Sports Coaching and Development
This comprehensive course is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills needed for a successful career in the sports sector.
How to apply Apply Through UCAS Book an Open Day Chat to Us/prod01/channel_2/media/university-of-south-wales/site-assets/images/03-courses/sport/bsc-sports-coaching-and-development-1.png)
Key Course Details
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UCAS Code
C614
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Start Date
September
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Location
Pontypridd
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Campus Code
A
Fees
Home students
£9,535*
- Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
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Start Date
September
-
Location
Pontypridd
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Campus Code
A
Fees
Home students
£785*
- Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
You'll explore the societal, economic, and environmental impacts of sports development, gaining a thorough understanding of policy, planning, management, and the delivery of sporting opportunities and initiatives.
DESIGNED FOR
The course is designed to provide you with a diverse range of topics related to community sport, where you can work with all sorts of people who want to take part in sporting activity.
Career Paths
- Teaching
- Sports Development (Community Sport)
- Coaching
- Sports Leadership/Management
- National Governing Body
Skills Taught
- PE and School Sport (Curriculum Design and Delivery)
- Sports Coaching
- Leadership and Management Practice
- Competition & Event Management
- Interpersonal Communication
Course Highlights
Module Overview
Co-designed with sport and physical education experts, our degree equips you with industry-relevant knowledge for the £316 billion sport and health sectors. Our program focuses on professional development and lifelong learning, encouraging self-reflection and personal growth. You'll have the chance to put theory into practice through valuable vocational experiences in a variety of community sport and physical education settings.
Begin your journey into Sports Coaching, Development and Teaching with an introduction to psychology, fundamentals of coaching, competition management and developing gym-based exercise interventions. As you study these topics, you’ll have the opportunity to obtain safeguarding qualifications, first aid training and a range of coaching qualifications from a host of sports.
Introduction to Sports Development
Understanding the concepts of sports development, physical activity, and physical recreation, emphasising the importance of promoting active lifestyles and enhancing overall well-being. Review the significant role sport plays in a variety of sectors, including health, education, and economic regeneration, contributing to community cohesion and addressing broader societal issues such as social inclusion and youth engagement.
Exercise Prescription (Non-referred populations)
Build knowledge and practical skills to plan, prepare, instruct and evaluate gym-based exercise programmes for a variety of different healthy populations. Completion of this module contributes to the award of the Chartered Institute Management and Physical Activity (CIMSPA) Level 2 Gym Instructor qualifications.
Managing Sport
A focus on the key management skills and disciplines required in developing sport from several operational contexts. Specifically, understanding the importance of coordinating sporting events as a vital delivery tool for sports development.
Introduction to Sport and Exercise Psychology
Identify key areas of sport psychology such as personality and individual differences; stress, anxiety and performance; group dynamics and team cohesion; motivation and goal setting; psychology of motor learning and control; self confidence in sport; concentration and attentional focus; exercise psychology.
Introduction to Sports Coaching
Obtain foundational knowledge and understanding of sports coaching, emphasising the development of essential communication and organisational skills. Students will learn how to deliver safe and effective coaching sessions while acquiring the necessary skills and competencies for successful engagement in future sports placement opportunities.
Academic Research and Professional Skills*
Fundamental social, interpersonal and academic building blocks for a vibrant and successful University experience are covered in this module. In addition, it aims to equip students with the transferable professional skills that enable them to function in a professional environment.
*This module can be studied 100% through the medium of Welsh
As you progress, you’ll undertake specified modules and have the opportunity to gain advanced level coaching qualifications and engage in a selection of CPD experiences that will add value to your CV and employment prospects.
Community Sports Development
An examination of the impact of initiatives complemented by an overview of the challenges faced by specific population target groups. On completion, students will be able to demonstrate a critical understanding of the principles of community sports development with a key emphasis on determining the barriers to participation for various target groups.
Sports Coaching and Leadership
Students will be expected to use their advanced knowledge and coaching skills to plan and deliver practical sports sessions to a wide range of specific populations.
Physical Education and School Sport
Analyse the role of the PE teacher and sports coach, both within Primary and Secondary education and offer an insight into the contemporary initiatives that focus on School Sport provision with an emphasis on Government involvement and/or intervention. In addition, the module will increase student’s awareness and understanding of the factors that impact on and limit young people’s participation in PE and school sport. Introduce the concept of Physical Literacy and its importance to PE and school sport and the Health and Well-being strand of the Curriculum for Wales.
Research Methods
Build on your understanding of methods to broaden and deepen your appreciation of the range of approaches used in qualitative and quantitative research. This module provides an opportunity for to develop a research proposal in preparation for the Year 3 Dissertation module.
Adventurous Activities and Outdoor Leadership
Experience delivering, leading and observing outdoor adventurous activities in an applied setting. Develop knowledge on working safely and responsibly in an outdoor setting, recognising boundaries of professional competence. Engagement within hands on teaching and learning strategies effective for the holistic development of young people.
Practical content can include hill and gorge walking, orienteering, paddleboarding and other outdoor contemporary activities available and suitable at the time of delivery.
Sport Placement*
The overall aim of this module is to enable the learner to engage in reflection of their learning through their work experience. Students will be provided with the opportunity to conduct their work-related experience within several key vocational areas related to the sports industry. These will include; school sport, competition/event organisation, community club coaching and other community sport delivery.
*This module can be studied 100% through the medium of Welsh
Conclude your final year of studies by undertaking an offering of specified and optional modules that best fit your career pathway preferences. You’ll then have a choice between completing a traditional Dissertation or leading an Applied Professional Project, both of which can be tailored to your own areas of interest. An alternative module choice includes securing a work-based learning role within our on-campus community sport programme, with one of our key industry partners or potentially a bespoke opportunity with an industry link that you have personally connected with.
Dissertation
Design and conduct an independent study to critically evaluate scientific data and literature in an area that interests you.
Applied Professional Project
The module is designed to provide a platform upon which the learner can enhance the effectiveness of their workplace experience. For their chosen professional activity, the student will be expected to develop independent learning based on experience in the workplace.
Leadership in Sport
Contemporary leadership concepts and skills required within twenty-first century sports organisations; providing an increased knowledge of both sport management and leadership approaches.
Applied Sports Coaching
Evaluation of the humanistic and empowerment approaches to coaching. Observe and critically evaluate the coaching style and skills of other community and/or elite coaches.
Creatively Teaching Physical Education, Health and Well-being
Advancement of professional teaching skills and subject knowledge of Physical Education, Health and Wellbeing topics arising from the National Curriculum to enable students to teach Physical Education, Health and Wellbeing. Understand how learners learn within the subject area and how to develop the teaching skills and pedagogical principles to create authentic and creative learning experiences in the delivery of secondary school sport.
Work Based Learning*
Build your practical experience by working with industry partners from across the community sport and education sector.
Critical Issues in Sports Coaching and Leadership
The module aims to develop a student’s critical awareness of contemporary topics across coaching, leadership performance and participation in sport. Furthermore, it will allow a student to consider a range of participant populations (e.g. Grassroots, to high performance, children to adults) and develop a critical appreciation of the contribution of sociological, psychological, physical and practical concepts and their impact on sporting performance.
*This module can be studied 100% through the medium of Welsh
Course Highlights
How you’ll learn
Delivered over the academic year of approximately 24 weeks from September to May over a three-year period, our Sports Coaching and Development degree is taught through a mixture of workshops, seminars, tutorials and practical delivery in our excellent facilities at the Treforest and Sport Park campuses.
The average contact time per week is:
- Year One: 2.5 days + independent study
- Year Two: 2.5 days + independent study and work placement
- Year Three: 2 days + increased independent study and work placement requirements
You will be assessed using a range of methods that include written assignments, multiple choice questionnaires, presentations, portfolios and practical coaching/teaching.
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Teaching Staff
Sports Coaching and Development is delivered by a course team with vast industry experience of coordinating and managing sport in local authorities, professional and grassroots clubs, national governing bodies of sport and a variety of sport focused education institutions. This real-life knowledge and experiences are shared in the practical and theory learning environments embedded throughout the course.
Course Team
- Tony Wallis – Course Leader
- Andy Thomas – Senior Lecturer
- Melanie Tuckwell – Senior Lecturer
- Chris Emsley – Senior Lecturer
- Dr Stuart Jarvis
- Dr Tom Owens
- Dr Lee Baldock
- Huw Wilcox – Employability Officer
- Oliver Lewis – Student Support Officer
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Placements
Purposeful work-based learning opportunities embedded throughout year two & three modules are a chance to develop and practice your skills and knowledge in a range of work-related environments. USW has partnerships with over 50 sports organisations who offer work placements, enabling you to gain first-hand experience of working in the industry – an essential requirement for anyone wanting to gain employment in sport.
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Facilities
The course is predominately based at the USW Sport Park, which is just a few miles from the Pontypridd Campus. The Sport Park is a specially designed sporting performance facility that caters for a variety of sports. It includes a specialist centre for strength and conditioning with 12 lifting platforms, a full-size indoor 3G pitch which is built to the FIFA Pro and World Rugby 22 standards. In addition to these all-weather pitches, there are six grass football pitches, three grass rugby pitches, and a large changing pavilion.
Our facilities are regularly used by international professional teams, such as the Wales national football team and Cardiff City Football Club, as well as the touring New Zealand, South Africa and Australia rugby squads.
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100% of USW BSc (Hons) Sports Coaching and Development students were satisfied with their course. (National Student Survey 2024)
Top in Wales for Teaching Quality and Student Experience (Times Good University Guide 2024)
Top in Wales
Sport Science at USW is top in Wales for Teaching Quality.
(Guardian University Guide 2025)100% of USW BSc (Hons) Sports Coaching and Development students were satisfied with their course. (National Student Survey 2024)
Top in Wales for Teaching Quality and Student Experience (Times Good University Guide 2024)
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
UCAS points: 112 (or above)
Typical qualification requirements:
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A Level: BBC to include a Science subject or PE and to exclude General Studies
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BTEC: Distinction Merit Merit in a relevant subject
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Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate: C in the Skills Challenge Certificate and BB at A Level to include a Science subject or PE but to exclude General Studies
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Access to HE: Pass the Access to HE Diploma in Sport/Science with a minimum of 112 UCAS tariff points.
Additional requirements include:
The University normally requires a minimum 5 GCSEs including Mathematics/Numeracy and English at Grade C or Grade 4 or above, or their equivalent, but consideration is given to individual circumstances.
An Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check on the Child Workforce and Child Barring List and subscription to the DBS Update Service is required. (Overseas equivalent required for non-uk applicants).
International applications welcomed:
We welcome international applications with equivalent qualifications of our entry requirements. For more details related to your country of residence, please view our dedicated country pages.
English language requirements
International applicants will need to have achieved an overall of IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component/TOEFL 72 overall and a minimum of 18 in reading, 17 in listening, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing or equivalent.
Equivalents can be located on our English Language pages.
If you have previously studied through the medium of English, IELTS might not be required, please visit our country specific page for further details. If your country is not featured, please contact us.
If you do not meet the English entry criteria, please visit our Pre-Sessional course pages.
Contextual offers
We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended, for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer, and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions.
USW prides itself on its student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university.
We're here to help
Whether you a have a question about your course, fees and funding, the application process or anything else, there are plenty of ways you can get in touch, and we'd love to talk to you. You can contact our friendly admissions team by phone, email or chat to us online.
Fees and Funding
£9,535
per year*£785
per 20 credits*£740
per 20 credits*Additional Costs
As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment.
*Obligatory
This fee includes £40 for the enhanced DBS certificate, the Post Office Administration fee and the online administration fee.
Cost: £55.42
Subscription required for each year of the course for a yearly fee of £13. Please note the service has to be joined within 30 days of receipt of your enhanced DBS certificate.
Cost: £13
Students have to pay travel and subsistence costs for their placement. Cost is dependent on placement location.
University Quality Assurance
At USW, we regularly review our courses in response to changing patterns of employment and skills demand to ensure we offer learning designed to reflect today’s student needs and tomorrow’s employer demands.
If during a review process course content is significantly changed, we’ll write to inform you and talk you through the changes for the coming year. But whatever the outcome, we aim to equip our students with the skillset and the mindset to succeed whatever tomorrow may bring. Your future, future-proofed.
Life at USW
Halls are a big part of your student experience and there’s accommodation at all three of our locations. If you don’t want to live near the campus, there are great transport links to keep you connected.
How to apply
All applications for full-time undergraduate courses or foundation degrees should be made via UCAS. Take the next step: Apply through UCAS. You can apply to us directly for all part-time undergraduate courses, if you’re seeking advanced entry or you’re an international student. To apply directly, please choose the application form below for your preferred start date and mode of study (full-time or part-time.)
Advanced entry
If you already have a relevant qualification or experience related to the course you're applying for, you may be eligible to start at a later stage of the course. For example, students from partner colleges can ‘top up’ their qualifications to a degree by joining us in Year Two or Year Three of a course. This process is known as ‘advanced entry’, you can apply directly to the University for 'advanced entry' using the application forms provided above.
International admissions
International applicants can apply to us directly. If the University has an in-country team in your region, your application will be assigned to them for assistance.