How our students experience sport and exercise at MGGS is our number one priority. We want them to love what they do, to feel excited to show up, stay involved and keep coming back for more. We strive to create environments where they are appropriately challenged, supported to thrive, and genuinely connected to their teammates, peers and the adults around them.

In 2022, the Artemis Team were fortunate to host Professor Jean Côté, a world leader in transformational coaching and positive youth sport and athletic development. His time with us helped sharpen our focus, reinforcing much of what we were already building and guiding where we need to continue growing and evolving.

Inspired by Jean’s work and its continuing influence on our programs, this blog series aims to reflect that ongoing journey. Over the coming months, we’ll explore how we bring these ideas to life in our coaching, our training environments, and the broader healthy lifestyle and athletic development experiences we offer.

We hope this series provides a look under the hood on what truly matters in youth sport and athletic development, and how we can keep growing together.

Ultimately, we want a culture in which every student leaves the sport or our training environment better off as a result of their time in it. 

Let’s introduce you to the 5 ‘C’s. When we think about sport, it’s easy to focus on results: goals scored, races won, records broken. But some of the most powerful outcomes are far less visible. Sam Mostyn, Governor-General of Australia, describes sport as the “silent social worker,” and we’ve all seen examples of sport doing the heavy lifting for young people and communities when little else can.

Professor Jean Côté’s Positive Youth Sport and Athletic Development framework identifies four key outcomes that quality sport and athletic development programs can cultivate: competence, confidence, connection, and character. At MGGS, we’ve added a fifth: creativity.

So what do the 5 Cs look like in action?

• Competence: Developing physical, mental, technical, and tactical skills and fitness through well-designed sessions, drills, challenges and experiences.
• Confidence: Building a strong sense of positive self-worth through supportive, fun environments that encourage participation, learning and growth.
• Connection: Fostering meaningful relationships with teammates, coaches and the wider school community in inclusive and welcoming spaces.
• Character: Nurturing pro-social behaviours and character strengths such as courage, self-regulation, discipline, integrity and resilience through the highs and lows of training and competition.
• Creativity: Explore new ways to solve problems, adapt and think flexibly through play, practice and opportunities to lead.

When these five elements are at the heart of a young person’s sport experience, sport can be a powerful tool for shaping confident, connected and capable individuals. This holistic approach reminds us that success in youth sport and athletic development is best measured by the person a young athlete becomes along the way.

Link to Article 2 – Confidence

Link to Article 3 – Competence

Link to Article 4 – Connection

Link to Article 5 – Character

Link to Article 6 – Creativity