Course summary

Central to this course is the belief that coaching theory and knowledge only become relevant when applied in practice. The programme comprises four key strands. Sports Coaching Practice strand The sports coaching strand enables you to apply theory to a variety of practical coaching situations. You are introduced to generic coaching principles and have the opportunity to demonstrate these in your own areas of interest. We believe coach education and development are important elements of improving sports performance at all levels. Therefore, we aim to enable you to understand the importance of communication from coach to athlete, and examine coaching from learning, teaching and analysis perspectives. You are also involved in coaching consultancy work in the local sporting community to enhance your employment prospects and deepen your understanding of sports coaching in practice. There are opportunities to gain coaching qualifications in tandem with these modules. Supporting Coaching Practice strand The modules within this strand aim to provide a variety of topics that aid you as a coach in your understanding of both scientific and sociological coaching principles. You focus on how inequality affects both the coaching profession and sports participation in general, how sport is resourced and how sport is used to develop local communities. We take a deeper look at training methodology and the use of technology in a performance setting, such as video match analysis. There is also a focus on educational theory and how it can aid us in structuring coaching and physical education classes. Finally, you explore coaching special populations, with the primary focus on disability sport. Sports Coaching Science strand This strand is based around the application of aspects of sports science to the world of sports coaching – where this knowledge requires a unique style of interpretation and communication. Certain aspects of applied sports biomechanics (the analysis of movement), physiology (principles of training) and psychology (where the roles of sports psychologists and coaches ‘collide’) are covered to provide you with a science toolkit for sports coaching. Research Methods strand This strand seeks to develop a familiarity with both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies and apply these to various sporting and exercise contexts. The acquisition of such skills not only underpins learning from coursework in other strands, but is also a prerequisite for completing the dissertation. The dissertation itself is designed to provide an opportunity to study an area that you are most interested in. You are supervised throughout this process but are expected to take increasing responsibility for the development of this piece of work.