Winning Scotland Foundation has joined forces with East Renfrewshire Council (ERC) to launch a visionary new approach to sports coaching culture which will halt Scotland’s increasing dropout rate in youth sport.

Positive Coaching Scotland (PCS) will be led by world-class coach Tommy Boyle, who coached top Scottish athletes including Tom McKean, Yvonne Murray and Susan Scott.  PCS is primarily targeted at adults involved in youth sport for children aged five to 17.
It is expected to reach more than 5,000 adults and children in the first two years of the East Renfrewshire pilot, with a potential wider target audience of more than 75,000.

The programme is an innovative partnership between the Foundation, ERC and the Stanford University-based Positive Coaching Alliance. The Scottish approach has been tailored on this successful 10-year-old American model which is succeeding in addressing societal problems and halting the US youth sport drop out rate of 70 per cent. 

East Renfrewshire cluster

A key attraction of Positive Coaching Scotland is that it is closely aligned with the aims of A Curriculum for Excellence, the blueprint for Scottish education.

Phase one involves a ‘community cluster’ around St Ninian’s and Woodfarm High Schools in Giffnock and Thornliebank. PCS will provide parents, teachers, coaches and club leaders with a framework and the tools to build character and self esteem among young people involved in sport.

Positive Coaching Scotland promotes an alternative to the flawed traditional win-at-all-costs culture which has infiltrated youth sport, resulting in frequent reports of violent and irresponsible behaviour, which has led to a high dropout rate

The Double Goal Coach™ mental model promotes a first goal of trying to win and the second more important goal of teaching life lessons through sport. In effect, this encourages every child to try harder, stick at it longer and be the best they can be in sport and life. 

Fundamental to the PCS approach is the delivery of live educational workshops,   supported by media material and an interactive training website. These are designed to raise adults’ awareness of the broader educational, social, emotional and health impact of sport.

Launch

Speaking at the launch, programme manager Tommy Boyle said: “In my experience it is clear that when sport is organised and delivered in a positive, inspiring manner, it is a tremendous way of getting kids off the street and keeping them fit and healthy by providing an alternative to drugs and alcohol. 

“Sport offers a unique opportunity to teach young people vital character building life skills which we had when we were young. An estimated 70-80 per cent of Scottish kids drop out of sport by the age of 14, often because of negative experiences caused by a relentless focus on winning at all costs.

“We will teach young people to focus on effort and learning – they need to see that ‘winning’ is not just about beating your opponent, but about achieving success through effort. With PCS, we have the opportunity to halt the decline in physical activity, social and moral standards, and tackle the obesity time-bomb by improving the general health and wellness of the nation.”

Graham Watson, executive director of The Foundation, discovered the Stanford model while living in the US. He said: “As an action-oriented, business-led charity The Foundation is passionate about driving a culture of change through sport and improving the perceived value of sport in teaching life skills. We are working in partnership with the Scottish Government, education system and Scottish businesses to deliver a long-term legacy for 2014.

“The positive coaching approach fits well with the Foundation’s philosophy that ‘winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is’. We are delighted to be launching PCS with East Renfrewshire Council because it has already shown that it is capable of delivering first-class results in sport and education through its innovative work on the Active Schools programme.”

East Renfrewshire Council’s education convenor, Alan Lafferty, said:  “We are thrilled that this groundbreaking approach to coaching and sports education is being launched in East Renfrewshire and hope that PCS will give local children the opportunity to perform to their maximum ability while fostering an enjoyment in sport that will encourage lifelong participation in physical activity.

“The underlying ethos of PCS mirrors that of the blueprint for education in A Curriculum for Excellence. It shows that sport can educate young people about winning and losing, and co-operation and encourage them to learn new skills and contribute to the school, community and wider society. We are committed to working with all those involved to make this drive a real success."

Positive Coaching Scotland has the backing of Gordon Smith, chief executive of the Scottish Football Association, and Jock Peggie, UK coaching development manager at Scottish Rugby.

The Foundation plans to roll out the PCS programme to a further four local authorities over the next two years.