Coaching Information - Useful Links

This page contains links to:

1. National and UK wide Governing Bodies of Sport coach education pages - so that you can access more information about sport specific coaching qualifications and courses being offered on a local and regional basis.

2. Other useful sports organisations - that can provide you with generic information relevant to coaches and volunteers

3. Local organisations - that can help you to make contacts, and give you information on coaching opportunities and support available at a local level.

1. National and UK-wide Governing Bodies of Sport

Sport (according to the Council of Europe) means "all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation aim at expressing or improving physical fitness and mental well-being, forming social relationships or obtaining results in competition at all levels." Within each sport, Sport England will only recognise one National Governing Body (NGB) - you can find a list of them by following this link:

List of Sport England Recognised Governing Bodies

2. Other useful organisations

Sport England - formerly known as the English Sports Council, Sport England invests lottery and Exchequer funding in organisations and projects that will help sports to grow, sustain and excel.

UK Sport - the nation's high performance sports agency responsible for investing over £100 million per year in Britain's best Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

Youth Sport Trust - focuses on building a brighter future for young people through PE and school sport.

sportscoachUK - guiding the development and implementation of a coaching system for all coaches at every level in the UK

Sports Leaders UK - using the medium of sport to help people to learn to lead.

3. Local organisations

The main Herts Sports Partnership website has lots of useful contacts, including our main partners in the county. In particular, you will find that the main users of the Coaching Herts database, in terms of recruiting coaches, are schools and local authorities:

  • School Sports Partnerships (SSPs) - there are 12 of these in the county and they help to ensure that there is high quality PE and school sport for pupils. Each of them has a Partnership Development Manager (PDM). You can find their contact details on our website - click here. You can find out more about School Sports Partnerships on the Herts SSP website.
  • Local authorities - each of the ten local authorities in Hertfordshire has a Sports Development Officer (SDO) or similar. For their contact details, click here.

4. And finally...

It's hard to fault the Australians when it comes to their approach to sport! The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) is recognised as a world leader in the development of high performance sport and sports participation.

The ASC has an online magazine that provides valuable information for coaches of all sports on areas including sports science, roles and responsibilities, nutrition, psychology and planning, and feature new technology as well as profiles of successful coaches.

Sports Coach online magazine has well over 200 articles - try it, you won't be disappointed! Click here.

And while we're looking overseas ... The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, founded in 1933, is 'the preeminent provider of musculoskeletal education to orthopaedic surgeons and others in the world'. But don't take their word for it - they have a whole area on their website dedicated to Sports and Exercise. It covers everything from Common Sports Injuries & Conditions (cramp, 'stingers', cruciate ligament injuries, stress fractures, concussion, etc. etc.) through Exercise and Prevention & Safety, to Children's Injuries. A wealth of information - click here.

Contact Herts Sports Partnership on 01707-284229 or using the contact us page