Commitments - The cloverleaf gets its center

The cloverleaf gets its center

For Jugend+Sport, the development of the leader's personality is an important concern and an integral part of all further training. The new modules are therefore dedicated to values and basic attitudes. In conversation with Barbara Boucherin, head of Y+S training.

What is the purpose of binding agreements in sport in the form of commitments? Barbara Boucherin: Young people experience their sport in groups. They are motivated by the interplay of "together" and "against each other" and enjoy successes and deal with failures together. Sport means adhering to rules and rituals that not only make competition possible in the first place, but also ensure teamwork. We derive these rules and rituals from our ideas about the desired sporting behavior. These in turn are based on ethical values and basic attitudes, which only become binding agreements when we discuss and formulate them together. Even in critical situations, commitments allow us to reflect on what is important to us and which rules we want to abide by.

Managers not only bear responsibility in terms of sports technology. They must also discuss and exemplify values.

What contribution can Y+S make?
I have noticed that values such as respect, tolerance and fairness are often overused in professional and elite sport today. It bothers me when the media gleefully report on misconduct by stars. And it is still too often considered "clever" or "creative" when rules are not respected or gray areas are exploited for personal gain.

Even in club and youth sport, fairness cannot be taken for granted, but must be made aware of and anchored in young people's minds. This is a key task for Y+S leaders. They not only bear responsibility in the organizational and technical areas of sport. They must also increasingly discuss values, define mission statements and guidelines and live out basic attitudes. To this end, Y+S wants to provide knowledge and tools for implementation with the advanced training topic "Commitments".

What is the context for this new topic?
Continuing education in Y+S focuses on the core task of leaders. The aim is to increase their specialist knowledge and teaching skills. In addition, Y+S has included general contributions to the development of leaders' personalities in its further training. in 1999, the "Leader personality" cycle was launched with contributions on social, personal and teaching skills. We chose the "cloverleaf" to represent the four most important leadership competencies. For the 2005/06 training period, it is now the turn of "Commitments". With "Values, basic attitudes", the cloverleaf is given a center that influences all competencies.

An instrument for leaders
Y+S leaders are familiar with the four-leaf clover (personal, social, technical and teaching skills). This is now being supplemented with a center. Values and basic attitudes such as esteem, respect, solidarity and humanity form the basis of all our thoughts and actions. With the topic of "Commitments", Y+S encourages coaches to become aware of their basic attitudes and to influence them.

In particular, they should

• reflect on their own basic attitudes using examples
• get to know an opportunity to acquire and experience positive basic attitudes with their training group via "Commitments"
• receive guidance on how to deal with breaches of the agreements made together
• commit to implementing the topic in their group

Source reference:

Content: Jugend+Sport, mobile 1, Dec. 2004, COMMITMENTS

copyright: www.mobile-sport.ch

Picture: www.juropa.net