Commitments - The cloverleaf gets its center

The cloverleaf gets its centre

For Jugend+Sport, the development of the leader's personality is an important concern and a component of every further training course. The new modules are therefore dedicated to values and basic attitudes. In conversation with Barbara Boucherin, responsible for 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 "with each other" and "against each other" and rejoice together over successes and deal with failures. Sport means observing 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 behaviour. 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 adhere to.

Leaders not only have sporting responsibilities. They must also discuss and model values.

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

Fairness is not a matter of course in club and youth sports either, but must be made conscious and anchored in young people's minds. This is a central task of the Y+S leaders. They do not only bear responsibility in the organisational and sport-technical area. They must also increasingly discuss values, define guiding principles and guidelines, and live (or model) basic attitudes. For this purpose, Y+S wants to provide knowledge and instruments for implementation with the further training topic "Commitments".

In what context is this new topic?
Further education in Y+S focuses on the core task of the leaders. With the aim of increasing their expertise and teaching skills. complementary, Y+S has included general contributions to the development of the leader personality in the further education. In 1999, the "Leader Personality" theme 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 training period 2005/06 it is now the turn of the topic "Commitments". The cloverleaf is given a centre with "Values, Basic Attitudes" which influences all competencies.

A tool for leaders
The four-leaf clover (self, social, professional and teaching competences) is well known to Y+S leaders. This is now being supplemented with a centre. Values and basic attitudes such as respect, solidarity or humanity form the basis of all our thinking and acting. With the theme "Commitments", Y+S encourages the trainers to become aware of their basic attitudes and to influence them.

In particular, they should

• reflect on their own basic attitudes

using examples

• learn a way to acquire and experience positive basic attitudes with their training group via "commitments"
• Get guidance on how to deal with breaches of mutually agreed arrangements
• Commit to implementing the theme in their group

Source Notes:

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

copyright: www.mobile-sport.ch

image: www.juropa.net