The East Midlands is leading the way in a key Government initiative to increase the number of sports coaches. So far the East Midlands has recruited 166.5 new full and part time coaches as part of the Community Sports Coach Scheme, more than any other region and 20% of all coaches recruited across England.

The Community Sports Coach Scheme from the Department for Culture Media and Sport will create 3000 paid and qualified coaches by 2006.

The significant number of coaches in the region is due to the efforts of the five County Sports Partnerships in the East Midlands who are the co-ordinating agencies for the scheme.  So far each county has the following number of coaches:

Tim Garfield, Regional Director for Sport England East Midlands said:
‘Coaching is fundamental to sport. The fact that 1 in 5 community sports coaches are based the East Midlands demonstrates our determination to become the most active and successful sporting region The value of young people receiving quality coaching will be crucial if we are to be successful at the London 2012 Games’.

The scheme aims to increase the number and range of coaching opportunities and meet local needs resulting in:

• A step-change in the career structure for coaching
• An increase in the number of qualified coaches employed at a local level
• Quality standards for the recruitment, employment, management and development of coaches
• Managed, quality, continuous professional development support for employed coaches
• High-quality coaching with a focus on young people
• The development of a pool of high quality community sports coaches will not only enhance the quality of existing activity but also provide the opportunity to generate substantial new activity.

The pool of community sports coaches will be employed in a geographical area and will work as a team across a range of clubs, schools and local authorities, based on identified need. They will be carefully deployed to ensure that the maximum number of young people benefit.

The funding available through the scheme is just one element of an overall strategic approach to the development of the coaching workforce at a local level.

Other aspects include attracting new people into coaching and support for existing coaches working in a voluntary capacity. Issues such as recruitment, employment and deployment, retention and communication have to be addressed to develop a world-class coaching system, as outlined in the UK vision for coaching.

Further information can be found in a Sport England briefing note on the Community Sports Coach Scheme.