SUSTAINABILITY AND REPRODUCIBILITY OF INCLUSIVE ONLINE SPORTS CLUB ACTIVITY BETWEEN UNIVERSITY JAVELIN COACHESAND AN ATHLETE WITH MILD INTELLECTUAL DISABILITYAND AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS

Through a year-long case study, this study examines the sustainability and reproducibility of the “Inclusive Online Sports Club Activity (IOSCA)”. It involves online coaching via ICT devices between university students specializing in physical education and special needs education and a javelin throw athlete with Mild ID and ASD who lived in a rural area. A recent policy shift in Japan is transferring school sports activities to community-based programs, particularly relevant for rural areas where coach shortages are prevalent. Online sports club activities connecting urban and rural areas are a promising solution to this issue. To address both the shortage of coaches and the need for quality instruction, this study applied the “University Student Online Coaching Model,” where university students act as online coaches, supported by the “Double Coaching System,” which provides mentorship and professional development for these students. The athlete's performance improved from 42.80 meters to 47.03 meters, highlighting the effectiveness of using university students as online coaches. Additionally, the study emphasizes that engaging students from teacher training and sports universities nationwide could help alleviate coach shortages. The research also demonstrated that the ICT-based setup for IOSCA reduced running costs by 93.38% and initial costs by 48%, compared to traditional methods. These results suggest that combining the “University Student Online Coaching Model,” the “Double Coaching System,” and a low-cost ICT environment offers a sustainable and reproducible solution for connecting urban and rural areas through IOSCA.