John Amaechi in report from the UK's Centre for Social Justice

The UK's Centre for Social Justice has produced a report entitled More than a Game: Harnessing the power of sport to transform the lives of disadvantaged young people. The report seeks to examine the use of sport as a tool to engage and
work with young people in our most deprived communities.

The section on coaching was prepared by Gay Games Ambassador John Amaechi.

From this chapter:

There is evidence to suggest that a greater focus on developing coaches’ ability to promote self-confidence, independence and self-efficacy would produce broader benefits for sport in the UK. Sports Coach UK (SCUK) has recognised the importance of participant development in a recent policy paper, and we argue that in order for sport to play a wider social role, it is important that we ensure that coaches are better trained to work in this way.

We believe that all coaching schemes should include this as a mandatory requirement alongside essential technical skills. In agreement with SCUK, we believe that the British coaching system can best be developed by allowing NGBs and other stakeholders to share best practice and to adopt an approach to coaching which stands to deliver maximum benefit for sport and for society.

Among the recommendations of the report:

Sport policy is to be focused upon young people – so should sports coaching.
In keeping with the Government’s intention to focus sport policy on young people, sport coaches need to receive specific training to equip them with the skills needed to work effectively with young people. In making these changes, coaches’ skill sets should place a greater emphasis upon increasing confidence and competence and the technical skills required to play a particular sport. There is some evidence to suggest that this approach to training coaches can raise sporting achievement levels in addition to better outcomes (and a more rewarding experience) for those who are being coached.

The relationship between participant and coach is vital in any sporting context, and coaches must be able to manage sessions in such a way as to provide a creative and supportive environment for all their participants. This would radically improve sport’s ability to make a positive contribution to the lives of disadvantaged young people and improve the experience of sport for young people more broadly.

Read in full HERE.