Our sports coaching masters offers an advanced insight into how psychology, physiology, strength and conditioning and movement analysis impact on performance.

It has been designed for those working within sport and coaching, or recent graduates with coaching experience.

Work-based learning is an important part of this sports coaching course, with students taking a 140-hour placement with one of our many industry partners.

The integration of theory and practice will enhance and develop your ability to reflect on current coaching practice, plan appropriate training programmes and critically analyse existing approaches to performance coaching.

You will also develop comprehensive knowledge of the key issues that support the high performance sports coaching environment. High profile alumni include Jevon Groves, Elite Men’s Rugby Sevens coach for the Hong Kong Sports Institute, and James French, opposition analyst at Liverpool FC.

What you will study

Core Modules

Research Project
This project aims to enable students to demonstrate the skills necessary to produce a scholarly, in-depth, empirical research study, resource, or report.

Research Methods
This module will develop your ability to design and statistically analyse experimental, quasi-experimental and non-experimental quantitative studies. It will allow you to appreciate the strengths and limitations of the different quantitative and qualitative research designs used in coaching and sport, health and exercise science; and synthesize knowledge and competencies gained during taught modules to produce a scholarly, in-depth critical review and proposal for a research study.

Effective Coaching 
You will develop an advanced understanding of critical self-reflective skills through the use of video analysis, which includes identifying key coaching styles, behaviours and feedback techniques required in advanced coaching situations. In addition, you will develop an in depth understanding of the interdisciplinary approaches that contribute to the coaching process including your ability to recognise and develop current coaching practice and coaching philosophies.

Professional Work Based Development 
This modules provides an opportunity for students to observe and participate in work-based professional environments, including identifying a work problem for you to overcome, which will enhance your professional and vocational learning and inform your own everyday practice. As part of your studies you will critically reflect on your learning throughout the work placement. You will, together with the module team, identify an organisation or organisations that are relevant to your field of study and that will be able to provide 140 hours of work experience.

Option Modules (choose three)

Mentoring in Sport 
Explore current mentoring philosophies in order to provide a holistic view of mentoring delivery. Enable students to understand and explore the difference between the role of a mentor / coach and develop dynamic and reciprocal relationships within the working sporting environment that is required. Recognise and appreciate the need for mentoring within sport and management contexts, develop the skills necessary for mentoring and apply them in a diverse non-judgemental environment. Ensure that students are provided with and develop the strategies required to meet the outcomes of the mentees and their environment.

Movement Analysis 
This module aims to develop your awareness of the analysis of sports performance, with particular emphasis on technique analysis and notation analysis. The use of systematic observation techniques in the analysis of sports performance will also be considered.

Strength and Conditioning
At the end of this module you will have developed your knowledge and critical understanding of concepts and theories regarding strength and conditioning. You will also have developed the ability to implement effective strength and conditioning programmes into a range of performance environments. The above have been closely linked to the professional standards required for accreditation by both the NSCA and the UKSCA.

The Coaching Environment: Evidence Based Practice 
The module will analyse a range of different approaches to developing the coaching environment and its relationship with coaching practice. The module will critically assess the value of each approach whilst also highlighting the trade-off associated with each approach, and prepare learners to implement a range of approaches and reflect upon their experience of doing so along with the impact of each approach on the athletes whom they coach.

The High Performance Environment 
The module will analyse how multiple stakeholders across the organisation assist and complement each other in producing a high performance environment. To develop a multi-disciplinary perspective of factors that act upon an individual and how these contribute to the development of high performance. The management of the performance environment will be discussed and the many issues that underpin successful implementation will be analysed.

Teaching

Assessment