Sport Management and Coaching

The students will gain an overview of the basic model of change mangement and the ideal steps in a change proposal. They will learn about the different phases and challenges (location designation, stakeholder analysis and development of a communication concept, development of vision and long-term strategies, design of change-architects, dealing with resistance, leadership in change, etc.), along with becoming familiar with the related methods of processing.

The students will gain ability and awareness in the areas of leadership (requests to senior management, leadership concepts, leadership styles, etc.), as well as human resource management (human resources development, salary and bonus systems, personnel administration, etc.). Students will become familiar with these topics based upon the teaching content and practical case studies.

The students will gain practical experience in sports mangaement through the application/implementation of the theoretical teaching content in the area of sports management in an association/federation or in another sports organization.

The students will gain the fundamentals of strategic and operational marketing. The key terms will be discussed and the basic models and concepts of purchase behavior will be dealt with. Furthermore, the methods of marketing in general and the marketing mix (product, price, sales and communication policy) in detail will be focused on. In addition, the characteristics of marketing in sports will be debated.

The students will gain the fundamentals of public relations. Based on a PR concept, the focus will be on association/federation identity, as well as on internal and external communication (print media, social media, networking/lobbying, etc.). An explicit focus will be made on the characteristics of sport clubs/associations.

Students will learn about the fundamental communication concepts for presentations, as well as the basics of rhetoric. Based on target audience analyses, the students will learn how to develop a presentation/speech by maintaining interest, suspense and emotional connection with the listener. The pros and cons of the classic and modern presentation techniques will be discussed, and the use of presentation software will be practiced. Additionally, the basics of persuasive body language will be developed.

School-level writing competences will be developed step by step throughout the course in order to raise them to a scientific writing level. The students will learn about the unique characteristics of scientifc texts and their development (How do I choose my topic? How do I formulate a research question? How do I structure my thesis?, etc.). Additionally, stylistic questions and word choice will be taught, along with arguementation techniques and writing strategies.

In this course, the students will gain knowledge about the fundamentals of financial controlling. Included are internal accounting (cost accounting and performance analysis), the diverse controlling instruments (i.e. cost and quality management) and basic knowledge of systems for planning, information and controlling. A particular emphasis will be placed on decision-making in companies and the demands for rationality and coordination.

The students will broaden their practical experience as trainers through the use/application of the theoretical teaching concepts in the areas of training and coaching (training-specific further education).

The students will gain diverse trainer further education in individualized, specific theoretical expertise in the appropriate sport/discipline. The information relating to scientific publications dealt with during these events will be analyzed, discussed and presented in written format.

The students will gain fundamental knowledge of the general business management and organization, as well as detailed understanding of the organization, structure and management of sports associations/federations (in Austria). Additionally, specific management competences will be discussed, which are necessary for the leadership/management of associations/federations in a modern service-providing organization. A special focus of the course will be on portraying ethical aspects of management of sports associations/federations.

After the introduction into the basic terminology of the sports facility construction, the students will gain from both theoretical and practical examples knowledge about the establishment of sports facilities. Additionally, the aspects of commercial and technical management, along with the space management of sports facilities will be discussed. Furthermore, relevant insurance and liability aspects regarding the use of sports facilities will be key topics of the course.

The students will gain practical experience in sports management through the use/application of the theoretical teaching content in the area of sports management in the association/federation or in another sports organization.

During the course, the students will gain the theoretical fundamentals for event management. The topics of planning, implementation and post-processing of the event will be discussed, along with questions about event saftey and event insurance and financing concepts (subsidies, event sponsoring, crowdfunding, etc.). Additionally, the topic of challenges in the practical implementation of events will be dealt with.

The students will gain understanding of project management according to the guidelines of Projektmanagement Austria (PMA). Theoretical fundamentals of project management will be discussed and knowledge about types of projects, organization forms, success factors of projects, the project management process (initiation phase, planning phase, realization phase, completion phase), roles and functions in the project, project management instruments (project structure plan, milestones plan, resources plan, etc.), leadership and teamwork in projects, management of project opportunities and risks will be dealt with.

The students will gain understanding of the Austrian labor and social law with a focus on the particularities of sports associations/federations. The participants will gain understanding about the employment possibilites in the association/federation (including voluntary positions) and their social insurance legal treatment. With regards to this, students will become familiar with the legal aspects of liability, compensation for damages and insurance. Students will also learn about the legal fundamentals of the trainer function within and outside the structure of the association/federation. Furthermore, the topics of legal issues regarding sexual violence/assault, dealing with minors, doping, etc. will be dealt with within the course content.

Upon completing the course, the students will have gained understanding of the fundamentals of statistics, as well as the main research methods and techniques. They will learn about the key terms in statistics and about various qualitative and quantitative research methods. The students will gain understanding about key statistical testing methods, along with the ability to critically interpret the results. Furthermore, the statistical analysts will broaden their knowledge with use of statistics software.

The students will broaden their practical experience as trainers through the use and application of the theoretical teaching concepts in the areas of training and coaching (training-specific further education).

The students will gain diverse trainer further education in individualized, specific theoretical expertise in the appropriate sport/discipline. The information relating to scientific publications dealt with during these events will be analyzed, discussed and presented in written format.

The students develop a master thesis according to relevant discipline-specific, scientific criteria.

The students will be accompanied technically and scientifically during the process of writing their master thesis, as well as during the creation of the exposé. The discipline-specific competences, as well as the scientific abilities and skills will be developed.