoming Events page.

Chess Power website

The Chess Power website provides a number of additional support services, such as a safe environment for kids to play chess online and talk about Chess, and in the Learning Centre they can view instructive games, and solve Chess problems.

Chess Books and Learning CDs

Kids can further educate themselves by purchasing one of our recommended Chess workbooks.

Pricing

Our pricing for Coaching Programmes really depends on your requirements. We recommend you Contact Us to discuss your specific requirements further. In general, students fees are around $100 - $200 per term.

Each school varies on whether the costs are met completely by the student or by the school. We have found some schools are sold on the benefits of Chess, and fund the activity completely. Others subsidise the costs, and yet others require the parents of the students to fund the activity. One thing is clear - parents are very happy to support their students in learning Chess because most parents are fully aware of the benefits that Chess brings their children.

Chess Subsidy

If a school is particularly small or is in a very low socio-economic area, the school can apply for a Chess Subsidy. Successful applicants for this subsidy will pay less for our services and receive other benefits. View details of the Chess Subsidy.

Chess Lesson Facilities Requirements

The school needs to be provide a comfortable room. Although it isn't essential, tables and chairs come in handy and make things more comfortable for students. The tables need to support Chess Sets measuring a minimum of 50cm x 70cm. Trestle tables work well.

The Chess Coach will bring a display board, Chess Sets, Chess Clocks and topic materials.

The students should all be at the venue on time at the start of the session. It is important for students to not be late so the lesson can start on time and all the student can receive maximum benefit from the time allowed.

Recommended Age Groups

Chess can be effectively learned from 5 years old. It is important not to limit your students from participating in Chess. Make enrollment open so kids can learn from a young age. The earlier they learn the more confident they will be. Chess tends to be most popular with kids aged from 7 through to 10 years old.

If you are a primary school with a large number of interested students, an effective way to run Coaching Sessions is to run two Chess Classes across two different age groups, e.g. Juniors (years 1-4) and Seniors (years 5-6).

More Information

If you would like to learn more, fill in the enquiry form below and we will be in touch!