Meg Chard was selected for the 2022 cohort of the scholarship programme to accelerate her already impressive development.
Meg followed on from being the youngest woman to complete the UCI’s prestigious Directeur Sportif (DS) course to becoming an active DS with the Cornwall-based Saint Piran Race Team. Her development isn’t stopping there though - here are Meg’s reflections to date on her development through the scholarship and next steps.
“I have loved being part of the Total Computers Scholarship Programme so far. It has enabled me to further my coaching career in addition to meeting some amazing people who have become some of my closest friends. We have a group chat where we always bounce ideas off each other and learn from different perspectives – I feel its so rare to be part of a collective where everyone wants you to be the best version of yourself. Attending coaching courses with fellow scholars is always a great time for a catch up and talk about everything we have achieved in the past few months, and we are never short of stories to tell especially with the endless opportunities that keep coming our way.
I was told in January that I would be working with Nicky Harverson as a coach developer, and we clicked straight away. I know that I can go to her for anything and always provides me with the best advice that allows me to develop as an individual in the most effective way. She has such a unique story to tell, and she continuously inspires me to chase my dreams and do the things that truly make me happy. I recently attended a coaching session with Nicky that allowed me to see what amazing things that her and her team are doing for the sport and development of young athletes - I felt privileged to be involved in one of her sessions.
Back in January at the scholarship launch event, I spoke to Dave Reed from UK Coaching about confidence to speaking in a group. It wasn’t something that I was particularly bad at, but something that I wanted to be better at before heading into a men’s continental cycling team as a Sport Director and helping Welsh Cycling with their coaching sessions. He provided me with such beneficial advice that has been a solid building block to progressing into bigger and better things in 2023. The scholarship provides me with not only opportunities to develop as a coach, but also the support and encouragement to really pursue all my goals and believe in myself – like they believe in me.”
Apply to be part of the 2023 Total Computers Scholarship programme
