We are proud and excited to have officially launched our Life Champions, a sport for development course aiming to support coaches in learning new and effective ways to use their chosen sport as a tool to create wider impact in young people’s lives outside of the sporting environment.

The Life Champions course is a self-directed learning programme, developed by Fight for Peace and adapted for online delivery in partnership with UK Coaching. The course is hosted on UK Coaching’s online portal, where coaches will find many other resources to support their professional development, including an accompanying workbook and resource pack. On completing the course, coaches receive a certificate of completion along with an accreditation badge.

So, what’s Life Champions all about?

At Fight for Peace, we know that using sport has the power to support young people to make profound changes in their lives. This is especially true when sporting activities are combined with a personal development focus. That’s why it’s embedded in our Five Pillar approach, which combines boxing and martial arts and mentoring with other support services including youth leadership, employability, and educational support. 

A core focus of the course is developing coaches from a range of sporting backgrounds to understand the power of using sport for development in practice, to help young people become champions in sport, and champions in life. 

The course provides resources and approaches that coaches can develop to discover new ways to elevate their coaching styles, building on their existing approaches, and learning how to become mentors to the next generation of athletes so they can thrive in their sporting lives and beyond. 

For young athletes, being able to see their coach as a trusted mentor and positive role model can provide a safe space to seek support and advice about anything challenging in their lives, while receiving the benefits of training in their chosen sports. These positive interactions can lead young people to grow and push themselves further in their lives, from school and work, to their relationships. 

Coaches will gain an in-depth understanding of the ways in which embodying a Life Champions coaching style can help young people’s future progression, while building the values and behaviours of a Life Champions coach, and an understanding of how to create a Life Champions environment where young people can thrive.

The course also covers important topics such as equality, diversity and inclusion to allow young people from all backgrounds to feel welcome and safe within sporting environments, which is a key element in ensuring we are increasing access to sport for the next generation of athletes.

This is a training programme we have taken pride in implementing in our service delivery since Fight for Peace’s humble beginnings, and seeing the effectiveness of taking a sport for development approach in supporting young people’s growth has encouraged us to train like-minded organisations in this holistic methodology, through our Alliance partners and other sporting organisations.

Many of our Alliance partners expressed interest and a need for a course like this, and we extend gratitude to those who worked alongside us to inform and create this impactful piece of work. 

The cost of the complete online course is £30, (free for Fight for Peace Alliance organisations) and takes coaches through five-modules. Through completing each module, coaches will gain confidence in being able to support young people from all backgrounds and with a range of needs, through gaining an increased level of confidence, awareness and skill in supporting youth development in areas beyond sporting achievements.

We are thrilled to be sharing this training with the wider world in the coming months, and we hope that more sports clubs will join us on this journey of embracing the power of sport for development, and join us in helping to create champions in sport, and champions in life. 

To book your space on the Life Champions course, head to the UK Coaching website. You can also click here for a sneak peek of what to expect from the course. There is a promotional code for all Fight for Peace Alliance members to receive the training package for free. Please email lifechampions@fightforpeace.net to enquire.