Sports Coaching and Development - FdSc
Currently viewing course to start in 2026/27 Entry. Switch to 2025/26 Entry
This course will be delivered across Villa Park, Aston Villa Brookvale Inner City Academy, Alexander Stadium, and Birmingham City University campuses. These facilities will expose you to state-of-the-art sport and development environments and access to cutting-edge resources and designated sport areas....
- Level Undergraduate
- Study mode Full Time
- Award FdSc
- Start date September 2026
- Fees View course fees
- Subject
- Location Aston Villa Foundation
This course is:
Overview
This course will be delivered across Villa Park, Aston Villa Brookvale Inner City Academy, Alexander Stadium, and Birmingham City University campuses. These facilities will expose you to state-of-the-art sport and development environments and access to cutting-edge resources and designated sport areas.
This course content is designed to ensure graduates develop the pedagogical practice required to coach participants of different ages and abilities across the School and Community delivery areas of the Aston Villa Foundation. After graduation, you will be positioned to gain employment in sports coaching and community-based development roles. You can also continue your undergraduate studies at Birmingham City University on their BSc (Hons) Sports courses.
What's covered in this course?
We will help you develop an understanding of your coaching philosophy and explore industry and socio-cultural factors influencing the broader context of sport and the work of the Aston Villa Foundation. You will apply the theoretical underpinnings of coaching and have access to hands-on experiences across various community settings. Furthermore, you will learn about sport development principles and how they align with community work by addressing societal and contemporary issues.
This course will allow you to understand the work of Football Foundations across primary school and alternative education settings, focusing on the work that community sport plays in complimenting the national curriculum. You will learn about the contemporary information that educators within this sector require.
Furthermore, the course will explore health and well-being environments, which will help you embed mental and physical attributes in your coaching practice. This is also an opportunity for you to gain the knowledge and skills needed to negotiate different challenges in your future profession.
To help build these skills, you will go on placements where you will work face-to-face and gain first-hand experience in a coaching, community, or school environment, which will enhance your future employability and personal network.
Accredited By
This course is accredited by:
Why Choose Us?
- This course is delivered with the Aston Villa Foundation, with opportunities for hands-on experience in a range of community settings.
- On completion of the degree, you will have the opportunity to progress on to one of BCU’s BSc degrees in Sport.
- You will study at both Villa Park, the home of Aston Villa Football Club, and our City South Campus in Edgbaston, which contains a range of cutting-edge sporting facilities, including a state-of-the-art sport and exercise laboratory and sports therapy rooms.
- Professional endorsement – this course is endorsed by the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity, the professional body for Sports Coaching. On successful completion of the course, you will receive CIMSPA accreditation, meaning you are well set up to work in the coaching industry.
Open Days
Join us for an Open Day where you'll be able to learn about this course in detail, chat to students, explore our campus and tour accommodation. Booking isn't open for this event yet, register your interest and we'll let you know when booking goes live.
Next Open Day: 4 October 2025
Entry Requirements
Essential requirements
64 UCAS Tariff points. Learn more about UCAS Tariff points.
If you have a qualification that is not listed, please contact us.
Fees & How to Apply
UK students
Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.
Award: FdSc
Starting: Sep 2026
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 2 years
- £9,220 in 2026/27 ✱ Important note for this price
- Apply via UCAS
International students
Sorry, this course is not available to International students.
Personal statement
The personal statement gives you a crucial opportunity to say why you’re applying and why the institution should accept you.
Here are the three areas you’ll need to address:
- Why do you want to study this course or subject?
Here’s where you explain what makes this course exciting to you. Think about your motivations for studying the course and your future plans. If you’re planning to take a year out, don't forget to give your reasons.
- How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?
This is your chance to show what you’ve learned at school or college. You should include the skills and knowledge you’ve gained from education or training and how this will help you succeed in your chosen course.
- What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?
Not everything you’ve learned comes from the classroom. Life experience counts too! You might want to talk about work experience, employment, or volunteering and how they’ve helped you develop the skills needed for your chosen course or future career.
Worried about Personal Statements?
If you've got no idea where to start or just want to check you're on the right track, we’ve got expert advice and real examples from our students to help you nail your personal statement. You can even download our ultimate personal statement guide for free.
Course in Depth
Year One
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits):
This module will support your transition to Higher Education by helping you build your skills and become more independent and self-managed in your approach to study, learning and time management. You'll develop skills and techniques used in the study of sport, as well as looking at the way in which research is conducted across sporting disciplines. This will help you begin to develop a more scientific and academic approach to your studies.
This module will provide you with a core foundation of knowledge in Physical Education (PE) and School Sport. It is intended that you will be aware of how PE differs to School Sport, but also how they can be interlinked.
The aim of this module is to introduce the theories and methods of coaching. This will include topics such as athlete development, coaching models, coach education, interpersonal relationships, and contextual influences on coaching. The module will focus on delivering a blend of lectures, seminars, and practicals.
This module provides an introduction into equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and allows students to understand the importance of these for inclusive practice.
By promoting equality, diversity and inclusion, students will gain a greater understanding of how these principles will help any individual fulfil their science- and practice-based potential, irrespective of their background or circumstances. In so doing it will also help to better serve society by attracting the widest possible talent to the sport, as well as fostering a greater diversity of scientific ideas, research, practice and technology.
This module will provide you with the practical and theoretical background to coaching across a variety of community settings. This will offer you the opportunity to engage with session planning and delivery across different age ranges and ability levels. This will include lesson planning-, short-, medium- and long-term goal setting and demonstration of outstanding delivery against a community coach quality assurance framework.
The module will provide an exploration of intervention strategies across school and community settings. A range of specialist community intervention areas are covered, along with the application and integration of specialist technical knowledge and skills within diversionary activity and outreach work. Specific focus will be on the planning, delivery, and evaluation of sessions that engage young people and raise aspirations through high quality sports activity, which will equip you with the skills to support the development of participants from a variety of backgrounds and settings.
Year Two
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits):
This module aims to develop and utilise pedagogical skills in a real-world setting, whilst providing an opportunity to critically develop learning and experience, and work on a live piece of investigation with the placement provider. Application of subject knowledge as well as curriculum and syllabus design will be key to the successful completion of this work. This module will also provide an opportunity to develop essential employability attributes (e.g., interpersonal and intrapersonal skills).
This module explores the development and application of knowledge, skills, and expertise in elite coaching practice. This module's specific focus will equip you with the ability to design, deliver, and evaluate a session within an elite environment, primarily focusing on technical, tactical, physical, psychological, and social coaching competencies.
Within this module students will learn about the reasons for physical activity promotion and the barriers to physical activity participation. Students will identify the recommended daily guidelines for physical activity, whilst exploring health and social strategies to improve lifestyle through facilitating physical activity behaviours.
This module is underpinned by the need for developing practitioners to be aware of contemporary sports coaching and development issues. You will identify key principles and research that support students to engage in sports. Furthermore, what local, national, and international initiatives and policies are available to promote a physically active and healthy lifestyle. Contemporary issues will be explored in an interactive format whereby you can share thoughts, debate, and generate ideas for future health-related initiatives, further enhancing your subject knowledge.
This module is a key part of the BSc Sport and Exercise Science, Sports Therapy, Sport and Exercise Nutrition, and PE and School Sport Programmes in that it is studied in preparation for your Level 6 Final Year Project. Information and activities on more complex inferential statistics will be presented building on from your level 4 research module.
Download course specification
Download nowThis new course, delivered with the Aston Villa Foundation, will develop your skills in coaching participants across a range of ages and abilities. You will have opportunities to work with the Aston Villa Foundation across all areas in both school and community settings. Following graduation, you will be in a position to gain employment within sports coaching and other community-based sports development activities. You will also have the opportunity to continue your studies and progress onto BSc sports courses with Birmingham City University.
The course will give you the opportunity to understand the work of Football Foundations across primary school and alternative education settings, focusing on the work that community sport plays in complimenting the national curriculum. You will also explore health and wellbeing environments, which will help you to support both mental and physical needs in your coaching practice.
Placement experiences will help you to build your skills, gaining first-hand experience in a coaching and/or school environment, which will enhance your future employability and personal network.
This course is endorsed by:
CIMSPA
The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA). CIMSPA is the professional development body for the UK’s sport and physical activity sector, committed to supporting, developing and enabling professionals and organisations to succeed and, as a result, inspire our nation to become more active.
Employability
Physical activity and health continue to be a global concern, so this course ensures you are given the relevant, up-to-date information you require to enter employment in related disciplines. Upon graduating, the ultimate goal is likely to be to either enter the PE and school sport environment or the Sports Coaching environment promoting lifelong physical activity and healthy active lifestyles.
Our endorsement from the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity means that on successful completion of the course, you will receive CIMSPA accreditation, meaning you are well set up to work in the coaching industry.
You can also progress onto the level 6 BSc Sports Coaching and Physical Education course, and eventually a PGCE or Master’s degree in a related discipline, furthering your skills.
Facilities & Staff
Aston Villa Foundation
This course will mainly be taught at the Aston Villa Foundation:
Trinity Road
Birmingham
B6 6HE