Coaching for Hope

Why we Volunteer.

What Coaching For Hope Does

Coaching for Hope works with local coaches and sport for development organisations in Southern Africa to provide training and to support them to deliver our HIV and substance abuse programmes in their local communities.

The story so far…

The Southern Africa programme began in December 2007 with a pilot course in Cape Town, training 30 coaches and youth workers to plan and deliver inspiring football coaching sessions and raise awareness of HIV. Coaches from QPR, the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, Hull City and the England Women's team coach Hope Powell facilitated the sessions. Participants travelled to the course from rural areas in the Eastern and Western Cape and even from Zambia.  As a direct result, more than 200 young people in South Africa and Zambia benefited from a minimum of eight HIV awareness sessions in the first six months.

In June 2008 the second training course in Cape Town was organised, this time for 30 local coaches from different parts of the city.  The course, which was facilitated by coaches from Hull City and QPR, focused on using football to prevent substance abuse. Coaches were empowered to roll out 16 awareness raising sessions (8 on HIV and 8 on substance abuse) to young people as a result.

In December 2008 they held the third course in Cape Town, providing top-up training for coaches who had already put their new skills in to practice. Since then Coaching for Hope have been working in partnership with local organisations and leagues to deliver social messages about HIV and substance misuse.  

Throughout the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa Coaching for Hope took part in some fantastic events and played football with some amazing people from all over the world. From the women's tournament in Cape Town and fan matches to joining in the fun of the Football for Hope festival.

Having completed my training week, and not much more, I was unable to really put my skills into practise. The training was connected around using football as an empowerment tool and also using physical education to teach an underlying message, generally about HIV and AIDS awareness. However this did not stop me creating session plans, in preparation for my return in April.


The Theory Behind Sport for Development

The question in many peoples’ minds is how participation in sport leads to social change.  This is a question that people working in the sport for development often find difficult to answer. They know through their experience that sport can help develop young people in a positive way, but like others find it hard to make the link between playing sport and their chosen social theme.  How can sport really help prevent HIV transmission, resolve conflict, or protect the environment?  The answer to this can be found in developing a theory of change.

At the heart of my thinking and of a number of sport for development programmes is a theory of change that embraces the philosophy of positive youth development.  Positive youth development theory and practice has been well researched (Schulman & Davies, 2007)[iii] and is used internationally as a model of youth development.

When sport is delivered in an appropriate manner it can create an environment that develops youth who are more likely to make positive healthy decisions, avoid risk behaviour, and make a contribution back to their family and community.  According to Lerner et al (2000)[iv] positive youth development programmes build the characteristics of confidence, character, competence, caring and connection in young people.  This happens when sport programmes:

• take place in a safe setting (safe spaces for sport);
• provide for positive adult-youth relationships (the coach);
• are of a long term duration (sustained and regular activity);
• provide opportunities for young people to build their skills (sports skills and life skills);
• provide for youth participation and leadership (peer or young sports leaders).

A theory of change for sport for development programmes can therefore be proposed that envisages positive youth being developed through sustained, regular, quality sports and life skills training.  As with all theory of change models we need to work backwards linking the desired outcomes/impact of the programme to the activity or actions of the programme demonstrating in the process how those activities or actions address the social problem.

For the purpose of this article we will look at Millennium Development Goal 6 and in particular  HIV and AIDS prevention. The behavioural drivers of the HIV pandemic include early sexual debut, multiple & concurrent sexual partners, inter-generational & transactional sex, lack of condom use, substance misuse, and gender based violence.

If we are to combat HIV transmission amongst youth we need them to make positive healthy decisions and to avoid risk behaviour.  In particular, we need young people to delay their sexual debut, be faithful to one partner whose status they know, avoid inter-generational & transactional sex, use condoms, avoid drugs, not abuse alcohol, show respect to the opposite gender and avoid risky behaviours.  These are behaviours that young people who make positive healthy decisions, avoid risk behaviour, and make a contribution back to their family and community are likely to display.

These are characteristics that are developed in positive youth development environments that offer a safe setting, positive adult-youth relationships, sustained and regular activity, skills development, and provide for youth participation and leadership.  Youth sport projects that provide these settings and develop the skills and knowledge of the young participants can therefore contribute to HIV prevention by developing positive youth who are also equipped with the comprehensive knowledge of HIV and AIDS that enables them to make informed decisions.

Here's a few examples of how we were trained to use football as a tool to educate. They basically take well known or adapted drills and add a HIV/AIDS or substance abuse learning curve. Coaches are more than welcome to use my drills or adaptations.



Drill 1 : Points Through Cones

 Aim: To pass the ball though the cones. Improving ball control, passing and movement, and to use the support in a match situation.

Rules/ Strategy: The Defenders are given an area to move around in, could be created, or could be the centre circle. The Attackers are not allowed within the Defenders area, but the defenders can defend as close or as far away to an attacker as they want, and are allowed the choice of tackling.

The Attackers are allowed to move anywhere around the circle, and are not given a fixed position (but could be). Can pass the ball to whomever they want, and do not have to pass though the cones every time, although through the cones gives points and is the aim.

Learning Outcomes: In my eyes supporting Attackers could be the use of HIV support, Medicentres, or the use of ARV’s or even use of condoms or abstinence. But again can be interpreted pretty much anyway. Defenders could be interpreted many ways, maybe the desire to sleep around, the desire to sell your ARVs...the list goes on.

Developments: More defenders can be added, the distance between cones can be shortened, and more attackers can be added / taken away. Again as Fischer Price always say...the possibilities are endless.


Drill 2 : Diamond

Aim: To improve ball control, fitness, aim, competition and also AIDS/HIV awareness.

Strategy: Ask one question to both teams or each pair on HIV/AIDS with a true or false answer, but must keep the answer as quiet as possible. Each pair must be asked a question. Then blow the whistle to allow each pair to start.

Each Player in their separate teams, must dribble the ball towards the green cone, taking on the red cone they pass, then carry on to the green cone and place the ball there.

Then they must sprint in a clockwise direction round the red cones (as shown with the arrows), back to the green cone, and where they first placed the ball.

Then the player must shoot towards the left or the right of the goal, depending on the answer to the question. And then sprint to join the back of their team. Depending on the Level of skill or age of the players, a miss could be still counted if they shout out the answer, or you could class a miss as a wrong answer.

After each player as had their turn, debrief the group on the right answers and build on each question with information to educate further. If possible bring the group into a debate (again depending on the age)

Learning Outcomes: Each player should learn a little more about HIV awareness, and it will also encourage light competition between players/teams which always brings out the best in people.

Development: The Coach could introduce a line of cones between the starting red cone and the green cone, for the players to further improve ball control. Also a tasks could be introduced at each red cone in the diamond to further improve fitness (sit ups, press ups etc.), or a different running exercise’s between each red cone (e.g. Sprint to the first, Lunge walk to the second, heal-heal to the third etc.)




Coaching Drill 3: Passing Squares
This drill I plan to use as a developed session after the warm up and training drills.

Aim: To Improve Passing and movement, and the accuracy of through balls. This drill also tests timing of runs and knowledge of HIV. The increasing difficulty and skill needed all in one drill should improve the players’ skills quickly.

 Set up the drill as shown in the diagram. A number of HIV aids questions, with simple answers (e.g. true or false), will also need to be prepared by the coach.
Strategy: The group is divided into teams of 3, this will be there team for the drill. Teams move through squares one and two (explained in the diagram) (after a team has completed these, another team can begin at Square 1). In the middle rectangle (Square 3), a player, from the team of 3, will be nominated as the giver of the long ball; the two players left will make a run towards the goal. The player left behind, will give a long through ball to either of the players. The receiver of the long ball will give another through ball to the last player, who then makes an effort on Goal. If scored the team gets a point, and a pass. If the attempt is missed, or the mini-drill goes wrong, they must answer a HIV question, a point is awarded for a right answer. The teams then move onto square four which is explained in the diagram, again a point is awarded for completion of 10 keepy-ups, and another point is awarded for all correct answers (Teams must remember their points score). The team then moves onto Square 5. Each player must stick to a channel (marked by cones) and time their runs correctly to enable through balls (as shown in the diagram). Debrief the whole class

Learning Outcomes: The increasing difficulty of the mini drills can represent the progressive nature of HIV, it gets worse with time. Also the differing difficulty in the drill can represent the varying difficulty of challenges one comes across in life. To wear a condom could be seen as a fairly easy challenge for example, the decision of whether to sell ARVs to feed your family, a more difficult one. Or even the different level of temptations a person faces. The points as ‘prizes’ represent the risk you take by ‘straying’ from doing the ’right’ thing.

Development: As this is a complicated drill, sections could be used separately. Or, in square three, the long ball could be aimed at a cone for example, increasing the need for accuracy. My personal choice would be, to make 2 teams from the groups of 3, and get them to collate their points score. This will be the number of goals each team starts with in a match situation. A team may only win by one goal for instance, teaching the team with the advantage to hold up the ball and use possession rather than attack.