Welcome to new members of the A-Star Sports advisory panel

Welcome to the new members of our advisory panel – Professor Judy Hutchings OBE, Dr Jill Adam and Greg Coburn.  Judy, Jill and Greg support the A-Star Sports team to keep up-to-date with the latest news and research in sport, coaching and child development.

Professor Judy Hutchings, OBE

Professor Judy Hutchings worked for many years as a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, particularly with children with significant behavioural difficulties. Since her retirement from the NHS in 2010 she retains an honorary NHS contract. She is Director of the Centre for Evidence Based Early Intervention (CEBEI) research team at Bangor University. She undertakes research with referred children and their families and early preventive work with parents, children and teachers.   She has held grants totalling over £1.5 million, has published extensively and, since 2006, has worked with the Welsh Assembly Government providing training and consultation to services across Wales.

She has provided evidence on effective early intervention to government departments in England and Wales and been an expert witness to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in their determination on conduct disorder. She has lectured and taught internationally including in Finland, Denmark, Ireland, Australia, Poland and Portugal.

Dr Jill Adam

Dr Jill Adam is Executive Director of Level Partnerships. Her business focus is brokering and supporting partnerships across sport, the arts, education, health, housing, diverse communities and business, at home and abroad. Previously, Jill led Initial Teacher Training at Leeds Metropolitan University, was Head of the School of Education and Professional Development and Associate Dean of the Carnegie Faculty of Sport and Education. She started her career as a secondary school teacher (11–18), initially specialising in Physical Education and Sports Science before diversifying into Special Educational Needs, with a particular interest and focus on behaviour management. She then moved into the higher education sector, initially lecturing in Sport and Physical Education before taking on her management roles. Jill completed her Doctoral studies at the University of Leeds in 2006. Her research focused upon conceptions of expertise in the teaching profession.

Greg Coburn

Greg Coburn, a coaching specialist, has celebrated positions as a former Rangers goalkeeping coach, a member of the Scottish national volleyball squad, the manager of the West Scotland team for the School Games in 2009 and Team Lanarkshire boys’ volleyball team at the International Children’s Games (ICG) in 2011.  The ICG is recognised by the International Olympics Committee and believed to be the largest gathering of young people taking part in sport. Currently a PE teacher at Carluke High School and working with a top university on his coaching passion, Greg continues to pursue his interest in positively engaging children in sport and opening up opportunities for a lifetime of engagement, especially through his commitment to coach education.

As our advisory panel grows, we will post more details on the A-Star advisors page of our website.