As part of its 10th Anniversary celebrations, ICOACHKIDS has reached an exciting new milestone by delivering its first-ever event in the United States, taking the organisation’s child-centred coaching message to a new audience of coaches, coach developers and sport leaders.

ICOACHKIDS (ICK) is powered by the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE), connecting its work to a global network committed to advancing the quality, development and impact of coaching around the world.

Representing ICOACHKIDS, Prof Sergio Lara-Bercial and Gary Hodgson travelled to the USA for a series of events focused on some of the most important issues facing children’s and youth sport today.

The visit was generously hosted by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and provided an important opportunity to share ICOACHKIDS’ evidence-informed approach to creating positive, enjoyable and developmentally appropriate sport experiences for children and young people.

Engaging the North American Coaching Community

During the visit, ICOACHKIDS was also honoured to deliver the opening keynote at the United States Center for Coaching Excellence (USCCE) North American Coach Development Summit.

The Summit brought together coaches, coach developers and sport leaders from across North America to exchange ideas, explore current challenges and consider how coaching systems can better support athletes and coaches.

Across the week, the ICOACHKIDS team facilitated conversations around a number of key themes, including:

• Understanding and addressing youth sport dropout
• Inspiring the next generation of participants and coaches
• Developing player intelligence, decision-making and game understanding
• Creating more and better opportunities for girls and women in sport and coaching

These topics sit at the heart of ICOACHKIDS’ mission to ensure that every child has access to positive sporting experiences delivered by appropriately supported and educated coaches.

Sharing Ideas and Learning Across Cultures

The visit also provided an opportunity to experience the passion and culture surrounding sport in the United States. Away from the formal sessions, the ICOACHKIDS team attended the NCAA matchup between the Florida Gators and Ole Miss, gaining a first-hand insight into the distinctive atmosphere of American collegiate sport.

Bringing together perspectives from different sports, countries and coaching systems is central to the work of ICOACHKIDS. International collaboration allows coaches and organisations to learn from one another while continuing to focus on the needs, motivations and development of children and young people.

Looking Ahead to the Next Decade

ICOACHKIDS would like to extend a huge thank you to Kristen Dieffenbach and the USCCE team, and to Craig Jones and the USTA team, for their support in making the events possible and for helping introduce ICOACHKIDS to a new community of coaches and coach developers.

Most importantly, thank you to everyone who attended the sessions, asked questions, shared experiences and contributed ideas throughout the week.

As ICOACHKIDS celebrates ten years of working to improve children’s experiences of sport around the world, this first visit to the USA represents another important step in growing the global community committed to child-centred coaching.

Here’s to the next decade of putting children first in sport.