Sport Coaching (Extended Degree) BSc (Hons)
i2i International Soccer Academy

You will develop your understanding of academic conventions in UK higher education aligned to your level of study, including expectations around critical analysis, structure, argumentation, evidencing, and referencing. The module focuses on developing communication strategies that will help you express your ideas clearly and coherently in written assignments and spoken activities. You will also reflect on your current academic and language skills and develop strategies for development ahead of your assessments.

In this module, you will learn how to apply the systematic-scientific method to address problems of relevance to your discipline. The module will guide you through designing, conducting, analysing and presenting your own research findings and prepare you for carrying out an independent research project. The module will provide both a theoretical and practical perspective on the research process, with a focus towards understanding the usefulness and limitations of research-generated information.

The main focus of the module is work, or career, specific learning. It encourages you to develop independence and to take responsibility for your own career-relevant skill development. This process is supplemented by the inclusion of generic lectures, workshops, associated directed learning tasks and individual tutorial support. The generic lectures will provide you with the knowledge necessary to allow you to capitalise upon this Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunity. Workshops and directed tasks will allow for the development of essential self-reflection skills.

Generic lecture and workshop topics include:
· Self-reflection and SMART analysis and Key Skills exercises to establish your development needs as a Practitioner in Sport and Exercise.
· Creating a CPD contract and CPD Portfolio
· Identifying appropriate CPD opportunities to enhance your degree related expertise and aspirations

Once you have written your SMART / Key Skills analysis and CPD contract you will then be able to identify a number of potential CPD opportunities in the form of short courses, workshops, and coaching awards. Many of the skills and abilities you will learn will be of value to your life-long learning aspirations.

Potential CPD Opportunities may include:
· Volunteering / working in a sport and exercise environment
· Working in a PE context
· Shadowing a professional in the workplace
· Writing business plans
· Writing grant applications
· Attendance at conferences, workshops, courses.

Regular contact is maintained between you and your supervisor in order to ensure that you are supported throughout the module.

You will learn about the background to performance analysis in sport. The history of the development of technology and methods of collecting performance analysis data will be covered. Where the discipline fits into the other sport science fields will be explained and how the data can be used for multiple audiences will be shown. The important relationship between the performance analyst and coach will be highlighted and examples used from a range of sports to cement this understanding will used. Factors to remember when collecting, analysing and feeding back analysed information will be outlined and essential processes during the data analysis stage, such as; validity and reliability will be covered. You will learn what it is like to work in the applied performance analysis field with guest lectures from local performance analysts at professional clubs. You will be able to, by the end of the module, understand how to collect, analyse and present objective, reliable performance analysis data which the coach and players can use to infer about their performance and make improvements for future performances.

This module will give you an insight into the vital role nutrition can play in optimising sport performance, whilst also recognising that those who exercise recreationally can also benefit highly from appropriate nutritional strategies. You will conduct practical nutrition sessions and learn about different dietary and energy requirements of athletes and exercising individuals, alongside gaining experience of appropriate nutritional and dietary assessment and analytical tools. Furthermore, you will learn about issues related to sport and exercise nutrition, such as nutritional demands on performance and exercise (pre-during and post nutritional requirements) and current dietary issues within sport and exercise populations.

The module is designed to provide students with an insight into a range of contemporary UK education, and Physical Education (PE) specific policies, strategies and initiatives published by professional bodies and government departments. More broadly, students will critically discuss and analyse a range of contemporary strategies impacting on PE and School Sport (PESS). Particular attention will be directed to the statutory programmes of study and attainment targets for PE at Key Stages 1 to 4 enshrined in the new NCPE, and the impact that the PE and Sport Premium has had on the delivery of primary school PE. Students will develop awareness of the shifting role of the PE teacher and sports coach as well as other contemporary issues such as obesity, intensity training and inclusion.

This module will introduce you to the discipline of strength and conditioning, and the requirements of a career as a strength & conditioning coach. You will learn about the role of a strength and conditioning coach and the development of the discipline and it’s place within the sport science support services in the UK. You will study the physiological and biomechanical underpinnings to a range of training modalities in strength & conditioning, and identify, analyse, and coach the key technical aspects of these modalities, with the ultimate aim of enhancing performance in sport.

This module provides you with an understanding of the factors that contribute to health status and health management, the role of physical activity in public health and how health promotion strategies are applied in practice. The module will give you an insight to the public health strategies and the social, cultural and economic impact on the management of health and well-being. In this module you will also learn about the role of physical activity in promoting health and well-being, including how individual, social, cultural and economic factors influence uptake and adherence of physical activity. The module will also give you insight into health promotion initiatives and the role of physical activity in health promotion. The module will draw upon expertise to provide you with up-to-date information on research both within the department and further afield.

You will examine the work of sport business professionals, agencies, organisations and governing bodies to gain an appreciation of how business principles are applied to the sports industry. You will cover areas such as the principles of strategy, governance, marketing, finance, legal issues and performance management to help develop you understanding of the sport business sector.

This module addresses the rapidly evolving areas which have an impact upon sport and sport business. The digital age has brought many challenges and opportunities to those who are managing in sport. This module looks to equip those who have aspirations of working in sport business with the capacity to address the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities presented by digital sport and business marketing. The key concepts which will be considered in this module can include sport marketing in the digital age, social media in sport marketing, fan engagement in online environments, fan activation and involvement with sport business, the importance of sport communication strategies and future considerations for the sport marketer. Students will engage with the current key digital platforms available. By the end of the module students will have developed an awareness of the significance that digital marketing has on the sport business and the challenges and opportunities.

This module considers how the increasing availability of data has transformed the way in which sport is managed, played, promoted and consumed. The data revolution is having a profound impact across the sport industry and this module helps students to understand how data can be utilised across a range of situations in sport. The key areas which are considered in this module include; an introduction to data and analytics, the current data ecosystem, analysing data for better sports performance, analytics in digital and sport marketing, analytics for event and facility management. In addition to this, there are considerations given to how individual and team sports can use data analytics to improve sporting performance and competitiveness. By the end of the module students will have developed an awareness of the significance of data in the sport industry and gain an insight into the different ways data can be used to inform decision making across a range of sport situations.

This practically oriented module will focus upon the application of research informed approaches to coaching that promote conditions for optimal learning and motivation across different sport coaching contexts. Coaching Skills and Practice builds upon the knowledge, skills and applied experiences gained at Level 4 to develop a research rich understanding of key pedagogical principles (e.g., coaching behaviours, practice design) that can be applied to create progressive, engaging and transferable outcomes in different sport coaching contexts. This module aims to introduce the concepts of how to create motivational climates (e.g., self-determination theory) that meet group/individual needs to positively influence engagement, motivation and well-being in sport. In addition, this module will develop an understanding of applied skill acquisition research that can be used to create conditions for optimal learning, and transfer of skill to different applied sport coaching contexts (e.g., high performance, participation, special populations).

This module will enable you to develop an in-depth understanding of leadership and leaders across a range of sport organisations including the often un-sung but crucial DNA of organisational operations. The module takes a broad approach to these concepts and is inclusive of leadership and organisational behaviour across multiple sports settings. Topics will include (but are not limited to) the processual aspects of managing people in organisations such as the key aspects of the human resource management (HRM), contemporary issues of people management in multiple sports organisations, non-profit organisations and the role of volunteers, how leaders enact policy in practice, and how leaders operationalise inclusion and diversity. We will look in depth at how leaders build organisational culture and integrity, and how leaders nurture their teams. We will underpin discussions with recognition of the contextual challenges and opportunities that leaders and managers are tasked with navigating, ensuring that they are sensitive to the interests and priorities of multiple stakeholders.

This practically oriented module will focus upon the application of pedagogical research to sport coaching that promote the co-construction of knowledge, effective relationships and ethical practice across a variety of sport coaching contexts. The module therefore complements the largely cognitive based approaches to sport coaching practice included in SP5039: Coaching Skills and Practice and builds upon pre-existing knowledge from SP4008: Introduction to Coaching to equip students with an adaptive tool-kit of coaching behaviours. Due the experiential learning emphasis of this module, students will also be able to expand upon the real-world experience derived from their placement module (SP5029: SER Professional Development and Practice). A central aspect of Sport Coaching Pedagogy is to develop a deep and nuanced understanding key pedagogical research (e.g., constructivist, socio-constructivist) and their application to real world sport coaching contexts. By the end of this module, students will be able to demonstrate and explain how specific pedagogical approaches apply across different sport coaching contexts.