1st iCoachKids International Conference

A hundred coaches, coach developers and researchers from 15 different countries came together in Budapest for the 1st ever iCoachKids Conference. The conference showcased the work of the partnership over the previous 12 months as well as including a series of keynotes and best practice case studies from across the European Union.

The Hungarian Coaching Association played host to the 1st ever iCoachKids conference in Budapest. A country renowned for punching above their weight in the sporting arena, Hungary did not disappoint and the conference exceeded all expectations. A hundred coaches, coach developers and researchers from 15 different nations descended upon the city on the banks of the Danube for an action packed day of learning and sharing.

The day was opened by Hungarian coaching legend and three-time Olympic champion waterpolo coach Dénes Kemény who stressed the importance of having well trained and qualified coaches working with children and young people: “If we don’t get it right at the youth level, we have no chance of developing great athletes at the elite level. Coaches and their education are central to this”.

Next it was Kris Van der Haegen, Director of Coach Education for the Royal Belgian Football Association (an iCK partner) and Assistant Coach for the Senior Women’s National Team. Kris very eloquently told the story of how Belgian football has taken very important steps to build a football participation and competition system completely tailor-made for children at different stages of development going from 1v1 and 2v2 festivals for under 6 players to the full size 11v11 for senior players. Kris emphasised that “we have to see the world through the eyes of the children and create opportunities to enjoy sport for all of them, not just for the good ones or the ones who are extremely motivated”.

Zoltan Marczinka and Judit Balogh from the Hungarian Handball and Basketball Federations respectively provided a window into how Hungary is solving the issue of attracting more children into sport and how to equip coaches appropriately to give children positive and enriching experiences. Zoltan and Judit emphasise the role schools and school teachers can play in enhancing the sport experience, but also that teachers and newly qualified coaches need a lot of support and hence the creation of Hungary-wide mentoring and support schemes which are proving very successful. A great example to follow for other countries and sports in Europe.

Sheelagh Quinn and Declan O’Leary from iCK partner Sport Ireland Coaching shared with the attendees the experience of developing four coaching children workshops to support youth coaches in Ireland. The workshops were developed in conjunction with iCK project lead Sergio Lara-Bercial (Leeds Beckett University) and have been delivered to over 4,000 coaches with very positive feedback. These workshops will be very influential in the development of the iCK online training in the second and third year of the project.

iCK group member Marieke Fix ( from iCK partner in the Netherlands NOC-NSF) presented the findings from the very large iCK literature review of coaching children science and linked them to The iCoachKids Pledge, 10 guidance points to facilitate positive sport experiences for kids. The full literature review can be downloaded here. It contains over a hundred practical recommendations to support coaches create child-centred effective sport environments to foster enjoyment and personal development as well as physical and motor skills.

Julian North (Leeds Beckett University, iCK lead partner) offered a whistle stop tour of the research-based audit of the youth sport coaching workforce conducted as part of iCK in the UK, Netherlands, Spain, Lithuania and Hungary. The results paint a bleak picture of a general lack of recognition of the figure of the children’s coach which translates into a relatively low status and education level compared to other coaching populations like high performance. The audit also confirmed that customised learning opportunities for youth coaches are virtually non-existent in the EU and thus makes the outputs of project iCoachKids, especially the online training and resource guide all the more relevant and important.

Finally, project lead Sergio Lara-Bercial and e-learning specialist Pedro Lara from iCK partner Universidad Europea de Madrid presented the European Coaching Children Curriculum and the draft table of contents for the forthcoming three FREE Massive Open Online Courses for youth coaches which will be developed over the next two years of the project. Work on the development of these e-learning opportunities has already started and the first course is expected to be ready in the summer of 2018.

All in all, a terrific day of sharing and learning amongst children’s coaches, coach developers and researchers from across the EU. The 2nd iCoachKids Conference is planned for the autumn of 2018 in Leeds. Full details will be shared in due course.