The Jesuit Education Foundation of the EUM Province, together with the Sports Centers of its network, have organized in Spring 2022 an in-depth seminar on the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm applied to sports activity. The course was entitled “Educate by Coaching: a training course for Ignatian sports educators”.

This seminar actually represented the second step in the Ignatian training path for Sports Educators that had already started last year. The seminar was designed on two modules which, alternating, allow participants to complete the path in two years, having significant field practice and time for personal reflective elaboration, with respect to their own experience and activity.

In this first module, participants worked primarily on personal awareness and on understanding their one values. The second module was focused on the educator’s relationship with others and the quality of these relationships.

The main objectives of «Educate by Coaching» are related to sharing the founding values ​​for Ignatian Sports Educators and understanding their profound importance in their activity, as well as acquiring the necessary tools to activate a continuous process to transform their values into concrete actions in our sports centers.

The seminar «Educate by Coaching» was therefore addressed to Sport Trainers (coaches) who had already gained a rather significant experience in one of our Sports Centers (3-5 years), including their past experience as athletes. The number of participants was limited to a maximum of 18-20 people.

The modality of the seminar is blended, mixing in «presence» activities with others online, to promote the opportunities of social interaction «in person», but at the same time not imposing too much traveling or staying out of home.

The Spring 2022 edition started in Milan on Saturday 4 May 2022, with 13 Sport Trainers from «Centro Schuster» (Milan, ITA), «Leone XIII Sport» (Milan, ITA), «Sociale Sport» (Turin, ITA), and «Polisportiva Gonzaga» (Palermo, ITA).

The structure of the seminar was the following:

– module 1: «THE START» – 4 hours meeting in person

– module 2: «THE JOURNEY» – 2 evening meetings, 3 hours each

– module 3: «THE ARRIVAL» – 4 hours meeting in person

This training course represents the evolution and the implementation of the working paper which, in 2021, outlined and defined the general guidelines for the training of Sports Educators of the Jesuit Education Network, resulting from sharing the experience and idea of a group of people from the italian Sports Centers rooted in the Ignatian pedagogy.

«This seminar – said Guido Bigotto, Director of the Jesuit Education Foundation – marked the first and fundamental step in building an authentic network between the sport centers in our Jesuit Education Foundation of the EUM Province. The energy and passion that this group has demonstrated in all the different moments of the seminar and their personal involvement are a guarantee for the success of this project, for sharing best practices, a common educational path for Sport Educators as individual, clubs, and the new network of Ignatian Sports Centers that is emerging”.

Great enthusiasm and satisfaction was shown by all participants, as can be seen from some statements made just at the end of this training course:

“I have acquired greater awareness of the role of sports educators in our sports centers and the need for consistency with the values ​​and concepts expressed by the IPP (Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm)”.

«This seminar introduced me to people who work in my own reality, I will be able to explicit better what this seminar truly gave me only in a while, after I will put into practice what we discussed».

“Greater knowledge and self-analysis skills to understand what are the limits and strengths of my being an Educator. Perfect starting point for my personal growth that will spill over to the growth of children».

«It made me reflect on how important the role of a coach is for a child. We are a point of reference for them».

“The awareness of being part of a project, of working for a center that always wants to improve and establish itself in the area”.

With the issue of the «Guidelines for sports centers of the EUM Province», the Jesuit Education Foundation is investing considerable resources and energy to increase and strengthen the educational and pedagogical dimension of those who work above all in sports centers connected to the network (but not only).

For information, contact the secretariat of the Foundation: segreteria@gesuitieducazione.it

You can read more about Sort and Ignatian Pedagogy here:

– Sport and values

– Sport for everyone

– The Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm and Sport

– The reflective educator