Europe
ICOACHGIRLS
Country
10 countries across Europe
Ireland, United Kingdom, Belgium, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Spain, Netherlands, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania
Organization(s) Involved
- ICOACHKIDS
- Sport Coaching Europe (SCE)
- Sport Ireland (SI)
- FIBA
- Lithuanian Sport University (LSU)
- Special Olympics (SO)
- Dutch Olympic Committee (NOC*NSF)
Description of the Practice
ICOACHGIRLS ran from 2022 to 2025. It aims to increase sport participation levels among girls aged 5-12, and increase the number of women coaches. It involves the delivery of girls only play centres, targeted at the relevant age group. These play centres move away from traditional competitive sport, and offer girls the opportunity to have a say in how they want to be active – the voice of the girls is a key underpinning principle. Each play centre is staffed by a team of experienced head coaches, and new to coaching apprentice coaches (all female). The head coaches’ job is to mentor, guide and support the assistant coaches to develop their skills, competence and confidence.
Main Objectives
- 70 Head Coaches appointed to run the ‘Girls Play Centres’
- 350 newly qualified or new-to-coaching women coaches completing a ‘Come into Coaching’ course and attending the ‘Girls Play Centres’ to receive mentoring from Head Coaches
- 95% satisfaction among Head Coaches and mentee coaches
- 95% of coaches improve their coaching competence
- 80% of coaches improve their confidence to lead coaching sessions
Key Activities
- Bespoke training for ICOACHGIRLS coaches (12 hour training delivered over 4×3 hour workshops)
- Ongoing formal mentoring from head to assistant coaches
- Transition into regular coaching opportunities
Target Groups
- Women head coaches
- Women new to coaching (including mothers/family members of participants, local athletes who have never coached, school and university students)
Results / Impact
- Overall, a total of 337 women coaches were trained and deployed on the ICOACHGIRLS programme across 6 partner organisations and 10 countries.
- Overall, 250 new-to-coaching assistant coaches were trained and co-delivered the 10-week ICOACHGIRLS programmes
- Overall, 95.4% of coaches were satisfied with their experience in ICOACHGIRLS, and 96.2% enjoyed being part of the programme.
- Overall, 86.3% of coaches agreed with the statement “my coaching ability has improved because of ICOACHGIRLS”.
- Overall, 84% of coaches agreed with the statement “Because of ICOACHGIRLS, I feel more confident as a coach”
Challenges Faced
- Recruitment of women coaches
- Transition into regular coaching
- Ensuring consistency of mentoring across contexts and countries
Transferability
- Modelling of head and assistant coaches would be easy to replicate (ensure mentoring is part of HC job description)
- Provide training linked to coaching skills and listening to voice of child
Link or Supporting Material
https://icoachkids.org/learn/coaching-girls/icoachgirls/about
Contact Person
Dr Ruth Brazier, r.brazier@leedsbeckett.ac.uk
UEFA Disney Playmakers
Country
All countries across Europe
Organization(s) Involved
- UEFA
- Disney
- ICOACHKIDS
- All National Federations across Europe
Description of the Practice
UEFA Playmakers, in partnership with Disney, aims to deliver a fun and safe introduction to football, for girls aged 5-8 years old. Sessions are hooked onto classic Disney tales, inspiring girls to move by putting them at the centre of their favourite characters and films, such as The Incredibles, Moana and Frozen.
Playmakers sessions are delivered in over 40 European Countries, creating 30 Playmaker Centres in each, and has so far engaged over 50,000 girls. Their sessions are designed on the latest research around storytelling and play-based learning, meaning their impact has been positive in attracting previously disengaged girls.
Moreover, using child friendly material has been successful in raising girls’ interest in a traditionally male dominated sport. Participants are given ‘adventure passports’ so that they can continue to immerse themselves in the stories, even after the sessions have finished. All Playmakers coaches are given bespoke training in advance of the sessions, enabling them to understand specific issues the girls may face and to understand the purpose of scope of the project.
Main Objectives
- Introduce girls aged 5-8 to football through storytelling activities
- Increase confidence
- Increase fundamental movement skills
- Develop new coaches
Key Activities
- Bespoke training for Playmakers coaches
- Material provided to support delivery of sessions
Target Groups
- Girls aged 5-8
- Coaches
Results / Impact
- More than 83,000 girls have participated
- More than 4,000 coaches trained
- 76% of parents agreed that using Disney to introduce girls to football was a good idea
- 28% of parents were satisfied with their daughter’s participation and 96.34% of girls said they enjoyed the sessions
- In addition, coaches and parents believed the programme was positively influencing football, movement and life skills.
Challenges Faced
- Transition into regular/traditional training sessions provided by existing clubs was seen as a big step by many girls and their parents
- Recruiting girls who currently don’t play football
- Keeping newly trained coaches in the programme and transitioning them to regular coaching
Transferability
This programme offers transferability to other programmes. Mainly, the programme methodology of using storytelling and imaginative play to help introduce children to sport for the first time or to reintroduce them after a negative experience. Anyone wishing to use this methodology is advised to provide initial training for coaches and a clear guidebook for beginner coaches or teachers for them to follow and deliver a session confidently