Developing Participation

Understanding Youth Coach Capabilities

Practical Solutions inspired by the Youth section of Participation Coaching Curriculum

The aim of the short online presentation is

To develop an understanding of 1. Youth recreational participant capabilities

2. Youth recreational coach competencies 3. Ideas for putting your capabilities as a youth coach into practice

from the sports coach UK , Participation Coaching Curriculum

This presentation can be accessed just by clicking each slide through in progression OR you can follow some of the hyperlinked tabs to look at what interests you as a coach.

Take your time to follow any links or tabs that you find interesting. Many of the linked documents are able to be saved for your own use.

If you have any questions or comments please emailparticipation@sportscoacuk.org

‘What is youth recreational sport all about?’Before looking at coach capabilities we need to look at what youth recreational sport is all about. Have a look at the following diagram to see the key areas as listed in curriculum

Are playful, fun inclusive and

engaging

Provide high quality

experiences

Vary provision to

meet differing needs

Consult and offer choice

Develop health and

fitness outcomes

Support personal

mastery and competition

Develop self esteem and social skills

Enable transfer to

performance pathways

Signpost to other sessions and activities

Encourage skill development

Here we look at what coaches can do to support recreational sport for young people

Take a moment to note down any ideas that the previous slide brings to mind for your own coaching practice.

Consider making a note in your diary about one specific idea to try in your next coaching session

The next section of this presentation will look at

1. Physical Technical Tactical and Mental participant capabilities

2. Personal and Social participant capabilities

3. Some ideas about what coaches can do to support the development of all of these capabilities

Please feel free to click around each of the slides looking at each capability before progressing to the next slide. Use the direction buttons to help you.

Make notes about your own ideas that you can use in your next coaching session

Tactical

Technical Mental

Physical

The next section of slides looks at appropriate coach capabilities for coaches who work with young people of all abilities to create sessions that are enjoyable, maintain fitness, develop skills, generate self-assurance, encourage social interaction, and promote physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing.

Please click on any of the tabs below to find out more

Youth Participant Capabilities

LifestyleCharacter and CaringCreativity

Connection Confidence Competence

Participant Capabilities Coach Capabilities

Adjusting agility, balance and co-ordination as the body matures and grows Maintaining a healthy weight

Developing and managing increased strength and power

Maintaining high levels of concentration, energy and activity

Minimising the chance of injury

• Identify, create and set up a wide range of fun activities and games that promote the development of agility, balance and co-ordination. Meet the needs of the individual young person to develop agility, balance and coordination

• Identify, create and set up a wide range of fun activities that facilitate the maintenance of a healthy weight• Explain the benefits of maintaining a healthy weight and factors that contribute to this outcome

• Identify, create and set up a wide range of fun activities that allow participants to experiment safely and develop strength and power

• Identify, create and set up a wide range of fun activities that promote increased levels of concentration, energy and sustained activity

• Ensure a good balance between high, intermediate and low energy activities to avoid potential exhaustion and/or burnout• Set up all activities in a way that minimises the risk of injury to participants and provide knowledge of how young people can minimise the risk of injury and accelerate recovery

Physical Capabilities

Tactical Technical Mental Personal and Social Physical

Participant Capabilities Coach Capabilities

Suggesting ways to modify sessions and activities to maximise their own and others’ participation

Creating and/or organising their own activities, practices and games

Participating effectively in fun competitions, challenges or displays

• Identify, create and set up a wide range of fun activities and games that promote an awareness of the environment and that encourage and foster appropriate responses to the demands posed

• Identify the key environmental features that can be manipulated within an activity to achieve different participant outcomes, use them to alter activities in real time for the benefit of the learners, and support learners to understand the process

• Identify and set up opportunities for participants to develop their own activities, practices and games

• Support the participants to identify the key environmental features that can be manipulated within an activity to achieve different outcomes

• Identify and/or set up opportunities for participants to take part in, plan and organise competitive activities, skill displays or challenges

• Ensure that these opportunities match the developmental stage and needs/ interests of the participants

Tactical Capabilities

Tactical Technical Mental Personal and Social Physical

Participant Capabilities Coach Capabilities

Refining or re-learning skills due to their growing/maturing body

Applying and/or learning new skills and techniques

Presenting a wider range of good technical skills and knowing when to use them

Developing skills in similar ability/ maturation/ gender groups

• Identify, create and set up a wide range of fun activities and games that promote the refining and/or re-learning of fundamental movement and sport-specific skills and meet the needs of individual young peoples’ needs

•Identify, create and set up a wide range of fun activities and games that provide opportunities to apply and/or learn new skills and techniques

• Identify and isolate the key components and underpinning principles behind the new skills in action, and develop specific interventions to meet the needs of individual participants

• Identify, create and set up a wide range of fun activities and games that provide opportunities to apply and/or learn new skills and techniques

• Identify and isolate the key components and underpinning principles behind the new skills in action, the varied conditions in which they may be used, and develop specific interventions to meet the needs of individual participants

• Identify participants’ different development stages and levels of skill within a group, and provide differentiated/ personalised activities to support self-paced learning

Technical Capabilities

Tactical Technical Mental Personal and Social Physical

Participant Capabilities Coach Capabilities

Understanding the learning process and how to cope with and learn from setbacks

Knowing what they want to improve on and how they can improve it

Making progress through setting personal challenges and goals

Evaluating success and recognising progress and achievement, against a range of factors/roles

• Understand the learning process and the principles of self-reflection and goal-setting in greater depth, and deliberately and consistently offer opportunities for participants to think about their own performance and ways to improve it

• Support individual participants through the process of becoming more self-aware by enabling them to set short-, medium- and long-term goals and evaluate their progress against those goals

• Help participants to understand the developmental nature of, and possibilities that come from, experiencing setbacks, and provide participants with strategies to deal with them

Mental Capabilities

Tactical Technical Mental Personal and Social Physical

Participant Capabilities Coach Capabilities

Willingly try new activities and roles without fear of failure

Talking positively about their participation and achievement

Asking for help if needed

Making decisions for themselves regarding practices and their own involvement

• Understand the principles underpinning the creation of ‘task-orientated’ environments and be able to consistently and effectively apply them to coaching practice, resulting in optimally-motivated groups and participants that are willing to try new things and are able to deal with setbacks confidently

• Create a positive climate where participants feel valued for both their sporting and personal contributions to the team and can make decisions for themselves

• Provide appropriate amounts of constructive feedback to groups and individual participants which is consistent and effective in format, timing and content

• Use praise consistently and effectively

Confidence - Personal and Social Capabilities

LifestyleCharacter and

CaringCreativityConnection CompetenceConfidencePTTM

Participant Capabilities Coach Capabilities

Explaining and valuing the benefits of taking part in sport and physical activity

Working well with others, as part of a team and on their own

Taking part in peer-learning, as both learner and teacher

Encouraging and helping others

Showing leadership skills and qualities by taking parts of sessions and being actively involved in planning

• Offer an comprehensive explanation of the positive aspects of sport and regularly engage participants in discussions about it

• Consistently and effectively provide well-planned opportunities for collaborative play

• Provide opportunities for participants to engage in peer-learning activities (e.g. observation, analysis and feedback)

• Recognise and maximise opportunities for participants to develop and display their leadership skills

• Promote a culture of equity and co-operation between participants and challenge any instances of bullying or discriminatory behaviour

Connection - Personal and Social Capabilities

LifestyleCharacter and

CaringCreativityConnection CompetenceConfidencePTTM

Participant Capabilities Coach Capabilities

Suggesting ideas and adaptations for playing and improving

Tackling challenges and solving problemsInnovative whilst playing and showing divergent thinking

Devising creative and fun activities

• Demonstrate a total understanding of the mechanisms that foster participants’ creativity and be consistent and effective in using a wide range of activities and methods to develop it

• Provide opportunities for participants to interact with the environment, be challenged by it and supported to develop their own solutions to challenges e.g. free play, developing own routines, games and rules, use of problem-solving activities; be comfortable with an appropriately ‘messy’ environment

• Encourage participants to shape how activities are conducted and what could be done differently

• Enable participants to use the STEP model to adapt activities effectively

Creativity - Personal and Social Capabilities

LifestyleCharacter and

CaringCreativityConnection CompetenceConfidencePTTM

Participant Capabilities Coach Capabilities

Learning and performing relevant skills in a relaxed environment

Explaining and choosing what they want to improve on and how they can improve it

Communicating effectively and confidently with the coach and other participants

Attending regularly, on time and dressed appropriately for the activity

• Set up a relaxed environment and, in consultation with the young people, propose activities that are pitched at the right level for the participants. Where there is a discrepancy between activity and stage of development/wants of the participants, the coach is able to recognise this and correct it in real time

• Consistently and effectively differentiate between and within groups to maximise learning

• Support participants’ understanding of potential areas for improvement and how to go about it

• Develop the participants’ ability to communicate effectively and confidently with the coach and other participants

• Act as a role model with regards to attendance, appearance and punctuality and create an atmosphere where these traits are valued and embraced by all

Competence - Personal and Social Capabilities

LifestyleCharacter and

CaringCreativityConnection CompetenceConfidencePTTM

Participant Capabilities Coach Capabilities

Valuing and respecting others (young people and adults)

Demonstrating good sportsmanship

A role model in appropriate circumstances

• Develop a code of conduct in conjunction with the participants and consistently use it to promote positive behaviours

• Demonstrate a total understanding of the coaching behaviours that promote respect for everyone involved in the activity and be totally consistent in modelling these behaviours

• Support participants to recognise the impact of role models and create opportunities for participants to become role models

Character and Caring - Personal and Social Capabilities

LifestyleCharacter and

CaringCreativityConnection CompetenceConfidencePTTM

Participant Capabilities

Coaches should be supporting participants to:•make independent choices about activity (kind, intensity level, degree of commitment)

•understand the national recommendations for physical activity for young people and endeavour to achieve them

•make informed choices about their personal habits and their impact on current and future health (sleep, diet, smoking, drinking)

•enjoy fun activity with their peers, for which may want a different type of club environment

•explore emerging adulthood and become less dependent on adults as they grow older

•develop an ability to travel and play/practise at later times

•balance school, home and social pressures

Lifestyle - Personal and Social Capabilities

LifestyleCharacter and

CaringCreativityConnection CompetenceConfidencePTTM

IDEAS for developing PHYSICAL CAPABILITIES

Play fun games that gets young people out of breath. Avoid stopping too often so that young people have sustained aerobic activity

Play games that develop core strength when supporting balance development

Try using skill circuits to show how different skills require different physical development

Know which of your 'toolkit' of games are enjoyed by young people and good for enhancing energy levels. Use them to boost young peoples activity levels in your session.

IDEAS for developing TACTICAL CAPABILITIES

Use modified games that promote awareness of different tactical situations. Look at Teaching Games for Understanding link for ideas

Encourage participants to modify their own games using the STEP principlesSpace - bigger, smaller, narrower, wider, sectionsTime - allow longer time to keep possession to allow for decision

making, have universal time outs for tactic discussions Equipment - bigger, smaller, standard, alternative, modified, from a

different sport, try a Frisbee in invasion games activities /slow bounce balls in striking games to slow down play to teach tactics

People - change the size of teams, smaller, uneven, larger

Encourage participants to experience different roles and positions. Make sure they know what they might need to think about in a different way in different roles / positions

IDEAS for developing TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES

Reassure participants who are re-learning technical skills. Give enough time to practice. Provide some ideas for how to practice at home

Encourage young people to adapt techniques to suit their own abilities so that they can be effective players and join in games

Let them observe how others make decisions. Give them an opportunity to talk to you about what they noticed and observed

Set a variety of technical challenges for your participants. Let them decide which challenge they will work on first

IDEAS for developing MENTAL CAPABILITIES

Discuss making mistakes openly. Admit your own in sessions

Ask young people to think about what they will do if they make mistakes

Ask young people what makes them anxious or worried in sessions

Allow time for young people to talk to their peers about their successes / failures

Encourage young people to think about their own motivations

Find out what motivates your young people to take part. Ensure they have success in these motives.

Offer choices for young people and let them be accountable for their decisions

IDEAS for developing CONFIDENCE

Think of some of your games that foster curiosity - use them and show that you are also curious

Ensure every young person has success EVERY session

Know what success means for your young people. It might not be the same as yours. Winning isn't everything to many young people.

Think about how you will recognise success

How will you get young people to acknowledge their own success either publicly or privately

IDEAS for developing CONNECTION

Help young people learn about each other and how they have things in common

Learn all the names of your participants - model how to ask someone's name if you forget - we all forget and need help to develop strategies to ask again or find out without being embarrassed

Think about if you need some boundaries for social media use. You need to understand how it can affect your sessions? Will you accept facebook friend requests? For more info follow this link to CPSU guidance for Using Social Media

Will you need to text, phone or email your young people about your session? Find out more about Text and Email guidelines from CPSU

IDEAS for developing CREATIVITY

Praise innovation and creative thinking

Demonstrate that experimenting and being creative can be successful. Role model how to manage failure of creative attempts

Set personal challenges - either short, medium or long term ones

Set group challenges - either short, medium or long term ones

IDEAS for developing CHARACTER and CARING

Have a code of conduct with a clear outline of consequences and rewards - do this in partnership with your young people

Consistently promote fair play

Help young people to manage their own frustrations when playing - provide them with tips and things to try when feeling flustered and annoyed

Do you know when special / stressful events are happening for your young people? Consider how you demonstrate you are aware of these and how it might affect attendance and participation levels

• birthdays / anniversaries• school exams• change in social / peer groups• community events

IDEAS for developing COMPETENCE

Consult with your group to find out what their interests are and what types of activities they enjoy

Observe your groups to find out the different stages of physical and social development that they have. Note ideas for individuals who may need additional support

Pitch activities of the right level for your participants and for what they want to achieve out of your session

Act as a role model when coaching - dress appropriately, be on time, courteous, healthy behaviours (smoking, eating, drinking, exercise)

IDEAS for developing LIFESTYLE SKILLS

Respect the independent choices young people make - even if you disagree Understand the national recommendations for physical activity for young peopleTry and have your session meet some of these aspirationsDepartment of Health link for guidance on physical activity levels for 5-18 year olds

If you are interested in finding out more about developing your own capabilities or those of fellow coaches please consider the following areas for support

• Check out the free ‘Coaching for Participation’ section on the sports coach UK website– It is full of resources, tools, top tips, blogs and links that have been designed with coaches in mind– Download the Coaching New Participants Top Tips – full of ideas and things for coaches to try– Download the Coaching Youth Recreational Participants Best Practice Tips – links directly to this online

learning content – Download the Participation Coaching Curriculum in full – includes sections for adult and returner

recreational coaching – Check out the links and support available from Us Girls via the Guidance for Coaching Young Women

webpage

• Consider attending or hosting our newest workshop ‘How to Deliver Engaging Sessions’ workshop and request it is tailored for youth coaching

• Email participation@sportscoachuk.org with any comments or suggestions about what you would like to see being developed to support youth recreational coaches

The full copy of the Participation Coaching Curriculum is available from the sports coach UK website.

It has more detail included than this online learning presentation.

Please feel free to download the curriculum

The capabilities discussed are also available as an interactive online tool(link to be attached when finalised)

Congratulations and thank you for your time in completing this online presentation

sports coach UK hope you have learned a few new things and that you will try something new in your coaching as a result of this presentation

If you would like to discuss any aspect of this presentation you are invited to take part in an online WebEx meeting on Tuesday 20th November at 12.00pm

If you would like to attend the online meeting please emailparticipation@sportscoachUK.org with your questions

We will send you joining instructions prior to the meeting and answer as many of your questions

as possible during the online WebEx meeting

Happy Coaching!

Liz BurkinshawDevelopment Lead Officer for Participation

sports coach UK

You can follow Liz on Twitter @lovely_buns for regular tweets about participation and coaching