Sports Coaching
Sports Coaching is the systematic study and practice of helping athletes and participants in physical activity to improve their performance, develop their skills, and achieve their goals. It draws on sports science, psychology, pedagogy, and management to understand what effective coaching actually involves, and how different approaches work with different athletes, at different levels, and in different sporting contexts. Coaching is not simply instruction: it is a complex professional practice that involves building relationships, designing learning environments, managing teams, and making decisions under pressure.
At Edinburgh Napier University, this part-time programme also includes a year abroad, giving you an international dimension to your coaching education. The part-time mode allows you to continue coaching or working in sport alongside your studies, which is a significant advantage in a field where practical experience is fundamental to professional development. You will study the theory and practice of coaching across different sports and performance contexts, examining athlete development models, session planning and delivery, performance analysis, sport psychology, and the organisational and ethical dimensions of coaching practice.
Sports Coaching graduates work across the full spectrum of sport, from community and participation settings to high-performance and elite environments. School sport, sports clubs, national governing bodies, professional sports organisations, local authority leisure services, and universities and colleges all employ coaches and sports development professionals. The year abroad broadens your understanding of how coaching is practised in different cultural and sporting contexts, which is increasingly valuable as sport becomes more international.
Many graduates pursue coaching qualifications through their sport's national governing body alongside or after their degree. Postgraduate study in sports coaching, sports science, or performance analysis is available for those who want to develop specialist expertise.