BSc (Hons) in Sport Coaching
University of Winchester
Key Information
Campus location
Winchester, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
3 - 6 years
Pace
Full time, Part time
Tuition fees
GBP 14,700 / per year *
Application deadline
Request info
Earliest start date
Request info
* international students
Scholarships
Explore scholarship opportunities to help fund your studies
Introduction
- Make the most of excellent sports facilities, including a sport and exercise psychology laboratory and technologies for sports analysis
- Enrich your university experience with a wide range of extracurricular opportunities, from traditional Sports Coach UK workshops to cutting-edge performance and professional courses that include the highly sought-after Certificate in Coaching Multi-Skills Development in Sport qualification.
- Receive first aid and safeguarding training, as well as Disclosure and Barring Service clearance prior to your placement, as part of the course
- Learn to reflect in an analytical way on your practical experience of coaching
- Undertake a community coaching placement in a sports club, leisure centre, or school in Year 2
- Be the difference – develop our future athletes
Sports coaches used to pick up their skills simply by playing and then passing on their experience. But that’s no longer enough in a world where coaches in tennis, football and cricket have public profiles as high as the players themselves. We now expect coaches to have studied and mastered the art and science of coaching. That’s why in our Sports Coaching course you learn a more ‘professional’ approach by reflecting in an academic way on your practical experiences of coaching practice.
From the minute you leave our three-year programme’s ‘starting blocks’ you won’t be short of inspiration. Our lecturers are great motivators of students and the facilities available to you are first-class, including our own stadium complete with an eight-lane athletics track, a large sports hall on-campus and laboratories kitted out with the latest high-tech analysis equipment. You also benefit from the professional input of a range of interesting motivational speakers. In the past, these have included coaches from the Welsh national football team, a member of Chelsea FC, and rugby union players from Saracens.
Central to the Sport Coaching course at Winchester is the belief that theory and knowledge are best learned through practice. Four strands cover both the practical and academic elements.
The first strand is Sports Coaching Practice, which teaches you to put theoretical coaching principles into practice to help sports people strive to improve performance. Part of being a successful coach is having good communication skills and we study the best ways to convey your message. In this practical first strand, you may also explore coaching consultancy work in the local sporting community to enhance your employment prospects.
The Supporting Coaching Practice strand helps you to understand both scientific and sociological coaching principles. You focus on how inequality affects both coaching and sports participation and how the sport is used to develop local communities. You take a deeper look at training methodology and the use of technology, such as video match analysis. You also focus on educational theory and how it can help structure coaching classes. Finally, you explore coaching special populations, with the primary focus on disability sports.
The Sports Coaching Science strand applies sports science to sports coaching. Covering aspects of biomechanics, physiology and psychology provides you with a science toolkit for coaching.
Finally, in the Research Methods strand, you develop the academic ability to apply both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies to various sporting and exercise contexts. The acquisition of such skills underpins your learning in all strands and is essential for completing the dissertation in an area of special interest.
Our degree equips you with the coaching expertise to join a growing industry where standards have risen dramatically in recent years. Our graduates usually enter careers as professional sports coaches, sports development officers, performance managers, community development leaders and PE teachers. But you ‘cross the finishing line’ with a wide range of transferable communication, analysis and research skills that are also valued in a range of careers not directly related to sport and fitness.
Admissions
Curriculum
Year 1: Level 4
- Sport Matters 10
- Developing Graduate Employability Skills: Raising Self-Awareness 5
- Sports Coaching 1 15
- Sport Physiology for Coaches 15
- Coaching Practice 1 15
- Introduction to Research in Sport 15
- Sports Coaching 2 15
- Skill Acquisition 15
- Coaching Practice 2 15
Year 2: Level 5
- Sports Research 1 15
- Coaching Special Populations 15
- Sport Mechanics for Coaches 15
- Coaching Practice 3 15
- Sports Research 2 15
- Children, Young People and Physical Activity 15
- Developing Effective Relationships 15
- Coaching Placement 1 15
Year 3: Level 6
- Dissertation 30
- Coaching Placement 2 15
- Critical Issues in Sports Coaching 15
Optional Modules
- Sport Entrepreneurship and Innovation - 15 Credits
- Outdoor Education - 15 Credits
- Study Abroad - 15 Credits
- Nutrition in Sport and Exercise - 15 Credits
- Rehabilitation Biomechanics - 15 Credits
- Eating Well: Food and Value in the 21st Century - 15 Credits
- Advanced Sports Physiology for Coaches - 15 Credits
- Strength and Conditioning Coaching - 15 Credits
Career Opportunities
Graduates enter sports-related professions such as sports development officer, performance manager and community development leader, within private health clubs, coaching organisations and community coaching schemes.
Students develop a wide range of transferable employability skills including the ability to communicate effectively and work both independently and collaboratively. These skills are valued in a range of graduate careers, including those not directly related to sports and fitness. Our degree provides students with excellent future employment opportunities, which is why we offer all students the chance to gain the Certificate in Coaching Multi-Skills Development in Sport qualification completely free. This is a key industry qualification and provides our students with a fantastic employment boost. Many students also continue on to study for postgraduate qualifications to further enhance their employability. New innovative master's level programmes are constantly reviewed to ensure that they are at the forefront of contemporary study.
The University of Winchester ranks in the top 10 in the UK for graduates in employment or further study according to the Graduate Outcomes Survey 2021, HESA.
Pre-approved for a Master's
If you study for a Bachelor's Honours Degree with us, you will be pre-approved to start a Master's degree at Winchester. To be eligible, you will need to apply by the end of March in the final year of your degree and meet the entry requirements of your chosen Master's degree.