Inclusive Coaching Through Play

Does good play simply mean that everyone is busy, smiling, and doing exactly what you ask? Or can it be something deeper and more inclusive?

For those new to coaching, especially if participants have additional needs, good play isn’t just about speed, strength, or technical skill. Aligned with UDL principles, good play allows for multiple ways of engaging, participating, and succeeding. It may show up through:

• Creativity: Participants inventing games, adapting rules, or imagining roles
• Social connection: Cooperation, communication, empathy, and supporting others
• Problem Solving: Working out how to approach a challenge in their own way.

Participants, especially children, approach play with very different experiences, abilities, confidence levels, and developmental stages. This means we cannot measure everyone against the same expectations. Instead, good play is about recognising multiple pathways to success. A person who encourages a teammate, adapts an activity to suit themselves, or thinks tactically is just as successful as one who runs the fastest or scores the most points.

For great coaches, good play means noticing and valuing these differences, then designing environments that all participants can access, engage with, and use to express themselves.

(Multiple Means of Engagement – UDL)

No one enjoys being singled out, and just as most people don’t want to be the first to arrive at a practice alone, few want to be the last to turn up either. These moments can heighten anxiety, make people uncomfortable, and leave them feeling disadvantaged or worried they’ve missed key information. This is especially true for new or anxious participants.

Practical Ways to Encourage Engagement

Before practice

• Aim to arrive early so participants don’t enter an already formed space alone
• Greet the person. When working with children, always greet the child first, then their parent or carer. This shows the child they are recognised and valued
• If a person is new or anxious, give them time to observe before joining in. Watching is a valid form of engagement
• Ask simple, interest based questions (such as “Is there anything you really enjoy doing?”) to help personalise connection

During practice

• Check in one to one, even briefly, to build trust and reassure
• Use open ended questions to invite interaction rather than demand compliance
• Offer meaningful roles beyond physical participation (such as scorekeeper, leader, helper, demonstrator, match official), providing multiple ways to take part. Value, recognise and reward these roles the same as a participant developing and achieving a physical skill
• Design open ended activities with no single “right” way to engage, providing choice and allowing everyone to participate at different levels and in different modes

After practice

• Thank each person individually and acknowledge effort, decision making, or contribution
• Invite simple feedback to show participants their voice matters
• When coaching children, always check in with parents or carers to ensure needs have been met. This supports continuity and maintains relations between coach, child, and parent / carer (triad)
• Where possible, offer a small role or task to carry into the next session, helping sustain connection and purpose

(Multiple Means of Action & Expression – UDL)

Success looks different for everyone. What one person does with ease may represent a significant achievement for another. As a coach, it’s vital to recognise these moments. In diverse groups, including individuals who may be neurodivergent, progress is not always loud, visible, or physical.

Success might look like:

• Joining in for the first few minutes
• Making eye contact or initiating interaction
• Asking a question
• Staying in the space
• Making a new friend

Look past traditional result and performance outcomes and celebrate effort, persistence, creativity, and emotional safety as much as skill development. Recognising these subtle but meaningful wins help your participants feel seen and valued. They’ll build confidence to engage on their own terms.

Celebrate:

• Trying something new
• Persisting after difficulty
• Finding a personalised way to complete a task or activity
• Working through and finding different solutions to a problem or challenge

Over time, these small wins foster trust, belonging, and positive relationships with movement and physical activity.

(Multiple Means of Representation – UDL)

Small changes in language and words can make a powerful difference to how people experience play. Language that invites exploration rather than passes judgement helps individuals feel safe to try, adapt, and contribute.

For example, changing your words:

• “Who can do this best?” to “Let’s see how many different ways we can do this.”
• “That’s wrong.” to “That’s one way, what else could we explore?”

Coaches might also use prompts such as “What do you notice?”, “What happens if…?” or “How could we change this to suit you?” to keep play open and shared rather than direct and instructed. 

Importantly, inclusive language also means being thoughtful when describing people, focusing on children, athletes, players, or participants first and avoiding labels or negative, deficit based terms.

By using language that is curious, respectful, and person centred, coaches create play spaces where all contributions are valued and where everyone, especially children or those who are often marginalised, feel confident to explore and belong as they are.

Building psychological safety is essential if we want everyone to engage, take risks, and enjoy play. Ways to make individuals feel safe from embarrassment or judgement include:

• Normalising mistakes as part of learning
• Modelling and trying activities as part of your coaching
• Encouraging peer support and cooperation over competition.

Inclusive and playful environments accept difference, curiosity, and open questions so participants feel seen and respected, while self‑esteem is protected as they play. 

Feeling safe doesn’t mean avoiding failure. It means knowing that failure is acceptable and trying again is encouraged. By creating spaces where people feel valued even when things don’t go to plan, we support them not just in play, but in developing confidence, resilience, and the willingness to re‑engage as they grow into young adults.