On August 10, Pat Duffy, vice president of strategy and development for the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE) and the chief architect of the International Sport Coaching Framework, passed away after a year-and-a-half battle with brain cancer.
Pat also was professor of sport coaching at Leeds Metropolitan University. Over the past two decades he has become one of the world’s foremost authorities on coaching education and development. Pat was a chief executive of Sports Coach UK and was the chief technical advisor to the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee on the development of the South African Coaching Framework.
Perhaps most impressively, in the competitive and sometimes close-minded realms of academia and coach development, Pat was admired and appreciated. He was a master consensus builder and receptive to differing points of view.
Professional stature and achievements aside, Pat Duffy was a very special person. His wife, Deirdre, and children cherished their loving husband and father. And while Pat was a joy to work with, as some staff at HK can attest, he was even more fun to simply be with.