Student Coaching
Student sport can be a brilliant environment to learn and develop as a coach. Alongside providing a new perspective on your sport, the potential for personal growth is massive as you progress on your coaching journey.
At SSS we want to support coaches both new and developing across student sport so if you need support in finding the right path for you contact Jo Foster our Learning and People Coordinator or check out our individual sports pages for more information.
SSS Women & Girls Coaching Initiative
Sign-ups have opened for the first SSS Women & Girls Coaching Project. The pilot will see coaches, and aspiring coaches, follow a session plan that has been developed alongside coach development experts across the sporting sector.
Supported by Governing Bodies including Scottish Rowing, session masterclasses have been designed to support individuals through understanding athletes, coaching environments, and the impact of being a role model through sport.
All female coaches, and those aspiring to begin coaching, are welcome to apply provided you are a registered student at a SSS member institution.
Registration is open until 25th October and any questions can be directed to Jo Foster.
Why Female Coaches?
Across the tertiary education sector in Scotland, 45% of the student population engaging in club sport identify as female, compared to 44% as male. This is a phenomenal statistic and while work is far from completed in the participation space, what can be seen across the nation is that women are hugely underrepresented in the coaching space.
In fact, between 2015-2020, the number of female coaches in Scotland fell to 27% compared to 72% male (Brown and Murray, 2021).
Research shows that having female coaches benefits all participants; they challenge stereotypes about gender and leadership and offer diverse perspectives, insight and advice to their athletes. Furthermore, female coaches become role models which makes other females think about coaching as a legitimate and viable career; being visible in their role can inspire other females (Clark, 2012).
At SSS, we recognise the largely untapped potential of female students as coaches and want to deliver a tailored coaching programme to play our part in inspiring the next generation of female coaches.
That is where the SSS Women and Girls Coaching Project comes in. We are aiming to:
- Create a national coaching initiative for female student coaches or aspiring coaches to inspire the next generation of female coaches
- Tailor the programme specifically for this demographic in order to create environments, content and relationships that upskills and empowers coaches through personal development
- Give rise to a new generation of female coaches
