Activating Fives Coaching at Holyport College
Natalie Lilienthal reports:
08/09/25 As the first school new to the sport to build Eton Fives facilities for at least 70 years, Holyport College is now the proud owner of three courts, opened in October 2024.
Over the past academic year the school has been exploring how best to utilise its new asset – with new courts come new quandaries, like where to store the gloves and balls, which sorts of balls are suitable for younger/newer players, and when to allow access to the kit and courts outside of lesson time – and the school wanted to increase the engagement of its students with Fives, to complement ongoing use of the courts at its nearby sponsor school, Eton College.
Fives at Holyport is played during PE curriculum time for girls and boys in Y7-9. Whereas previously those cohorts didn’t have access to Fives after Y9, the new courts mean it is also now an option for Y10 and above. Last year’s keen Y12s were pleased to be able to return to Fives with the installation of the new courts following a two year hiatus, and we are hopeful that with courts onsite for all to use there will be a resurgence of the game throughout the school.
The school’s plans to drive a wider uptake of Fives this year include the introduction of supervised lunchtime access to the courts, additional co-curricular sessions for Fives coaching, boarding time/after school club time, and the option to play during senior sports sessions for the upper years. To enable this ambitious vision, the EFA hosted an Activator Coaching Course for staff, with the aim of increasing their understanding of the game and their confidence in how to coach Fives for both beginners and improvers.
The course, which was led by Eton’s coach, Ryan Perrie, was run as a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) slot during INSET training, and included all PE staff, the Housemasters, and the Master in Charge. There was a mix of Fives experience, but most had previously seen Ryan coaching Y7-9 students at Eton. Ian Mitchell and Natalie Lilienthal also attended, bringing the group size up to 10.
Everyone got stuck in, donning gloves and going through various games, drills and exercises as a practical way to learn the coaching skills from Ryan. Despite the pouring rain, we managed to stay dry thanks to the extended covered run-off section of the new courts and a cleverly placed weatherproof kit storage box the school has recently added.
As Holyport has three courts and lesson sizes up to 24 per session, we focused on ways to keep a larger group (up to 8 per court) active without having people waiting around or getting cold. These included handball activities off court, wallball on a blank wall surface, and spike ball set up near the courts. Hot potato and other game formats and drills that can keep >4 on a court at once were also covered, as well as rapid rotation games allowing constant cycling on/off court for larger groups. The fact that all core aspects of Fives can be modified for varying group size as well as differing levels of skill and physical ability, gave the group plenty to be creative with, allowing them to incorporate their own ideas.
Feedback from attendees was very positive, the atmosphere was enthusiastic, and everyone seemed to enjoy being on the courts and getting time to learn practice games and skills. The group is optimistic about Fives development at Holyport and they were already adding chalk boards to the pillars for score keeping, and asking for the best ways of keeping gloves paired up! They hope to develop beyond PE lessons to more social Fives and squad training, with the aim of getting more school fixtures this season, especially for the girls, as well as introducing a House Fives competition and continuing their presence at the Schools Championships.
Thanks to Ryan for running an engaging, active and very useful session, and to Holyport’s Headmaster, Alastair Ingall, and staff for hosting us during a busy start to the new school year. We wish them every success with their Fives this year and beyond!
About the EFA Activator Coaching course:
The course is an introductory workshop in coaching Fives. It is aimed at experienced coaches new to Fives or Fives players new to coaching. Offering practical tips and examples of drills, games and practices that will enable attendees to deliver Fives sessions and coach beginners with confidence. If you are interested in organising an Activator Coaching course at your school or club then please contact
Feedback on the Activator course:
“great sessions and extremely useful”
"hugely beneficial to the provision of our Fives curriculum"