The health promoting sports coach: theoretical background and practical guidance
Abstract The sports club setting is a key context for health promotion, but it can also be associated with risky behaviours. Sports coaches play a crucial role in supporting the physical, mental and social health of sport participants but often lack the resources and support to do so. This paper pro...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2025-01-01
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| Series: | BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-025-01056-y |
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| author | Benjamin Tézier Kévin Barros Susanna Geidne Farid Bardid Spartaco Grieco Stacey Johnson Sami Kokko Barry Lambe Arthur Lefebvre Aoife Lane Linda Ooms Jan Seghers Vassilis Sevdalis Stephen Whiting Anne Vuillemin Aurélie Van-Hoye |
| author_facet | Benjamin Tézier Kévin Barros Susanna Geidne Farid Bardid Spartaco Grieco Stacey Johnson Sami Kokko Barry Lambe Arthur Lefebvre Aoife Lane Linda Ooms Jan Seghers Vassilis Sevdalis Stephen Whiting Anne Vuillemin Aurélie Van-Hoye |
| author_sort | Benjamin Tézier |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The sports club setting is a key context for health promotion, but it can also be associated with risky behaviours. Sports coaches play a crucial role in supporting the physical, mental and social health of sport participants but often lack the resources and support to do so. This paper proposes a guide to help coaches become health promoters by aligning their actions with the Health Promoting Sports Club model, which represents the setting-based approach applied to sports clubs. An embedded mixed-method study with a QUAL (qual) design was used, where 15 experts took part in 5 meetings and 299 coaches provided input through an online survey. Four steps were carried out: (1) defining the health-promoting sports coach and key action principles, (2) co-constructing progression stages using the settings-based approach, (3) identifying key actions for promoting health in different moments of coaching (i.e., before, during, and after training and competition, and outside of coaching), and (4) developing long-term intervention components. A definition of the health-promoting sports coach was produced, and eight key action principles have been identified, divided into three dimensions: connection with the system, adoption of a coaching philosophy, and focus on participants. Five stages of progression for integrating health promotion into coaching have been established, ranging from risk prevention to a global approach involving the entire sports system. Specific actions for each moment of coaching (before, during, and after training and competition, and outside of coaching) have been identified, such as monitoring the physical, mental, and social health of participants or plan the coaching session to ensure safety, inclusion, and well-being for all sports participants, staying open for last-minute changes. Finally, long-term intervention components to support the implementation of these actions in practice have been developed, based on what coaches are already doing, the skills they possess and the five stages of progression. This paper enables the development of a guide to help sports coaches promote health by identifying concrete actions and short- and long-term interventions, whilst making links with the health promoting sports club model. It broadens the scope of coaching by incorporating health principles, while emphasising the need to adapt to the environment and context of the club. This work calls for future research to test the effectiveness and feasibility of these approaches in various sporting environments. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-59dff51171974b8eb0e8a853ecada732 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2052-1847 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation |
| spelling | doaj-art-59dff51171974b8eb0e8a853ecada7322025-02-02T12:36:20ZengBMCBMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation2052-18472025-01-0117112710.1186/s13102-025-01056-yThe health promoting sports coach: theoretical background and practical guidanceBenjamin Tézier0Kévin Barros1Susanna Geidne2Farid Bardid3Spartaco Grieco4Stacey Johnson5Sami Kokko6Barry Lambe7Arthur Lefebvre8Aoife Lane9Linda Ooms10Jan Seghers11Vassilis Sevdalis12Stephen Whiting13Anne Vuillemin14Aurélie Van-Hoye15UMR1319 INSPIIRE, Université de LorraineUMR1319 INSPIIRE, Université de LorraineFaculty of Medicine and Health, School of Health Sciences, Örebro UniversityStrathclyde Institute of Education, University of StrathclydeAps Asd Margherita Sport E VitaUMR1319 INSPIIRE, Université de LorraineFaculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of JyväskyläDepartment of Sport and Exercise Science, Centre for Health Behaviour Research, South East Technological UniversityInstitute for the Analysis of Change in Contemporary and Historical Societies (IACS), Université Catholique de LouvainDepartment of Sport and Health Sciences, SHE Research Centre, Technological University of the ShannonDepartment of Sport, Physical Activity and Health, Mulier InstituteDepartment of Movement Sciences, KU LeuvenDepartment of Food and Nutrition and Sport Science, University of GothenburgSpecial Initiative On Noncommunicable Diseases and Innovation, WHO Regional Office for EuropeUniversité Côte d’Azur, LAMHESSUMR1319 INSPIIRE, Université de LorraineAbstract The sports club setting is a key context for health promotion, but it can also be associated with risky behaviours. Sports coaches play a crucial role in supporting the physical, mental and social health of sport participants but often lack the resources and support to do so. This paper proposes a guide to help coaches become health promoters by aligning their actions with the Health Promoting Sports Club model, which represents the setting-based approach applied to sports clubs. An embedded mixed-method study with a QUAL (qual) design was used, where 15 experts took part in 5 meetings and 299 coaches provided input through an online survey. Four steps were carried out: (1) defining the health-promoting sports coach and key action principles, (2) co-constructing progression stages using the settings-based approach, (3) identifying key actions for promoting health in different moments of coaching (i.e., before, during, and after training and competition, and outside of coaching), and (4) developing long-term intervention components. A definition of the health-promoting sports coach was produced, and eight key action principles have been identified, divided into three dimensions: connection with the system, adoption of a coaching philosophy, and focus on participants. Five stages of progression for integrating health promotion into coaching have been established, ranging from risk prevention to a global approach involving the entire sports system. Specific actions for each moment of coaching (before, during, and after training and competition, and outside of coaching) have been identified, such as monitoring the physical, mental, and social health of participants or plan the coaching session to ensure safety, inclusion, and well-being for all sports participants, staying open for last-minute changes. Finally, long-term intervention components to support the implementation of these actions in practice have been developed, based on what coaches are already doing, the skills they possess and the five stages of progression. This paper enables the development of a guide to help sports coaches promote health by identifying concrete actions and short- and long-term interventions, whilst making links with the health promoting sports club model. It broadens the scope of coaching by incorporating health principles, while emphasising the need to adapt to the environment and context of the club. This work calls for future research to test the effectiveness and feasibility of these approaches in various sporting environments.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-025-01056-yHealth promotionSports coachesSports clubsSettings-based approachAction strategies |
| spellingShingle | Benjamin Tézier Kévin Barros Susanna Geidne Farid Bardid Spartaco Grieco Stacey Johnson Sami Kokko Barry Lambe Arthur Lefebvre Aoife Lane Linda Ooms Jan Seghers Vassilis Sevdalis Stephen Whiting Anne Vuillemin Aurélie Van-Hoye The health promoting sports coach: theoretical background and practical guidance BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation Health promotion Sports coaches Sports clubs Settings-based approach Action strategies |
| title | The health promoting sports coach: theoretical background and practical guidance |
| title_full | The health promoting sports coach: theoretical background and practical guidance |
| title_fullStr | The health promoting sports coach: theoretical background and practical guidance |
| title_full_unstemmed | The health promoting sports coach: theoretical background and practical guidance |
| title_short | The health promoting sports coach: theoretical background and practical guidance |
| title_sort | health promoting sports coach theoretical background and practical guidance |
| topic | Health promotion Sports coaches Sports clubs Settings-based approach Action strategies |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-025-01056-y |
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