Sports Coaching BSc (Hons)

 

Course Code

UCAS Code: C610
International Code: HLSU193

Location

Coventry University (Coventry)

 

Study mode

Full-time
Sandwich

Duration

3 years full-time
4 years full-time (study abroad or work placement)

Start date

September 2022

How to apply
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Course overview

Study level: Undergraduate

Our Sports Coaching BSc (Hons) aims to produce exceptional coaches who are competent, confident and reflective, with strong practical application of scientific knowledge and theoretical frameworks.

  • Based at our Westwood Heath sports facilities which include seven grass sports pitches, an astroturf pitch, and state-of-the-art classroom with an analysis suite.
  • Joint 2nd in the Midlands for career prospects in Sport Science in the Guardian University Guide 2021
  • A wide range of opportunities to develop your coaching practice with an emphasis on optimal youth development
  • You may have the opportunity to gain a national governing body coaching qualification within the course (included in course fees).
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Global Ready

An international outlook, with global opportunities
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Teaching excellence

Taught by lecturers who are experts in their field
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Employability

Career ready graduates, with the skills to succeed

Why you should study this course

Sports coaching plays an important role in encouraging/inspiring people a range of abilities, backgrounds and ages to engage in sports and physical activity.

This course will provide a wealth of opportunities for you to develop your practical coaching skills and knowledge of coaching theories that underpin the development of participants in sports and exercise settings. A large element of the taught content and assessment will be practical. This allows you to apply theory to practice and immerse yourself in the coaching process through developing knowledge of the needs of the participants, understanding how to create an engaging learning environment and developing your ability to reflect upon your coaching experiences.

Throughout the course you will explore and apply various pedagogical approaches, applied sport science and sport development topics. It is designed to allow you to develop a holistic approach to coaching across a range of sports and exercise settings, for individuals and teams, at varying ages and ability levels, from grassroots to elite level sport. You will develop communication skills, leadership skills and adaptability, be able to recognise talent and to help participants to achieve their potential.

Based at our sports facilities at Westwood Heath, you can take full advantage of our cutting-edge facilities, including seven grass sports pitches, an astroturf pitch, and state-of-the-art classroom with an analysis suite.

Many of our current staff members have competed or coached at a high level, working with both elite and amateur participants in sport. Most staff maintain membership of professional institutions - such as accredited sport governing bodies - and are actively engaged in scholarship, creating an opportunity for you to explore and develop an understanding of current research in contemporary topics in sport coaching.

Importantly, we have a team of staff and students working with many local schools on physical activity research projects, which may enable you to be involved in research and projects designed to enhance your coaching skills.

What you'll study

In the first year, you will have the opportunity to gain an understanding of a range of key practical and theoretical approaches to sports coaching. The coaching process, which includes the planning, delivery and reflection on coaching and various pedagogical approaches will be introduced. In addition, you should gain knowledge of sport science disciplines (physiology, biomechanics and psychology) which will help inform a broad understanding of the needs of the individual.

Modules

  • This module introduces you to a range of issues that underpin the delivery of a practical coaching session. The module will provide an introduction to the coaching process in which the requirements of the participant (Who), the specific demands of the activity (What) and the pedagogical approaches used to structure the learning environment (How), inform decision making, planning and reaction. A key aspect of this module is that you will be introduced to the ‘what’ and sample the range of different sports you may coach. The module will have a focus on the practical delivery of coaching sessions underpinned by theoretical concepts with a focus on developing the core components of the coaching process - planning, delivery and evaluation. As part of this module, you will complete and reflect upon an appropriate coaching qualification facilitating opportunities to gain work experience in the coaching sector.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Practical and portfolio

  • This module aims to build further understanding of the coaching process. You will build on your knowledge of ‘what’ you are coaching and begin to develop an understanding of ‘how’ you are coaching. This module will challenge your current understanding of what effective coaching is and how to create an effective learning environment in practice. Through a series of lectures and practical workshops you will be asked to deconstruct and reconstruct the coaching process through exploration and experimentation with pedagogical theory. You should start to understand and develop your own coaching philosophy and gain an understanding of what ‘coaching’ means to you.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Practical and portfolio

  • The principles of motor learning and skill acquisition in the sport and exercise environment are introduced in this module. You should gain an understanding of the structure and function of the brain, how skills are learnt and methods of structuring the environment to maximise learning and performance. There will also be the opportunity to evaluate current research and gain practical skills in laboratory and tutorial settings.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework and presentation

  • The module aims to understand and develop the study skills required to promote an evidence-based approach to coaching practice. A focus will be placed on developing a range of written, verbal and digital platform skills to enable communication to scientific and non-scientific audiences. You will explore scientific methods, research design and how to manage, explore, analyse and interpret different types of information. In addition, the ability to manage your own time effectively in order to balance life, work and university demands will be developed in this module.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Portfolio

  • The aim of this module is to provide you with an understanding of the exercise physiology that underpins paediatric participant development. More specifically you will be required to understand physiological paediatric development and consider the impact of safe and effective training programmes on participant development in relation to growth, maturation and training adaptation. You will have the opportunity to perform sports laboratory tests and consider the reliability and validity of such tests.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Practical and coursework

  • You will also be able to take an Add+vantage module which can allow you to develop your CV by taking credits in an area of study that doesn’t have to be related to your degree. The assessment type will depend on the type of Add+vantage module you wish to take.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework and exam

In the second year, further competence will be developed in the coaching process with greater emphasis placed on the analysis of the pedagogical approaches and scientific principles underpinning practical coaching sessions. You will apply your knowledge to a range of scenarios, with the practical skills programme continuing the development of professional skills and their application, particularly reflective practice and career management. In addition to this, you will further develop research skills and employability through an exploration of qualitative and quantitative approaches to research and structured work experience.

Modules

  • This module develops both your theoretical knowledge and applied practical skills in sports coaching. You will again focus on an experiential approach to learning and be exposed to a range of practical scenarios, including observations of peers and experienced coaches, designed to develop your coaching abilities. In addition, you will explore and evaluate a range of current theoretical thinking developed by national and international policies and frameworks for sport and physical activity and how these influence the design of your own practice. The learning environment will be considered in further depth with a particular focus on feedback and new frontiers in technological advances in coaching.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework and practical

  • The aim of this module is to further develop your understanding of the exercise physiology that underpins paediatric participant development. Evidence-based training interventions to improve a range of physical characteristics (balance, co-ordination, speed, strength and endurance) will be considered in detail with reference to growth and maturation. You will apply this knowledge to design, implement and monitor safe and effective physical development programmes. You will also examine overtraining, injury prevalence and nutritional support and consider their impact on development.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Practical and coursework

  • This module aims to develop employability. You will be required to apply for and undertake a work-based learning experience in an appropriate organisation*. During the experience employability skills should be developed including professional knowledge, practical leadership / activity facilitating skills and vocational competencies. The module will foster an experiential approach to learning, allowing you to experiment with the design and implementation of coaching sessions.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Oral, portfolio and coursework

  • Developing your understanding of participant centred, needs based approach, in which you will evaluate psychological and social theories to inform the practice of sports coaching is the objective of this module. You will be exposed to several key psychological and social frameworks allowing you to develop informed and critical approaches to your coaching practice. Key topics such as personal processes, interpersonal processes and motivation will be evaluated with consideration of how they impact on communication skills and the learning of the individual.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Presentation and oral

  • This module builds on the knowledge you developed in year 1. Specifically, the focus is to enhance analytical skills allowing you to develop a deeper understanding of research skills related to sports coaching. You will critically explore qualitative and quantitative approaches to research with focus on critical analysis leading to problem solving and discovery. Furthermore, the application of scientific and non-scientific communication will be developed.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework

  • The module builds on your prior understanding by developing high order thinking and encouraging critical thinking and dissemination of information. Research skills will be further developed by evaluating mixed method approaches and advanced study design. You will also examine the application of alternative approaches to exploring data. These skills are designed to enable you to construct appropriate research design to explore novel insights in the field of sports coaching.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Presentation

  • You will also be able to take an Add+vantage module which can allow you to develop your CV by taking credits in an area of study that doesn’t have to be related to your degree. The assessment type will depend on the type of Add+vantage module you wish to take.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework and exam

After your second year, you can choose to take an optional sandwich year; studying abroad, working on professional placement, or a combination of the two.

If you wish to do so, you can opt to take the Professional Experience Sandwich Year module or the Study Abroad Year module which both typically run for a full academic year between years 2 and 3 of your course. You are able to progress onto the relevant module if you have successfully completed the first two years of the course (i.e. having accumulated 240 credits) and provided that you confirm your interest in undertaking this option before the end of your second year, typically in August.

The university’s Talent Team can provide you with a wide range of support services in order to help you apply for a placement opportunity.

Modules

  • Optional

  • Optional

The final year encourages independent and innovative approaches to the coaching process. You will have the opportunity to further develop your self-awareness, informed by understanding and applying a range of appropriate information from scientific and non-scientific sources. The year is designed to give you the skills to enhance your coaching practice and develop a level of specialism in an independent research project. You will also have the option to choose at least one of the two key coaching management modules focused on general participation or high performance-oriented interests to aid the further development of your employability profile.

Modules

  • Your knowledge and understanding of the scientific research process developed in previous modules will be applied to create a research question within a chosen topic area. You will then design independent research study and communicate it in the form of a research proposal. After successful completion of this module, you will be able showcase, amongst other things, your ability to seek and identify relevant information, develop research question(s) and make evidence based informed judgments. These are all key graduate level skills desired by employers as they are often representative of an individual’s ability to perform work-based tasks such as write reports, develop business cases and conduct audits. In addition, this module provides you with the opportunity to evaluate and practice specific practical skills and methods relevant to your proposed research. This module will also help you to gain valuable experience in exploring ethical and health and safety issues, including completing appropriate documentation, surrounding your proposed research.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework

  • This module will build on year 1 and 2 modules by developing both theoretical knowledge of and applied practical skills in sports coaching. You will create and evaluate innovative and evidence based long-term coaching plans, appraising how you design and facilitate effective participant / athlete centred learning. You will be expected to critically reflect on all aspects of your coaching practice and develop a clear understanding of coaching expertise. In addition, you will consider your coaching journey with reference to coach education frameworks and potential future career pathways.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Practical and portfolio

  • The aim of this module is to develop your theoretical knowledge of current issues in sport coaching and critically evaluate their influence on, or how they might inform, your coaching practice. Topic areas covered will be dependent on current issues influencing today's coaching practice such as mental health, bio-banding and digital technologies. You should be able to disseminate current thinking on contemporary coaching topics to scientific and non-scientific audiences through scientific writing and podcasting.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework and oral

  • Within this module, you conduct, analyse, interpret and communicate, via a scientific research paper and oral presentation, a scientific investigation in a specialised area of sports coaching. You will be expected to demonstrate an ability to work independently and show high levels of organisational skills throughout all phases of your work. In addition, you will reflect on your day-to-day experiences of conducting research.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework and viva

  • If you have an Add+vantage module and the info text has not been provided. Please use the below: You will also be able to take an Add+vantage module which can allow you to develop your CV by taking credits in an area of study that doesn’t have to be related to your degree. The assessment type will depend on the type of Add+vantage module you wish to take.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework and exam

  • Choose one from the following:

    Managing Athlete Careers and Performances (20 credits)

    In this module you will examine the requirements of developing professional athletes over the period of their athletic career, in both individual and team sports, in the context of management inputs. The focus is to provide you with a toolkit of core management competences, specialist specific knowledge and skills, to help you to develop your own management development plan to operate within the industry as a coach or manager of professional athletes or teams.

    Assessment: presentation and coursework

    Managing and Promoting Sports Participation (20 credits)

    The purpose of this module is to enable you to investigate and explore the concept of managing sport participation and therefore create, establish and deliver long term solutions to sustainably increase sports participation in a variety of physical activities. The study of sport participation issues includes wellbeing, facility optimisation, safeguarding, equality of opportunity, community engagement, and development of identity through sport. This module tackles the contemporary issues from a different perspective, aiming to provide you with a social sciences-based framework for the management of sport in communities at a local level, with a global multi-cultural perspective

    Assessment: presentation and coursework

    Optional

How you'll learn

The course is available as a three or four-year course, with the four-year option incorporating a work placement or study year in a related field.

A variety of teaching methods including lectures, seminars, tutorials, group work and practical skills sessions will be used to develop experimental/practical techniques and develop the ability to design, implement and reflect upon coaching practice.

A series of workshops will be delivered during the first year of study with the aim of developing your scientific writing, research and sports laboratory skills. In sports laboratory sessions, you will have the opportunity to learn key experimental techniques and develop essential experimental, data handling, reporting and broader scientific skills, such as literature researching, information technology, bioinformatics, data processing and the use of statistics.

Throughout the course, you will receive insight from the latest research and input from current practitioners.

The university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via emerging online technologies and methods across all courses. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we are prepared for courses due to start in or after the 2020/2021 academic year to be delivered in a variety of forms. The form of delivery will be determined in accordance with Government and Public Health guidance. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.

Due to the ongoing restrictions relating to Covid-19, some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) and some non-academic offerings (particularly in relation to international experiences), may vary from those advertised and may have reduced availability or restrictions on their use.

Assessment

Assessments will include a variety of methods which could vary depending upon the module. They include portfolios, coaching observations, coursework, tests, essays, group work, presentations/posters, reflections and practical or project work.

The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards the achieving the intended learning outcomes.

Job ready

This course will suit you if you are looking to pursue a career in sports coaching, sports development, leisure management, teaching, and community programmes.

It aims to help you develop not only the skills to be an exceptional sports coach but a range of employment related skills such as leadership, teamwork and communication required to gain employment in the graduate job market. The opportunity to gain coaching qualifications is also embedded within the curriculum.

In addition to the coaching experience embedded in the course, we will also support you to apply for good quality placements/work experience connections for coaching opportunities in local sports clubs.*

Teaching contact hours

In a typical teaching week, you will have approximately 14-16 contact hours of teaching. This generally consists of personal tutorial/small group teaching, medium group teaching or labs and large group teaching and online classes and tutorials.

International experience opportunities

This degree has been designed to allow the opportunity for a full-year work placement, which can be taken abroad, or you can undertake a study year abroad.* A number of past students in our School have been successful in securing places on these schemes, for example in Spain, France, Canada and the US.

The department has research links with organisations in Canada, Brazil and Australia, and you can apply to progress to postgraduate study with these organisations. Teaching staff also ensure that they bring their internationally rated research expertise into their teaching.

Entry requirements

Typical offer for 2022 entry.

Requirement What we're looking for
A level BBC to include one relevant scientific subject (PE, Biology, Psychology, Sociology). Excludes General Studies.
BTEC DDM in the BTEC Level 3 Extended National Diploma in a Sport Science related subject.
International Baccalaureate 30 points to include a minimum of grade 5 in a related area at Higher Level.
GCSE Minimum 5 GCSEs graded 9-4/A*-C including English, Maths and Sciences.

A levels

A level applicants are required to have three A levels.

Access Diplomas

The Access Diploma to include 30 Level 3 credits at Merit of which 15 must be in specified subject units* e.g. Biology and/or Sport Science. Coventry University welcomes applicants who have completed, or who are studying, the Access to HE Diploma developed by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA). Successful completion of the course will require you to gain 60 credits with at least 45 to be achieved at Level 3 (with the remainder at Level 2). In some cases we will require you to have gained Merit or Distinction grades in a number of units or in nominated subjects. For more information on the entry requirements for your chosen course please see the relevant course pages.

BTEC Level 3 Diplomas

The university will accept the BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma for entry to most courses. In some cases we will require applicants to have studied either certain named modules or a specific named Diploma.

We will accept Extended Diploma or Diploma in combination with another A level equivalent.

We recognise a breadth of qualifications, speak to one of our advisers today to find out how we can help you.

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Select your region to find detailed information about entry requirements:

Europe

Americas

Middle East

South Asia

South East Asia

East Asia

Africa

Russia and Central Asia


You can view our full list of country specific entry requirements on our Entry requirements page.

If you do not have the typical entry requirements, you may want to consider studying this course with an International Foundation Year. Upon successful completion our International Foundation Year - Sports Science will provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to progress onto this undergraduate degree.

Alternatively, visit our International hub for further advice and guidance on finding in-country agents and representatives, joining our in-country events and how to apply.

English language requirements

  • IELTS: 6.5 overall, with no component lower than 5.5

If you don't meet the English language requirements, you can achieve the level you need by successfully completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course. 

For more information on our approved English language tests visit our English language requirements page.

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Fees and funding

2022/23 Tuition fees

Student Full time Part time
UK £9,250 per year Not available
International £16,650 per year Not available

For advice and guidance on tuition fees and student loans visit our Undergraduate Finance page and see The University’s Tuition Fee and Refund Terms and Conditions.

We offer a range of International scholarships to students all over the world. For more information, visit our International Scholarships page.

Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessments, facilities and support services. There may be additional costs not covered by this fee such as accommodation and living costs, recommended reading books, stationery, printing and re-assessments should you need them. Find out what's included in your tuition costs.

Facilities

Based at our sports facilities at Westwood Heath, you can take full advantage of our cutting-edge facilities, including seven grass sports pitches, an astroturf pitch, and state-of-the-art classroom with an analysis suite.

Sports Therapy Student learning

Sports Therapy Clinic

The Sports Therapy Clinic is run by final-year Sports Therapy students under the supervision of qualified staff, with second-year students providing a supervised massage clinic twice a week.

Strength and conditioning suite

Strength and conditioning suite

Our multi-purpose suite is equipped with multiple Olympic lifting platforms, a 20m gait analysis track, an anti-gravity treadmill and a 3D motion capture system.

Environmental Chamber

Environmental chamber

Our environmental chamber helps us to test the effects of a wide range of environmental conditions, such as temperature and barometric pressure, on the human body.

Careers and opportunities

The course will suit students wishing to pursue jobs in teaching, sports coaching, sports development, leisure management, armed forces training, fitness trainer and community programmes.

On successful completion of this course, you could also consider one of our appropriate MSc courses that you would be well prepared to progress onto, enabling you to gain specialist skills relating to development of sporting potential or lifelong physical activity in children and adolescents.

How to apply

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Your next steps

Student life
Accommodation
Fees and funding

  • Student Contract

    By accepting your offer of a place and enrolling with us, a Student Contract will be formed between you and the university. A copy of the 2021/22 Contract can be found here. The Contract details your rights and the obligations you will be bound by during your time as a student and contains the obligations that the university will owe to you. You should read the Contract before you accept an offer of a place and before you enrol at the university.

    Tuition fees

    The tuition fee for the course that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For UK and EU students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation. Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, EU students should be aware that there may be a change to UK laws following the UK’s exit, this may change their student status, their eligibility to study part time, and/or their eligibility for student finance. We will act in accordance with the UK’s laws in force in relation to student tuition fees and finance from time to time.

    For International students the tuition fee that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For international students, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation.

    Accreditations

    The majority of our courses have been formally recognised by professional bodies, which means the courses have been reviewed and tested to ensure they reach a set standard. In some instances, studying on an accredited course can give you additional benefits such as exemptions from professional exams (subject to availability, fees may apply). Accreditations, partnerships, exemptions and memberships shall be renewed in accordance with the relevant bodies’ standard review process and subject to the university maintaining the same high standards of course delivery. 

    Facilities

    Facilities mentioned on this page may not be relevant for every course. Due to the ongoing restrictions relating to COVID-19, some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) and some non-academic offerings (particularly in relation to international experiences), may vary from those advertised and may have reduced availability or restrictions on their use.

    Placements and study abroad opportunities

    Please note that we are unable to guarantee any placement or study abroad opportunities and that all such opportunities may be subject to additional costs (e.g. travel, visas and accommodation etc.), competitive application, availability and/or meeting any applicable visa requirements. To ensure that you fully understand the requirements in this regard, please contact the International Office for further details if you are an EU or International student.

    Additional costs

    This course may incur additional costs associated with any field trips, placements or work experience, study abroad opportunities or any other opportunity (whether required or optional), which could include (but is not limited to), equipment, materials, bench fees, studio or facilities hire, travel, accommodation and visas).