Coaching Teenage Girls in Sport Workshop

• Date: Monday 5th December
• Time: 6.15pm to 9.15pm
• Location: Sligo Grammar School Sports Hall

Developed by Sport Ireland Coaching in conjunction with the Federation of Irish Sport, the School of Health & Human Performance Dublin City University and Lifes2Good Foundation, the Coaching Teenage Girls In Sport Workshop was developed to enable coaches to create a positive experience of sport and physical activity for girls in their formative years and provide an environment where girls and young women can develop holistically.

The area 's covered in the workshop include:

• Retention rates
• Psycho-social needs of teenage girls
• Communication & Relationships (coach to player & player to player)
• Puberty/maturation/body image & Sport
• Coaching environments

The Children’s Sport Participation and Physical Activity study, undertaken by Sport Ireland, Sport Northern Ireland and Healthy Ireland in 2018 highlights the dropout rate from sport for girls is higher than for their male counterparts. It is vital that we understand the coaching practices that support girls to start, and to stay in sport.

Central to this are coaches that create a positive environment that encourages safety, fun, and healthy competition. In addition, it is essential to employ supportive coaching practices that reward effort for trying a new skill over winning, encourage learning from mistakes while staying positive, and promote integrity and honesty. The workshop supports the 8 Key Principles of Success outlined in the Adolescent Girls Get Active Report.

A strong emphasis is placed throughout the workshop on supporting coaches to identify and engage in effective coaching practice reflecting the importance of the coach-athlete relationship, and specifically the role of the coach in a young girl’s development. This involves employing a positive and athlete-centred coaching framework, to support the development of the autonomy, capabilities, and sense of belonging that underpin lifelong engagement in sport and physical activity.

Further Information Contact: Theresa Kilgannon at Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership on 0860716829 / 0719161511 or email theresa@sligosportandrecreation.ie