Junior Sport Coaches Training

Addressing issues pertaining to masculinity is undoubtedly one of the decade's most important challenges. 

So when one of Melbourne's leading independent day and boarding schools for boys recognised the important role their Junior Sport Coaches play in the social, emotional and spiritual development of the boys they coach, it decided that it wanted to offer the coaches an opportunity to build their capabilities.

It also decided that it wanted to motivate them to want to become exceptional role models empowered to demonstrate healthy, prosocial forms of masculinity to their students. 

Acknowledging the opportunity to build healthy masculinities among several hundred boys by strengthening the capabilities of a group of young men committed to their own professional development while positively expanding the impact of their coaching responsibilities, Jeremy designed a program based on positive youth development principles and practice.

The program consisted of four discreet workshops delivered as part of a training session at the end of each term. The slide deck below is a high level summary of the first session.

Participants considered different kinds of masculinity and reflected on the sources of ideas about masculinity. Participants considered their personal strengths and the strengths of others, and were challenged to share their vulnerabilities. Participants engaged in live action role play based on scenarios relevant to their roles, and were encouraged to identify what they would do differently in practice to support the development of healthy masculinities among their students.

The coaches' capacity to work collaboratively with each other, build respectful relationships with students and identify strengths improved markedly. They reported improved confidence and self-efficacy.

The coaches' supervisors reported significant improvement with respect to the coaches' leadership capabilities and their confidence demonstrating healthy, prosocial forms of masculinity based on a deeper understanding of boys' development.

Overall, the aim of building the coaches' leadership capabilities and preparing them to confidently mentor a group of students through sport and co-curricular activities while motivating them to want to grow into exceptional role models willing to serve as “Men for Others” was achieved. 

In an increasingly competitive job market, learning how to use online networking tools that remain relevant (for now!) is critical for students and graduates.  

Acknowledging the increasingly competitive environment for graduate lawyers, one sandstone law school decided that it wanted to draw on industry experience to give its students an opportunity to learn how to use LinkedIn more effectively.

It also decided that it wanted its students to have the opportunity to reflect on their skills and learn how to articulate them in ways that were more likely to attract the attention of recruiters and employers.

Drawing on his extensive experience as a lawyer, legal recruitment consultant and legal educator at several sandstone universities, Jeremy designed a suite of online workshop options.

The workshop options included stand-alone 60-minute and 90-minute workshops, and three consecutive 60-minute workshops (constituting a program). The slide deck below is a high level summary of the framework that underpinned the workshop options.

Students considered the realities of professional networking and the importance of LinkedIn as a social networking platform. Students considered how to align their career goals with their networking goals, and why LinkedIn is relevant in the context of the legal employment market. Students explored the LinkedIn platform in detail and learnt how employers and recruiters use it, while reflecting on the career-limiting reality of relying too heavily on artificially curated environments like LinkedIn.

Students' knowledge about LinkedIn generally and how employers and recruiters in the legal sector use it to identify talent substantially expanded.

Students' confidence with respect to networking generally and articulating their career goals succinctly significantly improved.

The law school augmented its range of services designed to assist students with career planning and decision-making with a bespoke opportunity for students to combine conclusions with respect to their career goals with practical skills regarding networking using the dominant social networking site for professionals.