Sports Development: Roles, Stages, and Coaching Styles
Sports Development
Sports development is a method that increases the quality of opportunities for people regardless of their age, sex, ability, and their levels of interest in participation, as well as their willingness to improve or excel in a sport of their choice.
Generic Sports Development Officer
Deals with the development of sport generally, usually within a defined geographical area and for a specific population group.
Glasgow City Council’s youth sport development officers are examples of this type.
Sport-Specific Sports Development Officer
Deals with the development of one particular sport.
Dumfries and Galloway Council’s football development officer is an example of this.
Duties of a Sports Development Officer
A sports development officer’s work involves formulating and implementing policies and strategies with a view to increasing and maintaining participation and improving standards of performance.
Key Roles
- To provide ongoing support, guidance, and advice to all school sport coordinators.
- To establish effective links between the school sport coordinator program and sports development, health promotion, sport center staff, and local sports clubs.
- To liaise with senior education management, head teachers, and other partners as appropriate.
- Formulating and implementing policies and strategies with a view to maintaining participation and improving standards of performance.
Stages of Sports Development
- Foundation
- Participation
- Performance
- Excellence
Foundation
The foundation stage is involvement in non-specific sports and physical recreation promoted through play and physical education, which forms a basis for future participation.
Some have described it as providing basic ‘body literacy’, which is essential for purposeful participation in sporting activities.
Participation
The participation stage involves engaging in sports and physical activities for enjoyment, social interaction, and health benefits. It builds upon the foundation stage and encourages continued involvement in a variety of activities.
Performance
Performance is involvement where there is a commitment to the activity in its own right and where there is a desire for improved competitive results. In short, performance includes those who want to get better at what they do.
Excellence
Excellence refers to the pinnacle of sporting performance, where there is often a single-minded commitment to sporting goals, and where these goals reflect the achievement of a potential to achieve national and international honors.
Sportscotland
Sportscotland is the national agency for sport in Scotland.
Sportscotland runs three different centers.
Funding
Sportscotland offers funding to allow people with low incomes to take part in UKCC (UK Coaching Certificate) courses.
National Governing Body (NGB) Example
An example of a development activity run by a National Governing Body is:
Mini-Kickers (3-5 Years Old)
Mini-Kickers classes are fun participation sessions that provide the ideal first step on a young person’s Football for Life journey.
Children aged 3-5 take part in a wide range of activities designed to improve their physical literacy: running, jumping, hopping, skipping, balancing, rolling, bouncing, climbing, throwing, catching, and of course, kicking are all developed.
Using imagination and creativity, the children play their way through many different themed sessions. Animals, countries, pirates, colors, and numbers are among the enjoyable topics introduced to allow for a holistic educational experience.
Many of the sessions are adult and child-based, where a parent or guardian is able to join in with their child to support them through any initial apprehension. Music, balloon play, and obstacle courses also ensure every session is great fun.
Coaching Styles
Autocratic
- Hands-on style
- Makes all decisions
- Coach fully responsible
- One-way communication
- Strict approach
Democratic
- Hands-off style
- Participants make decisions
- Participants given responsibility
- Two-way communication
- Participants involved in feedback
Laissez-faire
- Relaxed
- Hands-off style
- Participants have the greatest responsibility
- Loose guidelines
- Laid-back approach
Applying Coaching Styles
- P2 Children: Autocratic
- Motivated S4 Children: Democratic
Revise the autocratic and democratic styles and see how they can be applied to different age groups and skill levels.