Developed by Sheffield Hallam University, in partnership with British Judo and Sportscoach UK, the course is being run over two years initially as a Post Graduate Diploma, with the option to stay on to do a third year and complete the full Masters in Advanced Sports Coaching Practice.

The course is being delivered by sport coaching experts and sport and exercise scientists at the University, with input from the judo community.

"This course is an excellent example of a university working with a professional body to make British sport the best it can be," said Michelle Vernon-Way, senior lecturer in sport coaching at Sheffield Hallam and course leader for the new MSc.

"We're using the latest technology, research and academic theory to make sure that all of the professional coaches on this course are equipped to deliver the next generation of British athletes on the world stage.

"But we're also working closely with British Judo to make sure that we have a clear understanding of the issues facing coaches, and we're getting a great insight into their professional practices and needs.

"We're giving them the skills and knowledge to design, deliver and evaluate specialist coaching programmes, make critical decisions in a highly complex environment and be outstanding, visionary and knowledgeable coaches in their field."

The main emphasis is on developing high performance coaches of the future.

It has been specifically designed for those coaches who want to develop their underpinning knowledge, skills and competences to take their sport and coaching to the next level.

As a testament to the quality of the coaching course, famous names such as Toni Minichiello, Jim Feenan and Kate Howey are all studying the programme at Sheffield Hallam University ©SHU


Among those participating in the course include former chairman of Judo Scotland Jim Feenan, Olympic silver medallist Kate Howey and, showing the quality and high regard given to the course, Toni Minichiello, Jessica Ennis-Hill's coach.

"Coaching is all about learning and being able to apply it to your sport," said Minichiello.

"Most of my learning has been through coaching courses, and what I've read or picked up along the way.

"Once you qualify as a coach you're pretty much left to your own devices.

"The Masters at Sheffield Hallam gives me an opportunity for structured continued learning, an opportunity to match experience with the academic and scientific to improve my coaching, and to gain a recognised qualification that adds credibility and objectivity to my experiential learning.

"The added advantage of working alongside the nation's best judo coaches for me just adds to the learning experience.

"An opportunity to learn from other sports in a formal environment and gain the benefit of their experience also adds massive value to the whole learning process, that would be difficult to find anywhere else.

"The timing and structure of the timetable means I can easily mix my full-time coaching and continued development in the build up to all the forthcoming championships."

The two year course includes psychology for performance coaching, bio mechanics and performance analysis, applied sport science and advanced professional practice.

Running alongside the academic qualification, coaches will have the opportunity to develop and evidence their competencies as a UK Coaching Certificate (UKCC) Level 4 coach.

This means that coaches who successfully graduate will receive a Post Graduate Diploma or full Masters and a UKCC Level 4 Qualification.

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