Background and problem definition
The Swiss Gymnastics Federation (STV) is planning to develop a systematic coaching programme for its clubs. The ‘Coachingbox’ concept includes club-specific support and counselling. Based on a survey of STV clubs, specific challenges faced by the clubs will be identified and various forms and formats of counselling will be developed. The STV Coachingbox project strengthens strategies and structures (e.g. voluntary work, professionalisation, innovative sports offerings), which contributes to the successful development of gymnastics clubs in Switzerland in the long term and thus also strengthens the development of the STV.
The Institute of Sport Science (ISPW) at the University of Bern (Department of Sport Sociology & Management) is supporting the STV in this project and is primarily responsible for developing the Coachingbox concept as well as its evaluation and scientifically sound further development. The coaching concept is based on the current state of scientifically sound counselling of sports clubs by associations and is oriented towards the systemic principle of ‘helping people to help themselves’, whereby specialist input can also play a role.
The joint project has the following objectives:
- Development of a systematic, sustainable coaching system for STV clubs with different counselling formats;
- Implementation, evaluation and further development of the Coachingbox concept.
The evaluation, particularly during the pilot phase, will be used to identify potential improvements to the programme. Continuous scientific monitoring and further development of the programme should ensure that it best meets the needs of the gymnastics clubs in terms of advice from the association and ultimately strengthens Swiss gymnastics clubs in the long term.
Procedure
Project phase 1
The first phase of the project focusses on interviewing the clubs about their challenges. At the same time, the systematic coaching box concept will be developed and a coaching network established. The concept will then be tested in a pilot phase with selected gymnastics clubs and further developed if necessary.
Project phase 2
In the second phase of the project, the coaching box programme will be implemented and implemented with a larger number of gymnastics clubs. This will continue to be accompanied and evaluated on a scientific basis. In particular, the extent to which the clubs can absorb and actually implement the counselling input and thus adapt club structures will be examined.
By evaluating the implementation of the coaching concept, recommendations for action regarding its further development are to be developed in order to make the programme successful in the long term.
