Social Psychology in Sport, Second Edition, offers global perspectives and a broad base of knowledge in areas that shape the social environment of sport. The text guides readers through the interactions, relationships, influences, and perceptions that affect sport performance and the lived experience of sport participation. Athlete relationships with coaches, parents, and peers are examined in depth. Editors Louise Davis, Richard Keegan, and Sophia Jowett offer their expert knowledge and diverse perspectives regarding social relationships in competitive sport at every level. Through the contributions of an international group of established scholars, Social Psychology in Sport, Second Edition, explains how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of sport performers are influenced by the presence of others. The second edition offers a broad range of topics, with theoretical, empirical, and applied perspectives of social psychology. Trending topics such as the maltreatment of athletes, parental involvement, and safe sport cultures are addressed. The text also covers established areas of interest such as group dynamics and coach–athlete relationships. Each chapter follows a progression, starting with theory and then moving to current research, future research directions, and suggested practical applications. This chapter structure helps readers to build a foundation of understanding before moving on to application benefits. Chapter objectives and discussion questions are provided to aid in knowledge retention. Social Psychology in Sport, Second Edition, explores the growing field of social psychology in sport settings, offering a broad base of knowledge alongside practical application and areas for further research. This text is a comprehensive resource for students and researchers interested in the psychosocial aspects of sport.

Effective leadership is essential in any sports organisation, both in the boardroom and on the training pitch. Leadership in Sport is the first textbook to examine sports leadership in the round, across both management and coaching environments. It includes a dedicated section to underpinning core leadership theories, and employs a number of case studies throughout to show how best practice is applied in real world settings. Drawing on expertise from some of the leading academics and practitioners throughout the world, and from both disciplines, the book covers various leadership issues including: facilitative leadership strategic leadership leading effective change diversity in leadership communication and empathy motivation and performance. Key conceptual questions—the nature of leadership, its role in sport, styles of leadership, what constitutes ineffective leadership—and other contemporary issues are also explored to give students and practitioners the most complete and clear picture of contemporary leadership in sport. With useful features in every chapter, such as key terms and review questions, this is an essential text for sport management or coaching degree courses.

Contemporary Leadership in Sport Organizations blends research on leadership with practical application of the skills and knowledge that students will need on the job. This text provides sport management students with a comprehensive understanding of the complex topic of leadership in sport through a presentation of foundational and contemporary research, numerous practical examples and analytical exercises, and thought-provoking self-assessments and quotes.

This study sought to gain a better understanding of the communication behaviors between coaches and male and female athletes. Four focus groups (male coach and male athletes, male coach and female athlete, female coach and male athletes, and female coach and female athletes) were used to assess athletes' perceptions of their past coaches' communication behavior compared to their preferred coach communication behaviors. Coding of the focus groups revealed that although females prefer to talk to their coaches about topics related to running, they also wanted to talk about more personal topics. However, for females to talk about personal topics they needed to feel comfortable with their coaches, which was dependent on the coaches' characteristics. Conversely, males desired to talk to their coaches about more serious topics, such as their training and competition, as well as other professional runners' training and competition. Although males desired to more often talk about serious topics, they also recognized there were times when joking around and being less serious with their coaches was appropriate and necessary. In short, men preferred to talk 'shop' more than women did. Based on these results, suggestions for coaches are discussed.