Sheffield Paralympic coach hailed as one of the best in the UK

Richard Morris was honoured as one of the top coaches in the UK, and received their award for the brilliant work they have done in 2021 in Sheffield.

Richard Morris was one of 18 winners honoured at the UK Coaching Awards 2021.

He returned from the Paralympic Games in Tokyo this summer having led the team to a silver and bronze medal.

Judges found that despite it being the debut for the sport at the Paralympics, Richard coached and led the GB Para-Badminton team with confidence and a clear direction, setting the standard for future athletes.

Even more impressive was his personal commitment to his athletes’ development. Richard raised £5,000 from a charity in Sheffield, which was matched by Badminton England in order help his athletes continue training and build up rank points ahead of the Paralympics.

Richard has coached players to numerous World and European Championship titles – all stemming from the grassroots level through outstanding coaching.

Richard said: “It feels amazing to be awarded high performance coach of the year. To do it in any year is amazing, but in a Paralympic and Olympic year is wonderful. This is a honour for me, but it is testament to the brilliance of our team.

“Coaches are the people that lay the foundations for success, they drive the players into the direction that they need to go into and have to flexible to get the best out of their players. You mustn’t be afraid of working hard, you have to adapt and change – but these are the things that make what I am lucky enough to do so enjoyable.

“Training world class players in badminton, over Zoom whilst the do movement patterns in the garage or on a car park was something that I thought I would never have to do but it has made us closer as a team. Preparing for my first games was always going to be an emotional rollercoaster but I can now see why people give up large proportions of their life trying to achieve it. It’s like no other event.

“Watching my squad, play and fight in Tokyo was by far my proudest moment as coach so far. Knowing them for the last 10 years and seeing where they have come from to watching them on the biggest stage was a moment I will never forget."