Advanced Sport Management

This module provided an understanding of the concept of strategic management and its application to sport organisations. It helped me to appraise the influences of the macro and micro environment within which such sport organisations exist and operate. As part of this module, I implement advanced strategic marketing processes to facilitate effective operation of the organisation and understand unique marketing constraints and opportunities which are characteristic of service and product organisations involved in the sport industry. With this, I designed and implement a suitable service and product marketing strategy in support of a self made organization for a case study.

The module enables me to:

• Acquire an understanding of the concept of strategic management and its application to sport organisations. • Appraise the influences of the macro environment within which such sport organisations exist and operate. Learned Outcomes:1. Demonstrate an appreciation of the different approaches to strategy formulation for different sized sport organisations.2. Analyse the influence of macro environmental factors.3. Appraise the use of an appropriate environmental analyses for a sport organisation.4. Discuss appropriate business strategies for sport organisations.5. Critically justify strategic marketing strategies for sport organisations.

Skills and Attributes Gained:1. Recognise appropriate business strategies for large, small and medium sized sport organisations.2. Explain how a sport organisation may be independently and jointly influenced by micro and macro environmental factors.3. Implement an appropriate environmental analysis for a sport organisation.4. Design a strategic marketing strategy.

Sports Development

Brief Description

This module was been designed to explore sports development in more detail, building on the how, what, where, who, as well as exploring the ‘why’ of sports development.

The module featured three themes that cut across the module: the first covered the historical and socio-political theory and concepts that are highly relevant to sports development, the second focused on sports development as a policy domain and the third looked at the practice of sports development.

The practice of sports development:This part of the module will concentrated on discrete areas of work that exist in sports development practice. For example, strategic planning, land-use planning, designing and developing evidence based interventions, initiating and securing funding, and performance management. Simulated learning provided me with the opportunity to explore these areas in a work-related environment, helping to develop

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knowledge and enhance skills that are pertinent to the needs of the sports development profession.

Sports development as a policy domain:The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games has provided a catalyst and helped to provide greater clarity regarding the government’s policy goals for sport. The module required me to debate and critically appraise the 2012 Legacy Plan with a particular focus on the three policy platforms that are central to the sport element of the plan (school, community and elite sport) as well as evaluating the aspirations to develop sport internationally. More broadly, I explored different approaches to sports development, nationally and internationally, with a view to developing a typology of sports development practice.

Theory and concepts and their application to sports development practice:Focused on specific concepts highly relevant to sports development, such as sportisation, political ideology, power, policy formulation and partnership working.

The module enables me to:

• Utilise the key components of the project planning lifecycle from identifying appropriate sources of funding, preparing bids and implementing evidence-based sports development initiatives.• Critically appraise project management strategies and techniques that can be used to implement, monitor, evaluate and performance manage sports development programmes.• Become aware of customer service practice in sports development and the ways in which continuous improvements are made to sports development practice.• Demonstrate effective use of the various tools, research and data that can be used to support the creation and promotion of sports development services.• Critically evaluate the nature of state involvement in sport and recognise the broader policy context such as health and wellbeing. While recognising political ideology that affects sports development.

Learned Outcomes: 1. Critically interpret the nature of state involvement in sport and recognise the broader policy context and the way in which this affects sports development 2. Recognise the mainstream political ideologies and the way in which political ideology shapes policy affecting sports development 3. Design the most appropriate strategies and techniques that can be used to monitor, evaluate and performance manage sports development services

Skills and Attributes Gained: 1. Demonstrate the ability to recognise the key components of the project planning lifecycle and the critical aspects of project management 2. Apply the requirements of funding criteria to the preparation of a bid for external funding 3. Through demonstrating advanced awareness and competence of the various tools, research and data available in sports development apply these to support the creation and promotion of sports development programmes

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Advanced Sports Coaching

Brief Description

This module was based on the critical appraisal of advanced coaching related theory and research, and a range of current issues, and industry developments, as applied to my own coaching background and personal development. The module promoted the refinement of sophisticated practical coaching skills, the gaining of a further vocational coaching award, and the employment of critical reflective depth in relation to personal and professional development.

The module enables me to:

Critically appraise, in depth and specific detail, advanced sports coaching related theory and research. Plus, be able to adopt a holistic view in regards to coaching implications.

Become familiar with a range of current issues, and industry developments. Promote the refinement of sophisticated practical coaching skills, in challenging practical coaching

roles, and the attainment of a further vocational coaching award. Examine in targeted critical reflective depth, personal development, as applied to their my own

coaching background, philosophy.

Learned Outcomes

1. Demonstrate enhanced awareness and critical understanding of advanced coaching related research, theories, areas, and issues.

2. Gain and critically reflect upon further practical coaching environment experience, in challenging placements which extend their abilities.

3. Further refine the development of my own coaching philosophy by balancing my practical and theoretical strengths, and gaining a holistic understanding of coaching related knowledge.

Skills and Attributes Gained

1. Develop, enhance and apply advanced practical coaching skills, and accumulate more challenging coaching experience, within the practical coaching environment, under the supervision of a mentor coach.

2. Gain England Rugby Football Union Level 2 coaching club level qualification.3. Employ in depth and holistic critical reflective practice in order to maximise coaching related learning

experiences.

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Advanced Work Experience

This advanced work experience module helped me to embrace the philosophy of empowerment in that it offered the opportunity to continue my vocational experience and specialisation in a theme of BSc Sports Studies while having a greater focus upon the opportunity for immersion in a community of practice and appreciating the value of professional debate of contemporary issues. The module is an academic and vocational hybrid which relied upon the application of advanced academic theory and qualities developed during BSc Sports Studies to professional practice in the chosen work experience settings. The reflective nature of this assessment eabled to appraise the concept of learning and the prominence of significant milestones to enhance future employability and to inform future career destinations.

Module Aims

The module enabled me to: Benefit from situated learning where they can gain experience with practising professionals in a

sports marketing and communication setting. Develop a holistic awareness of the utility of academic theory for professional practice within a

work experience setting Evidence the development of an advanced set of personal transferable qualities including:

autonomy, communication skills and reflective practice in preparation for intended career destinations

Demonstrate effective use of critical reflective practice to clearly appraise future intentions for continuing professional development and possible career transitions.

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding:1. Recognise the value of dialogue and debate with practising professionals from Digital Marketing

& Communications and demonstrate an appreciation of a community of practice approach.2. Apply advanced academic theory and applied vocational qualities developed during BSc Sports

Studies to professional practice in Digital Marketing & Communications.3. Evaluate and make reasoned critical judgement upon learning as a contested concept through

examining its varying definitions and applications4. Develop advanced knowledge and understanding such that they are able to produce a

sophisticated theoretically informed piece of data driven work.

Skills and Attributes:1. Critique the holistic inter-relationship between the impact of academic and vocational learning

upon professional practice in either sports coaching, sports development or sports management vocationally related settings

2. Critically evaluate my own learning journey and prominence of significant milestones3. Evidence the attainment of advanced personal transferable qualities and critique their relevance

to enhance future employability4. Use critical reflective practice to rationalise future intentions for continuing professional

development.5. Produce a sophisticated theoretically informed piece of data driven work.

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