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The purpose of this paper is to examine the values-based competitive sport program at the United States Military Academy (West Point), and to determine if the components of character and leadership development were associated with team success. Strategies employed at West Point to develop cultures that produced leaders of character and teams of significance were reviewed. Major points of emphasis in the competitive sport program included (i) teaching values through sport, (ii) identifying and defining core values, (iii) developing warrior athletes of character, (iv) building teams and cultures of significance, (v) reinforcing values through recognition, and (vi) assessing character and leader development of athletes and teams. Characteristics and specific behaviors of great leaders and teams were identified. A rubric for assessing character and leader development in sport and a survey evaluating the competitive sport experience on the desired learning outcomes of the West Point Cadet Leader Development System were presented. Results indicated that competitive sports programs built on values encouraged and developed behaviors that produced success both on and off the field. Subsequent investigations are recommended to identify how character and leadership development can be integrated into the coaching process and applied in civilian secondary schools and institutions of higher learning.

Over the last decades positive development (PD) has served as a framework for several investigations within the sport science community. In fact, multiple researchers have analyzed youth coaches’ role in PD. However, there is recent interest in exploring high performance coaching due to the complexity of the coaching practice, the different developmental needs presented by players, and the relevance of PD within this particular environment. The purpose of this study was to understand the perspectives of Portuguese football coaches about the importance of PD in high performance coaching. The participants in the study were ten male Portuguese football coaches who trained athletes between the ages of 16 and 39 years of age. Findings showed that coaches viewed winning and on field performance as top priorities in their coaching philosophy, but recognized the importance of PD. Coaches also envisioned the determinant role youth coaches have in this domain. Coaches conceptualized PD as an overarching framework that could be used across the developmental spectrum to convey a range of PD outcomes in high performance contexts such as teamwork, respect for others and transfer to other life domains. Moving forward, coach education courses should help coaches develop strategies to foster PD.

Sport coaching is at a pivotal moment in its short history. The publication of the International Sport Coaching Framework by the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE) in 2013 has drawn attention to coaching world-wide and fostered a step change in the way coaching systems are understood and built. Within this evolving context, higher education institutions are increasingly playing a greater role in the education and development of coaches in many countries. One way in which they are doing so is through the delivery of partial or full sport coaching degrees. ICCE recognises this emerging landscape. In this article we present an introduction to the newly developed International Sport Coaching Bachelor Degree Standards. The Standards are the culmination of a 12-month process of cooperation and consultation between an expert group and the coaching community at large. They aim to respond to the needs of higher education institutions and serve as an internationally accepted reference point to aid the development of bachelor coaching degrees that prepare coaches to effectively support athletes and participants.