iCoachKids are pleased to announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the International Tennis Federation, aiming to support the development of a specialist children and youth coaching workforce.
The well-established ITF coaching programme and ITF Academy have a proven record of developing and supporting coaches around the world, working throughout the ITF’s network of national associations to constantly improve the standards of coaching worldwide. Furthermore, the existing iCoachKids collaborative will ensure an extensive reach globally and continuation of excellent practice within the field of coaching children.
iCoachKids provides innovative learning and development opportunities for those coaching children and young people led by Leeds Beckett University and the International Council for Coaching Excellence. Both the ITF and iCoachKids share the common objective to increase and improve youth participation in sport and physical activity.
The 2019 ITF Global Tennis Report revealed a worldwide network of 164,000 tennis coaches and the ITF and iCoachKids are committed to sharing expertise and resources through their international networks for the benefit of coaches working with young tennis players around the world.
Miguel Crespo, ITF Head of Participation and Coaching said:
“Quality coaching of children and young people is essential to not only developing future stars but also providing positive experiences to encourage lifelong participation in the sport. We are delighted to work with iCoachKids to further improve the specialist training provided to our tennis coaches.”
Dr Sergio Lara-Bercial, iCoachKids Director said:
“This is a fantastic partnership for iCoachKids. ITF has an incredible reputation for supporting coach education and development and for us it is an honour to support their already excellent work and reach thousands of tennis coaches world-wide”.
About iCoachKids:
iCoachKids is a not-for-profit project co-funded by an Erasmus+ grant in the 2016 call under Key Action 2 (Cooperation for Innovation and the Exchange of Good Practices – Strategic Partnerships for Vocational Education and Training). The project is co-led by the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE) and Leeds Beckett University (LBU) and an additional six partners including Lithuanian Sport University, Universidad Europea Madrid, Sport Ireland Coaching, Netherlands Olympic Committee, Royal Belgian Football Federation and Hungarian Coaches Association. iCoachKids aims to develop innovative education and training for a specialist children and youth coaching workforce.
About ITF
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the world governing body of tennis. Founded in 1913 as a not-for-profit organisation, its purpose is to ensure long-term growth and sustainability, delivering tennis for future generations in association with its 210 member nations. The ITF oversees the rules and regulations that govern international and national competition. The ITF is responsible for the worldwide development of tennis through its Development Programme, its Science and Technical department which monitors equipment and technology, and its Officiating department which oversees the education and advancement of officials. The ITF organises over 1,500 weeks of men’s, women’s and junior tournaments on the ITF World Tennis Tour, and manages the ITF Juniors team competitions, ITF Beach Tennis Tour, UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour and the ITF Seniors Circuit. The ITF is the owner and rightsholder of the two largest annual international team competitions Davis Cup, and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas, comprising the World Cup of Tennis and manages the Olympic Tennis Event on behalf of the IOC. The ITF upholds the highest standards of integrity and manages the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme on behalf of the sport and is a partner in the Tennis Integrity Unit. Visit www.itftennis.com, www.twitter.com/ITF_Tennis, www.Facebook.com/InternationalTennisFederation
