Ensure sporting environments and coaches are safe and that young players are protected from physical and psychological harm.
Treat all young players with respect and dignity and ensure they can build efficacy and resilience by engaging in manageable challenges.
Promote the inclusion and belonging of all young players, regardless of their ability, gender, age or social or cultural background.
Fostering safety, dignity, and inclusion in sport.
Sport Coach+ incorporates core values of safety, dignity and inclusion in sport.
Coaches can implement these values in how they set up the sport environment, the way they interact with players (and guide players to interact with each other) and in the activities they do together.
Safety, dignity and inclusion create conditions which motivate young players to participate and support the well-being of young players who have experienced stressful events such as displacement. As well as contributing to meeting young player’s needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness, (see Self-Determination Theory explanation).
Recommendations to set up a predictable, welcoming and safe environment.
Sport can have a range of benefits for young people affected by displacement or other adversity:
Apply activities that follow a predictable format.
Apply a transition routine so that young players know where to go and what to do when they arrive.
Be consistently encouraging and kind. Stay calm during stressful times.
Remain open and receptive to young players’ concerns.
Co-create team expectations and ensure everyone understands and has access to them.
Respond consistently to young players whose behaviour goes against the ethos and ground rules of the team or club.
Act quickly if any situations arise where players may be unsafe and be attentive to individual and group dynamics that influence safety, dignity, and inclusion.
Ensure young players are safe upon arrival at practice or games. Entrances and activity spaces should be hazard-free, well-lit, and appropriately supervised.
Make sure young players know who will be present in the space, including other teams and activities.
Ensure bathrooms and locker rooms are accessible, with private spaces available for any young person who needs them.
Provide young players with access to items that meet their basic needs, such as water, snacks, and menstrual products.
Ensure young players have access to the sports equipment they need, including the right sizes, appropriate for the rules of their sport, culturally appropriate, and including protective clothing if required.
5.1. Safety
Create predictable, welcoming and safe environments.
An environment that is physically and psychologically safe is predictable, welcoming, and meets the diverse needs of young players. This is particularly relevant for those who have experienced stressful events before. Coaches can promote safety by:
1
Be predictable
Predictable environments generally feel safer. Routine and predictability help reduce stress and anxiety. When young players know what to expect, they can relax and fully engage in the experience.
2
Be consistent and kind
Be consistent to avoid creating unnecessary stress for young players. A coach who remains calm under pressure, is encouraging, and is open to ideas and feedback fosters trust and creates a positive team atmosphere.
3
Address safety
Coaches build both team and individual trust by promptly addressing any situations where a young player may feel physically or emotionally unsafe. By ensuring a safe sport environment, all team members know they will be protected and supported when needed.
5.2. Dignity
Promote dignity in the sports environment
Activities require careful planning if they are to preserve the dignity and well-being of all young players.
When young players are respected for who they are and are able to demonstrate what they are capable of doing, regardless of perceived limitations, it reinforces their self-worth and self-efficacy and preserves their essential dignity.
Coaches respect dignity by building on individuals’ strengths and interests. Learn practical ways coaches can ensure all young players are treated with dignity:
1
Co-create ground rules
Co-creating ground rules including respectful language, non-violence and fairness may be especially important when coaching young players affected by displacement.
2
Skills & stress resilience
Young players are given manageable challenges (in sport and social-emotional skills) so they can better control their emotional response and build their ‘stress resilience’ successfully in small steps.
3
Acknowledge & praise efforts
Young players’ efforts and improvements in personal goals (sport and social-emotional goals) are acknowledged and praised, giving them a sense of accomplishment and self-efficacy.
Respect dignity and wellbeing
Sport Coach+ recommendations to respect dignity of all young players.
Coaches and the team set ground rules and consequences together
Everyone is responsible for themselves and for the group.
Consequences for breaking ground rules are appropriate and not shaming of any young player.
Coaches give regular reminders of the ground rules.
Coaches ensure all young players experience success before attempting more challenging tasks.
Young players are invited to participate (opt-in) and always given the opportunity to opt-out depending on the activities and levels of stress that are comfortable for them.
There are established routines for young players who need a ‘reset’ (a break to regulate themselves).
Young players are encouraged and supported to reflect on their experience routinely.
Offer meaningful praise when young people do good things such as in effort, teamwork, or making a good decision. Praise should be specific and about something that the young person can control.
Sport activities are not used as ‘punishment’ such as making a young player run laps or do push ups if they are late.
Every young player is recognised and honoured for their efforts and contribution.
Every young player is accepted and valued for all their abilities, and no one is made to stand out.
No young player is shamed, judged or punished for mistakes.
What this means for me and my young players
What kind of reset activities would work well for your young players, according to their age, culture, gender and abilities?
Where could young players go in the sport environment to take a moment to reset?
How can you best normalise a ‘reset’ as a useful and acceptable way for young players to regulate their stress?
Implementing reset activities examples
Reset activities allow young players who are struggling with their emotions to take a break from the assigned task to regulate themselves through helpful movement. Appropriate reset activities will depend upon the sport as well as the cultural context. Examples include:
• Young players can do something skill building and repetitive, such as kicking a ball against the wall or working on a specific ball-handling skill.
• Taking a few minutes to do something else active, like jumping rope, tossing a ball, or some kind of circuit training.
• Having the whole team take a reset with a simple movement activity. For example, the coach can say: “everyone, take a minute to jog over and touch the foul line (or some other designated place), reset and come back with new energy.”
Looking for tips for co-creating ground rules? Download this resource.
Feeling safe, knowing they are valued, and feeling they belong in a positive group are all very important for the healing and recovery of young people from stressful experiences, including displacement. These things are also essential starting places for building young players’ social and emotional life skills.
Practical ways coaches can promote inclusion are to:
1
Set a welcoming team culture
Regardless of players’ ability, gender, age, previous experience or cultural background, all young players are welcomed and included by the coach in sport.
2
Build trusting and consistent relationships
Coaches understand they are important stable, adult role models in young people’s lives, and strive to build and maintain trusting and consistent relationships with young players.
3
Foster autonomy
Fostering autonomy – the chance for young players to be in control and trusted with responsibilities – is important for recovery from stressful events.
4
Enact plans for inclusion
It is important to consider and then enact plans to ensure all young players can participate with dignity regardless of ability.
Practical ways to promote inclusion
Set a welcoming team culture:
Coaches greet young players by name and foster a positive group spirit. Young players are actively and intentionally welcomed and included in activities.
Coaches provide young players the opportunity to get to know each other through introductions or games. • Everyone participates actively, and no one is excluded or eliminated.
Accommodations are made for young people with different abilities to participate and feel equally included by modifying activities or the space and encouraging each player in their own goals and achievements.
Young player’s culture, religion, age and gender are taken into account so they can participate in ways that preserve their dignity and customs.
Young players are referred to in gender-neutral terms, such as their name, or ‘sport friends’. Don’t refer to all players as ‘guys’.
Coaches use methods for dividing young players into teams in ways that do not cause exclusion and damage self-esteem. For example, instead of allowing young people to pick teams, coaches use neutral methods to divide teams; birthday month, favourite fruit or random group generator.
Build trusting and consistent relationships:
Coaches understand that young players look up to them and their opinion matters.
Coaches are consistent with young players, so they know what to expect, feel safe and feel a sense of belonging. • Coaches help young players to regulate their stress – especially those with dysregulation who may have difficulty connecting and interacting with others.
Coaches foster cooperation, teamwork and a positive group identity, and help young players learn important life skills through sport.
Young players see their coaches reflect on their biases and work to change them.
Coaches invite and engage young players in the process of building skills by asking questions, instead of only giving instructions. Asking questions pulls young people into the process of learning, makes them feel seen and heard, and gives coaches information about a young player that is essential to their development.
Young players are encouraged to provide formal and informal feedback to coaches about their experiences.
Foster autonomy:
Young players are given leadership roles and responsibilities that demonstrate trust in their abilities, help them contribute meaningfully and deepen their sense of belonging.
Roles and responsibilities include allowing young players to choose and lead training activities, be in charge of setting up drills, manage the equipment, and so forth.
Enact plans for inclusion:
Allow young players to engage with naturally inclusive activities based on what everyone can do with little or no modifications.
Change or adapt the activity to provide support and challenge across a range of different abilities.
Group young players according to ability, and each group does a version of the same activity, but at a level that suits the individuals in each group.
Support individuals to work separately for a time on specific skills before joining the whole group.
Address gender issues related to sport and physical activity.
Consider the implications of younger and older youth being involved in the same activity, such as appropriate language, different levels of maturity and cognitive development, physical contact and differing skill levels.
Download a PDF table with practical ways to promote inclusion
When a player shows up, the coach stands to the side with other adults (arms folded)
When a player shows up, the coach greets them and invites them to the space.
Safe & Supportive
Unhelpful
When a player is late, they run laps to acknowledge it. The coach doesn’t ask why but warns against being late again.
When a player arrives late, the coach says, 'I'm glad you're here, warm up, and I'll catch you up.' Later, they check that everything is okay so they can offer help.
Safe & Supportive
Unhelpful
A player shoots and misses (the basket, goal) and the coach criticises with words or body language (looks away, acts disappointed or angry).
A player shoots and misses and the coach encourages the efforts and helps them move forward.
Safe & Supportive
Unhelpful
When a player shows challenging behaviour, the coach sends them to time out, or kicks them out (isolate and contain).
When a player shows challenging behaviour, the coach takes them for a walk or plays catch with them (connect and move).
Safe & Supportive
Unhelpful
Coaches do not admit when they are wrong or take the responsibility for mistakes.
Coaches admit when they are wrong (and apologise when necessary) and take responsibility for mistakes.
Safe & Supportive
Unhelpful
Coaches provide positive feedback when a player accomplishes something (scores a point, wins a race).
Coaches provide positive feedback when a player progresses in some way.
Safe & Supportive
Unhelpful
Coaches encourage players to "push through" even when they are too far out of their comfort zone.
Coaches allow players to opt in and opt out when they go too far out of their comfort zone.
Safe & Supportive
5.5. Consider culture
The values of – excellence, friendship and respect (5)– provide a unique setting for inter-cultural dialogue and bringing together young people from different backgrounds. But, when working with young players from different backgrounds, coaches should consider how culture may determine:
How concepts of safety, dignity and inclusion are understood;
Expectations for how young players of different backgrounds should behave, express themselves and participate in sport; and
What different young players may need in order to experience safety, dignity and inclusion.
What do we mean by culture?
Culture encompasses social behaviours, institutions and norms and includes aspects such as nationality, religion, ethnicity, health, art, music, fashion, food and sport.
Cultural and political differences can present challenges, so coaches need to be aware of these issues and address conflicts when they arise.
Cultural considerations for safe and supportive sport
Communication
Sport is often grounded in rules which are shared worldwide. This enables participation even in the absence of a shared spoken language. However, it is important that coaches can effectively communicate with and understand young players. When coaches and players don’t speak the same language, improve communication by learning basic words in each other’s languages, use non-verbal language and signs, set up language buddies, or use online translation apps.
Gender
Gender influences as young player’s ability and motivation to join sports activities, interactions with peers, and how they respond to different situations. Consider gender when seeking to foster safety, dignity, and inclusion (e.g. any need for gender-separate activities, clothing considerations, gender balance among coaches, training needs among coaches).
Coach diversity
Coaches may have different or similar backgrounds from the young players in terms of ethnicity, religious or political beliefs, gender and so forth. Coaches can use their similarities and differences to reinforce safety, dignity and inclusion and can act as role models.
Identity language
If relevant to the culture, before starting sport, find out privately how each young player identifies and what pronouns they prefer (e.g., he, she, they). This should not be done in a public way, so as not to ‘out’ a young player without their consent, embarrass them or put them in danger.
Language
Be aware of how certain phrases and words may be translated and understood. Be aware of and minimise language by young players that may reinforce stereotypes or cultural discrimination often focused on religion, ethnicity, race, gender, age or disability.
Trauma
Culture is important to how people experience, understand and recover from distressing events, including displacement. Ensure sport is trauma-informed by inviting young players to take part in activities in ways that feel comfortable for them, including opting out when they need to.
Buy-in
Sport may be seen by some as not worthwhile, a distraction from family, academic or livelihoods activities and/or a religious immorality. To obtain buy-in, consider finding ways to include the families in sport activities (open days, showcase a sport activity) and meeting parents/guardians to discuss their worries.
“Any coach can have a positive impact on a young person, but this difference in gender is worth noting – girls are far less likely to have female coaches than boys are to have male coaches. And boys are even less likely to have female coaches. This means that most of the good lessons [learnt by young players form their coaches] are coming from men. Don’t we want our kids to see women in positive leadership and mentoring roles?”
Contributed by Center for Healing and Justice Through Sport (CHJS)
See some cultural considerations in setting a sport environment that can help young players feel safe, included, understood and supported
(1)IFRC Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support (PS Centre) (2014). Moving Together: Promoting psychosocial well-being through sport and physical activity. 25-30. Retrieved from https://pscentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Moving-Together_English_low.pdf
(3) For more detailed guidance on promoting inclusion see IFRC Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support (PS Centre) (2014). Moving Together: Promoting psychosocial well-being through sport and physical activity. Retrieved from https://pscentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Moving-Together_English_low.pdf
(7) Adapted from Centre for Healing and Justice Through Sport (CHJS). (2020). Coaching Girls Guide: How to Get (and Keep) Girls Playing; Strategies for Engaging and Retaining Girls in Sport. Retrieved from https://chjs.org/resources/how-to-get-and-keep-girls-playing/
(4) Adapted from Centre for Healing and Justice Through Sport (CHJS). (2023). Nothing Heals Like sport: A new playbook for coaches. Retrieved from https://www.canva.com/design/DAFisvSIRbQ/Bbyzu_hpUhOJIr2NrPhK6A/view#46
(6) The EU funded ASPIRE programme has multiple resources to support the creation of opportunities for the participation of refugees in sport and in community life through sport, including overcoming verbal language differences. See ENGSO. ASPIRE – Activity, sport and play for the inclusion of refugees in Europe. Online training course. Retrieved from ASPIRE – The European Sports NGO (engso-education.eu)
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