The further development of a coordinated network for Sport Coaching in Europe (CoachNet)

Head of the project at IESF:
Dr. Karen Petry

Period of research:
January 2012 – June 2013

Funding:
European Commission
    
Partners:
Leeds Metropolitan University (applicant coordinator – UK), German Sport University (GER), Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance (FRA), Coaches Academy Cologne of the German Olympic Sport Confederation (GER), National Olympic Committee – Netherlands Sport Federation (NL), Polish Coaches Academy (PL), Portuguese Coaches’ Confederation (POR), NLCoach (NL), Advisory Council of Sport Coaches (ES), Professional Coaches of Finland (FIN), Hungarian Coaching Association (HUN), European Athletics Coaches Association (EU), International Tennis Federation (INT), International Council for coach Education (external partner – INT)
Contents of the project:
The Institute of European Sport Development and Leisure Studies was partner in the EU-funded project “The further development of a coordinated network for Sport Coaching in Europe (CoachNet)”. CoachNet is one of only twelve projects that were chosen out of 106 proposals by the Sport Unit of the European Union to receive funding. The 13 project partners from nine European countries are coming from the sectors of Higher Education, National Coaching Organisations, and International Federations. Under the supervision of Leeds Metropolitan University (UK), the project pursued the objective to establish a coherent and inclusive mechanism for the coordination of sport coaching at the European level.
Following this objective, CoachNet aimed at including stakeholders in the following categories:
Coaches’ Associations (National & European level); lead national organisations in sport coaching; international federations (European level); higher education institutions; employers of coaches. This network specifically emphasised the ‘voice of the coach’ in order to strengthen cohesion within Sport Coaching. Also, during the project, the partners developed reference points for the education and development of sport coaches, as well as providing a focal point for representation, research, and communication on sport coaching issues at the European level.

Presentations:
Evaluation of the CoachNet Project, Karen Petry, Final CouchNet Conference, Leeds, 27th-29th March 2013.
The AHESIS Project. Aligning a European Higher Education Structure in Sport Science, Karen Petry, 2nd EUPEA Symposium in Brussels, Belgium, 10th November 2011.

Publications:
Petry, Karen/Duffy, Patrick: Challenges for the Sport Education and Training Sector and the Role of the European Network of Sport Science, Education and Employment (ENSSEE). In Sport & EU Review. Vol. 5, Issue 1, May 2013, pp.30-33.
Petry, Karen/Nentwig, Georg: Coachnet. Internal Evaluation and Final Report, GSU Cologne 2012.