The course is an introduction to coaching children and youth in sports with a special emphasis on growth, maturation and development. The course shall give the students a theoretical understanding of the psycho-social processes underpinning development and learning in order to inform a pedagogical basis for their involvement in youth sport contexts.

Knowledge
The student shall have

• a general understanding of the role of growth, maturation and learning for development in sports
• a general understanding of psycho-social and motivational processes relevant for participation, learning and development in sports
• a general understanding of patterns of youth sport participation and drop-out
• a general understanding of the organised youth sport context in Norway
• a critical understanding of perspectives on talent and expertise in sports, including how early specialisation in sports and selection mechanisms might affect sports participation, learning and development.

Skills

The students shall have the skills

• to consider psycho-social and motivational processes when designing learning activities in children and youth sport settings
• to critically evaluate systems of talent development in children and youth sport settings
• to reflect upon their coaching aiming to optimize participation, learning and development in children and youth sport settings

General competence

The students shall have the competence to plan, implement and evaluate appropriate training and competition activities in youth sport settings for different groups of age, gender and skill level.

The structure of the course will be a combination of formal lectures and discussion, individual and group assignments and student presentations.

In order to be permitted to do the final exam, students must pass three individual written assignments rated pass/fail.

The final written exam is a one-week individual written assignment with a maximum length of 3000 words. Grading A-F.

1 BOOK:
Stafford, I. (Ed.) (2011). Coaching children in sport. Oxon, UK: Routledge.
* You will find the book in the Library here: ORIA
** The book is also available electronic/online: Click here to download.
*** NB! To open the electronic book off campus, you need to use the following VPN connection: Click here to download.

1 BOOK CHAPTER - available through Canvas:
Blatz, D. H. & De Luigi, A. J. (2016). Human growth and development. In: R. B. Birrer, F. G. O’Connor & S. F. Kane (Eds.), Musculoskeletal and sports medicine for the primary care practitioner (4th ed.). (p. 137-147). London: CRC Press.
* This PDF is available through Canvas.
(Cleared through BOLK 11.09.19. / Bibl. - AGG)


2 ELECTRONIC ARTICLES:
Myer, G. D., Jayanthi, N., DiFiori, J. P., Faigenbaum, A. D., Kiefer, A. W., Logerstedt, D.  & Micheli, L. J. (2015). Sport specialization, Part I: Does early sports specialization increase negative outcomes and reduce the opportunity for success in young athletes? Sports Health, 7(5), 437-442. doi: 10.1177/1941738115598747.
* This article is available online: Click here to download.

Myer, G. D., Jayanthi, N., DiFiori, J. P., Faigenbaum, A. D., Kiefer, A. W., Logerstedt, D. & Micheli, L. J. (2016). Sports specialization, Part II: Alternative solutions to early sport specialization in youth athletes. Sports Health, 8, 65-73. doi: 10.1177/1941738115614811.
* This article is available online: Click here to download.