Sport & Fitness

Watch a kids’ football match in any park on a Sunday morning and there’ll be a bloke strutting the touchline with the word ‘Coach’ emblazoned on his tracksuit. But what does that word actually signify? Does he have a portfolio of qualifications, up-to-date insurance, a first-aid certificate and a clean Criminal Records Bureau check, or is he just a shouty dad running the team because no one else will?

According to Sports Coach UK, more than 143,000 people in London call themselves a coach – yet a mere 71,000 hold a recognised qualification. Of those, 51 per cent are qualified at Level 1 – a status that in theory allows them only to assist better-qualified coaches and work under direct supervision. In reality, however, the vast majority of coaching at most sports clubs is carried out by people with this basic certificate – or no certificate at all.

A key element in London’s 2012 Olympic strategy is that more of us will be inspired to become involved in sport, with the aim that 50 per cent of the nation is active by 2020. Sports coaches are central to achieving this target, yet the figures are based on the assumption that enough qualified individuals will be out there to meet the need. Coupled with the assertion, in January’s ‘Sportnation’ report published by Loughborough University, that coaching is bedevilled by a ‘culture of volunteerism’, this skills shortage has to be addressed.

SkillsActive, the government-licensed Sector Skills Council, has responded with plans for a National Skills Academy. London will house one of nine regional hubs plus the national base, set up initially at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre before moving into the Olympic Stadium after 2012. There will also be a local network of centres of excellence.

‘We must tackle these skills shortages if we are to stage a successful London Olympics,’ says SkillsActive chief executive Stephen Studd, ‘and reach our target of recruiting 40,000 more sports coaches by 2016. This is even without considering the responsibility of the sport and leisure workforce to train at least 15,000 of the 86,000 Olympic volunteers and fill 100,000 new jobs in our sector by 2014.’

These developments will have little impact on the bloke on the touchline who looks after his kids’ team. Indeed, he’s among the 69 per cent of UK coaches who do so for free. But for anyone interested in coaching as a career, the pledge of greater professionalism is welcome. Keen cricketer Adam Hall came across the London Community Cricket Association and began helping out on some of their projects. He has since been taken on by the LCCA as a community coach and, at the age of 20, is studying for his Level 3 qualification alongside former England greats Ashley Giles and Phil deFreitas.

Hall, however, is among just 7 per cent of UK coaches who work full-time. Shouty dads are set to be around for some while yet.

For more information about coaching visit www.sportscoachuk.org . Andrew Shields is a qualified athletics, cricket and football coach.

Want to get involved? Here’s how…
1 You don’t have to coach kids. Even the most clod-hopping Sunday league football team will benefit from organised training sessions.

2 Visit www.londonfa.com (football), www.ecb.co.uk /ecb/coaching (cricket), www.ukathletics.net/coaches (athletics), www.community-rugby.com (rugby union) and other governing body websites. Some London boroughs offer coaching bursaries – contact your local sports development department.

3 Level 1 courses usually last from one to four days. Most include first-aid and child protection modules. Without the qualification you won’t be insured.

4 Get a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) disclosure. It’s free if you are a volunteer.

5 Buy a tracksuit with ‘Coach’ on the back. Phone Arsène Wenger.