UNMC585 - The Science of Performance in Youth Sport

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Nil

Unit rationale, description and aim

Environments targeted at supporting youth towards high performance sport have undergone rapid expansion with more young people than ever pursuing potential pathways to elite sport. The largest impact on the experiences within, and effectiveness of these environments come from the people that play roles such as coaches and administrators. While many coaches and administrators working in youth performance pathways have high levels of experience and education in their specific fields, there is a disconnect with the broader key scientific findings on influences on sport performance, and simple approaches that can be taken (at all levels) to maximise desirable outcomes for all within these performance environments. Furthermore, many of those playing key roles in youth sports performance pathways may not have the capacity to commit to longer tertiary courses but are interested in smaller, more manageable education that allows them to build their skills and apply these to their current and future roles.

This micro-credential aims to connect those with experience in youth sports performance pathways to the nexus between sporting performance and athlete wellbeing, key scientific evidence linked optimising wellbeing and performance (in the short and long term), as well as simple ways to maximise a positive impact on the environments in which they interact with. 

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Define optimal performance outcomes for those in the youth sport performance environments, in the short and long term as well as from a range of perspectives (GA2, GA5, GA8)

LO2 - Evaluate key areas of scientific evidence for identifying and enhancing performance in youth athletes (GA2, GA5, GA8)

LO3 - Formulate an achievable plan to implement evidence-based approaches to increase positive impact in youth sports performance environments. (GA2, GA5, GA8, GA9)

Graduate attributes

GA2 - recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

GA9 - demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media 

Content

Topics will include:

• Defining performance. Coming to a common starting point through exploring a spectrum of ideal outcomes in youth performance pathways, over a range of timeframes and from a variety perspectives.
• Pieces to the performance puzzle. Introducing science as a part of evidence-based practice as well as overviewing key scientific findings linked to Ideal youth sport outcomes. The overview of key scientific findings will be relevant to learners immediate work with young athletes, but will also signpost areas where further learning and specialisation are possible.
• Producing the athletes of tomorrow. Current evidence in the fields of talent identification, specialisation, deliberate practice and learning towards elite sporting performance
• Motivation climates for performance. Evidence and methods for fostering a motivational climate within performance pathways in youth sport
• Training for performance. Evidence and strategies on the influence of training approaches on development, learning and performance in youth sport.

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

The learning and teaching strategies of this microcredential learning package are designed to allow students to meet its aims, learning outcomes and University graduate attributes, in a learning environment that shows respect for the individual as an independent learner. Students will be expected to take responsibility for their learning and to engage actively with unit content and learning activities.

Content for this microcredential is available in a series of modules, accompanied by quiz assessments focused on demonstrating foundation knowledge of key concepts as the student progresses. This foundation knowledge is then built upon through inquiry-based activities that can be completed individually and/or in groups. These inquiry-based activities facilitate a deeper understanding and application of the content, as well as preparing students for each assessment item.

Assessment strategy and rationale

In order to best enable students to achieve unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes, standards-based assessment is utilised, consistent with University assessment requirements. Assessment strategies include a quiz assessment to assess foundation understanding of key concepts, and a project that enables student to demonstrate their foundation skills in implementing strategies aligned with the scientific evidence underpinning performance in youth sport performance pathways.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Johnston, K., Wattie, N., Schorer, J., & Baker, J. (2018). Talent identification in sport: a systematic review. Sports Medicine, 48(1), 97-109. 

Occhino, J. L., Mallett, C. J., Rynne, S. B., & Carlisle, K. N. (2014). Autonomy-supportive pedagogical approach to sports coaching: Research, challenges and opportunities. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 9(2), 401-415. 

Renshaw, I., Davids, K., Newcombe, D., & Roberts, W. (2019). The Constraints-Led Approach: Principles for Sports Coaching and Practice Design. Routledge.