International Study Seminar on Sports

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The role of a coach in the training and development of athletes

An upcoming Seminar being organized by the Church and Sport Section of the Pontifical Council for the Laity

 

The Church and Sport Section of the Pontifical Council for the Laity was requested by Saint John Paul II to promote the Christian vision of sport  and to extend through sport the message of Jesus Christ to the whole world. The Section has been working for more than ten years now. During the last few years the Holy See has been promoting significantly this activity as a ‘way’ of sanctification and growth in human values and Christian virtues. The Seminar organized by the Church and Sport Section follows in this direction.

In our present global and digital world, sport is a unique universal language through which we can share ideas and values. In sport there is no distinction between races, languages, cultures, thoughts and beliefs. It serves as a catalyst for various initiatives and activities aimed at promoting peace and the development of peoples. Moreover, it is an instrument capable of bringing together people from the developed and from the less affluent countries. In many cases it is a basic vehicle for youth formation. It can bring together people who suffer because of disabilities or lack of integration.

The Seminar will take place from 14 to 16 May 2015. The themes are intended to help our understanding of the positive effects of sport and of how education and training are important.  Nowadays, there is a perceived need to train sports people in moral values. The coach has an important role to play in character building and in encouraging these values.

The Seminar will look at amateur and professional sports of different kinds, and it will focus specifically on the role of the coach in training the very young. The seminar will begin with an overview of our current society and sport life. It will study the links between sport and society, and will concentrate particularly on youth. It is young people who mostly practice a sport, and it is they who are in that special period of growth and of learning for life.

The coach or the teacher of physical education stands as a precious link between family and school in the instruction of children and young people, who not only play, but  are fond of it and participate passionately. This is true also for adults and professionals.

Another topic that will be discussed during the seminar is the role of the coach in difficult and complex situations like, i.e., children who do not go to school, divorced and separated families, media pressure and exaggerated nationalism. Often the coach has to be a shield for athletes and insure that sport remains only sport. It must not become a goal in itself, or worse, a means to reach selfish or ideological interests.

Sport professionals will take part in the Seminar, and they will be speakers on training and development. Highly skilled athletes from all over the world will share with the participants how  involvement in sports has changed their lives.

 

 

Foto di woodleywonderworks

 

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