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Fostering a Positive Centre Environment

Fostering a positive club environment Featured Image

Little Athletics is all about fun, fitness and family! 

A positive centre environment 

  • Use a strengths-based approach. 
    • Focus on the strengths and skills of the athlete, not what they can’t do. 
  • Promote meaningful participation. 
    • Athletes with disability make their own choices and decisions. 
    • Focus on independence, which is what they can do on their own (without help). 
    • Learn new skills alongside peers. 
  • Use positive reinforcement. 
    • Praise often. 
    • Feedback is specific and given straight away. 
  • Listen and learn from each other with an open heart and mind and don’t be afraid to ask questions. 
  • Be understanding, patient and flexible. 

Centre Committee Members:  

As a committee member you are in a great position to develop and promote a culture which is welcoming and inclusive and an environment which is accessible. Inclusion benefits us all! 

Being inclusive is best practice in sport and means that all athletes can participate meaningfully. Here’s how you can support this at your centre. 

  • Understand your moral and legal obligations. For more information see Persons with disability and sport in Australia 
  • Adopt a whole of centre approach which uses a strengths-based model to support children to be their best.  
  • You can develop a Disability Inclusion Action Plan. See our example to get you started.
  • Be proactive, build awareness and educate others around you.  
  • Research shows that a negative attitude or stereotype prevents inclusion more than physical barriers. Be prepared to support your members to make modifications to teaching style, rules, environment and equipment so that athletes with disability can participate. See Inclusion Of Athletes With Disability. 
  • Get to know your members as everyone has interests, skills and abilities. Recognise that people with disability have many skills.  
  • Talk TO the athlete with disability and not AROUND them (ie to parents or carers). Speak in an age-appropriate manner and take the opportunity to listen and learn with an open mind and heart. For more on communication essentials. 
  • Specific centre roles to consider:  
    • You might nominate someone from the committee to be the Welcoming Officer. Their role is to actively welcome new families and members to the centre.  
    • You could offer a buddy system which pairs a new member with someone more experienced who can help them feel welcome. This would be an awesome opportunity for another athlete to develop leadership skills. 
  • Collaborate for best practice examples of inclusion with other centres, your state/national association or connect with us by sending an email to inclusion@littleathletics.com.au   

All Members:  

It is everyone’s responsibility to create a welcoming environment. Here’s how you can support this at your centre. 

  • Research shows that a negative attitude or stereotype prevents inclusion for children with disability more than physical barriers. The centre can make modifications to teaching style, rules, environment and equipment so that athletes with disability can meaningfully participate. This might mean that children with disability have adaptions which are different to other children. See Inclusion of athletes with disability. 
  • Be aware that an athlete’s disability may not be immediately visible to you, so it is best not to assume.  
  • Almost everyone who supports your child to participate in athletics is a volunteer. All members are expected to be respectful. This means we; 
    • Listen to one another. 
    • Speak with kindness and positivity. 
    • Actively include all athletes. 
  • Tell an official if you think you or someone else has been treated unfairly. 

Parents + Carers:  

As a parent or carer of an athlete with disability, you are an important part of the inclusive team culture. Athletics offers children opportunities for participation in events for fun, fitness, friendship and competition. Here’s how you can support this at your centre: 

  • Share relevant information about your child to support the centre to be inclusive. This might include how best to support them physically or with communication.  
    • Be open-minded and problem solve with the volunteer. 
    • Almost everyone who supports your child to participate in athletics is a volunteer. All members are expected to be respectful. This means we; 
    • Listen to one another. 
    • Speak with kindness and positivity. 
    • Actively include all athletes. 
  • Encourage your child to let someone know if they feel they have been treated unfairly. 

Volunteers + Coaches:  

As a volunteer you play a key role in the development and success of the athletes. An inclusive volunteer is flexible and patient and focuses on the athletes’ abilities. Your actions and attitudes influence the centre and will lead to a positive and inclusive culture. Here’s how you can support this at your Centre: 

  • Use a strength-based approach to coaching. Research shows that humans want to do more of what they are good at. 
    • Focus on strengths - Discuss with the athlete with disability what they can do, what they want to try and focus on maximising their abilities.
      • Identify what is going well for the athlete. 
      • How to do more of what is going well. 
      • How to build upon those skills and generalise to other events. 
  • Use positive reinforcement.  
    • Praise the athlete often. 
    • Feedback/reinforcement works best when it is specific and given as soon after the activity as possible.  
    • Be patient especially when learning something new. 
Say thisAvoid this
Good jumping technique, let’s adjust your run up so you jump from the boardYour toe was over the take off board
Good try, next throw try holding the discus this way so it stays in your handThe discus slipped out of your hand
Good throw, let’s remember to turn around and walk out the back of the circleYou didn’t walk out the back of the circle
  • Research shows that a negative attitude or stereotype prevents inclusion more than physical barriers.  
    • Examine your attitudes or stereotypes to people with disability.  
    • Be prepared to make modifications to teaching style, rules, environment and equipment so that athletes with disability can participate. See link for more Inclusion of athletes with disability. 
  • Get to know your athlete and understand more about their disability or long term health need.
  • Collaborate for best practice examples of inclusion with other centres, your state/national association and the network of people around the athlete with disability.  
Sources

Clearinghouse for Sport – https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au    

Australian Sports Commission – https://www.ausport.gov.au/ 

Play by the Rules – https://www.playbytherules.net.au  

Special Olympics Australia – https://www.specialolympics.com.au

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