Sports Coach UK launch – Future of Coaching

Sports Coach UK – Future of Coaching Project

The way people approach activity and sport is changing. Coaching must be recognised for the wider benefits it brings to society and all those striving to create a healthier, more active nation must extend the scope of what they do to meet the full range of customer needs.

Working with the Future Foundation, the Sports Coach UK – Coaching Committee has undertaken a two-year project to identify trends and create four long term aspirations for the future of coaching by 2025, together with the actions needed for success. These will inform the evolution of the UK Coaching Framework.

To achieve the aspirations, the sector needs to adopt a broader definition of coaching that reflects the wide range of coaching roles and the variety of reasons why people play and engage in sport and activity. The definition is: “Helping and inspiring all people to achieve their sport and activity goals whatever their ability, ambition and motivation”.

The aspirations and actions 2016-2025

1 – Coaching recognised for the benefits it brings to society

• Build understanding and collaboration in the sector around the value of coaching
• Develop a high profile sector wide strategy to promote the value of coaching
• Grow the culture of a coaching family

2 – Flexible and agile workforce reflective of society

• Adopt a broader definition of coaching
• Identify and work with new, diverse partners outside traditional sport, building the profile of sports coaching
• Increase numbers and proportion of paid coaches
• Develop a targeted mainstream media strategy to recruit new coaches from priority groups
• Adopt a sector wide campaign for every coach to recruit another coach

3 – Coaching developed to meet the full range of customer motivations

• Adopt a broader definition of coaching
• Identify priority areas of growth for coaching (eg recreational sport)
• Develop relationships with organisations operating in priority areas for growth
• Target coach learning and development opportunities to meet customer needs in priority areas for growth
• Develop new coaching roles that sit between coaching and priority areas for growth (eg between sport coaching and health and wellbeing).

4 – Coaching embracing technology

• Develop a sector wide digital coaching strategy to support:
• Coach learning
• Delivery of coaching
• Communication (effective use of social media and digital networks for people who play and coach sport)
• Data collection (motivations, behaviours, experiences) o System development and collaboration
• Development of new relationships with digital partners.

Priority actions 2016-17

• Develop a high profile, sector wide strategy to promote the value of coaching
• Drive targeted coach learning and development opportunities to meet the full range of customer motivations
• Implement a sector wide digital coaching strategy.

Read more about the Future of Coaching project on Sport Coach UK’s website.