Heather Douglas

Heather Douglas is the Head of Coaching & Policy at UK Coaching, where she is dedicated to ensuring that everyone involved in sport and physical activity receives high-quality coaching tailored to their motivations, regardless of their stage on the player pathway. With 30 years of experience in Coaching Development, Heather plays a pivotal role in shaping coaching standards and policies across the UK.
A central focus of Heather’s work is improving how children and young people experience coaching. As a member of the Children’s Coaching Collaborative Core Group, she helps shape and influence a sector wide, rights based approach to child-first coaching. She leads UK Coaching’s contribution to the Play Their Way movement, translating the principles of voice, choice and journey into practical support for coaches, coach developers and organisations. Her work brings together research, youth voice, coach education, professional standards, policy influence and partnerships to embed children’s rights across the sport and physical activity system. Heather is particularly committed to ensuring that children and young people can meaningfully influence the decisions that affect their experiences, and that coaches have the confidence, capability and resources to create safe, inclusive, enjoyable environments that build positive relationships with activity for life.