A blog written by Dr Barnaby Sargent Megicks
It is estimated that over 3 million people in the United Kingdom actively take up the role of a ‘sports coach’ across various youth and adult settings, supporting physical activity and sporting experiences.
UK Coaching supports the learning and development of these sports coaches, as the leading national voice for best practice. The organisation engages thousands of coaches through the delivery of coach certification and their online learning platform.
Of particular interest to UK Coaching is developing coaches’ knowledge, understanding and practice of ‘holistic development’ – a concept in coaching referring to developing life skills and supporting the well-being of their participants in sport through careful consideration of the coaching environment. As such, we have worked together to create a range of resources with UK Coaching to support coaches in developing their practice in holistic development. These resources, fifteen in total, include ‘best practice’ videos, real-life case studies of practice, and Q&A with coaches.
Sports coaches are tasked with creating positive, safe and enjoyable sporting experiences for their participants, with the benefit of continued physical activity engagement, and a wide range of personal and social health benefits. So, it is crucial that sports coaches across the United Kingdom are provided with up-to-date, research-informed and yet personally relevant learning resources to support their professional development. Raising the standards of sports coaches can in turn facilitate more positive experiences for those taking part in physical activity and sport, of which the benefits are of course significant, including for physical and mental health and personal development. Sports coaches, and therefore their learning and development play a vitally important role in the sport, physical activity and health landscape of our nation.
It is pleasing that UK Coaching, the leading voice for sport coach training recognises the significance of the research we are conducting and feels it is impactful for their extensive network of coaches to learn from. Holistic development is a practice of growing significance in the field, with this being one of several projects we are working on.
This is the second occasion I have worked with UK Coaching on holistic development resources. It is a collaboration relationship that brings together my research, and their expertise in coach learning and development. This particular project is a true demonstration of the connection between research and knowledge exchange, with the resources created for the coaches directly informed by research I have conducted over the last 5 years. It has the potential to be really impactful work.
I was able to work with UK Coaching to understand their demand for the project, and to create a bespoke suite of resources, underpinned by research on coaches in the UK. It is one thing carrying out the research, and another translating that into resources designed for coaches to interact with, pushing their understanding of holistic development.
It is very satisfying to apply my research findings to consumable resources for coaches, having a direct impact on their professional development. This demonstrates the relevance of the research. It is also great to have two current PhD students involved in the creation of the resources, sharing their experiences and knowledge of coaching volleyball and athletics. I hope the coaches will find the resources stimulating and beneficial for their practice.
