APPLIED COACHING RESEARCH JOURNAL 2021 , Vol . 7
Background All Benson Community staff are volunteers and the sport ’ s voluntary sector is recognised as playing a crucial role in delivering the outcomes set out by Sport England in their 2016 strategy , Towards an Active Nation . In recognition of the many positive outcomes often associated with sports participation , Sport England identified five diverse outcomes by which sport projects should be measured . The five outcomes are :
• Physical wellbeing
• Mental wellbeing
• Economic development
• Community development
• Individual development
The idea that participating in sport can achieve wider outcomes other than the development of sports skills is aligned with the concept of sport for development - which assumes that sport is inherently good and provides a positive developmental function , whether that is improving health or fulfilling a social function such as diverting young people away from crime and anti-social behaviour ( Kay and Bradbury , 2009 ). Sport for development projects use sport as a hook for engagement , with the development of personal and social development taking equal , if not greater priority , than learning sports skills ( Coalter , 2013 ). Although sport for development projects are not a new phenomenon , the requirement to evidence impact has become crucial . Drivers for evidencing impact include the requirement to show value of a financial investment to funders and to back up tacit assumptions about the social value of sport ( Coalter , 2006 ; Kay , 2009 ).
The potential contribution of community sport organisations through their networks of volunteers and stakeholders to the development of individuals has been widely recognised in the sport literature ( Coalter , 2007 ). Claims about individual development are often based on the assumption that for young people , sport has one or more of the following effects :
• Fertilizer effect - This assumes that involvement in sport supports personal growth .
• Car wash effect - Through involvement in sport , an individual can be cleansed of negative traits and behaviour .
• Guardian angel effect - Sport guides individuals in success orientated and civic centred directions in all areas of their lives .
( Coakley , 2011 . p . 308 )
Sport England considers individual development to include a range of factors including educational attainment , employability , self-efficacy and the development of softer skills , for example leadership , communication and responsibility . Using sport to tackle anti-social behaviour is also included in the category of individual development by Sport England with a specific recommendation that research should aim to shed light on the link between sport and antisocial behaviour .
Although it has long been assumed that sport fulfils a positive developmental function for individuals , academics and policy makers have been cautious about assuming that such developments will occur on their own . Models of personal development that use sport , including Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility ( TPSR ) and the 5 C ’ s model , draw on the idea that meaningful development is ‘ taught not caught ’ with deliberate decisions being made in a coaching environment to maximise the opportunity that development will occur ( Fraser-Thomas et al , 2005 ; Hellison , 2011 ). It has been suggested that several factors are likely to impact on the likelihood of whether development occurs ( Coakley , 2011 ). The environment is viewed as crucial since development is unlikely to occur if participants don ’ t feel safe , valued and supported . The coach ’ s philosophy is also seen as important . Research indicates that positive developmental outcomes are most likely when coaches are trained to teach an explicit philosophy of nonviolence , respect for self and others . This is part of overall development , confidence in physical skills , and a sense of responsibility to self and others ( Kay and Spaaij , 2011 ).
Drawing inspiration from the theme of the 2019 UK Coaching Conference ‘ maximising the potential of people in sport and life ’, this article aims to show how one particular project utilises the coach for development approach to maximise the potential of participants in a manner that extends beyond sport .
Benson Project " When we set up Benson , we thought we were setting up a football club ."
Benson Community Project ( BCP ) is based in Smethwick , in the West Midlands , a ward which is in the top 25 % of deprived wards in the country . BCP was set up to provide local people with the opportunity to participate and enjoy sport in a safe and supportive environment . Operating six days a week , BCP is run ‘ for the community and by the community ’ using sport and physical activity as a
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