This volume of abstracts provides an insight into the contested nature of sports coaching. Detailed, yet concise, this compilation of work recognises the importance of context and the socio-historical learning environments that coaches operate within. The text draws upon the work of a range of scholars varying from doctoral students, to leading international scholars, to provide a critical ‘snapshot’ of the current literature in sport coaching pedagogy. In doing so, this book outlines the challenges and potential developments of sports coaching as a discipline. The gathering of such work provides an insight to a variety of research projects, proposals and findings, varying from professional football and rugby union academies to community coaching and martial arts. This is the first book to present such an array of research projects in this format and, as such, is essential reading for any serious students of sports coaching, sport pedagogy, and for practitioners looking to engage in the study of sports coaching.

Research shapes our understanding of practice in powerful and important ways, in sports coaching as in any other discipline. This innovative study explores the philosophical foundations of sport coaching research, examining the often implicit links between research process and practice, descriptions and prescriptions. Arguing that the assumptions of traditional single-disciplinary accounts, such as those based in psychology or sociology, risk over-simplifying our understanding of coaching, this book presents an alternative framework for sports coaching research based on critical realism. The result is an embedded, relational and emergent conception of coaching practice that opens new ways of thinking about coaching knowledge. Drawing on new empirical case study research, it demonstrates vividly how a critical realist-informed approach can provide a more realistic and accountable knowledge to coaching stakeholders. This knowledge promises to have important implications for coaching, and coach education and development practices. Sport Coaching Research and Practice: Ontology, Interdisciplinarity and Critical Realism is fascinating reading for any student or researcher working in sports coaching, sport pedagogy, physical education, the philosophy or sociology of sport, or research methodology in sport and exercise.

Research Methods in Sports Coaching is a key resource for any student, researcher or practitioner wishing to undertake research into sports coaching. It takes the reader through each phase of the research process, from identifying valuable research questions, to data collection and analyses, to the presentation and dissemination of research findings. It is the only book to focus on the particular challenges and techniques of sports coaching research, with each chapter including examples, cases and scenarios from the real world of sports coaching. The book introduces and explores important philosophical, theoretical and practical considerations in conducting coaching research, including contextual discussions about why it’s important to do sports coaching research, how to judge the quality of coaching research, and how sports coaching research might meet the needs of coaching practitioners. Written by a team of leading international scholars and researchers from the UK, US, Canada and Australia, and bridging the gap between theory and practice, this book is an essential course text for any research methods course taken as part of a degree programme in sports coaching or coach education.

Successful sports coaching is as dependent on utilising good teaching and social practices as it is about expertise in sport skills and tactics. Understanding Sports Coaching offers an innovative introduction to the theory and practice of sports coaching, highlighting the social, cultural and pedagogical concepts underpinning good coaching practice. Now in a fully revised and updated second edition, the book explores the complex interplay between coach, athlete, coaching programme and social context, and encourages coaches to develop an open and reflective approach to their own coaching practice. It addresses key issues such as: power and the coach-athlete relationship viewing the athlete as a learner instructional methods and reflection how our view of ability informs assessment coaching philosophy and ethics. Understanding Sports Coaching also includes a full range of practical exercises and case studies designed to encourage coaches to reflect critically upon their own coaching strategies, their interpersonal skills and upon important issues in contemporary sports coaching. This book is essential reading for all students of sports coaching and for any professional coach looking to develop their coaching expertise.

Every successful sports coach knows that good teaching and social practices are just as important as expertise in sports skills and tactics. Now in a fully revised and updated fourth edition, and introducing a new author team, Understanding Sports Coaching introduces theories and practices while exploring pedagogical, social and cultural concepts underpinning good sports coaching practice. Broken into four sections, Understanding Sports Coaching examines the complex interplay between coach, athlete, coaching programme and social context, and encourages coaches to develop an open and reflective approach to their own coaching practice. It covers key aspects of coaching theories and practice, including important and emerging topics, such as: • leadership • athlete learning • emotion in coaching • culture as meaning making • quality in coaching • talent identification and development • philosophy and sports coaching Understanding Sports Coaching also includes a full range of practical exercises and extended case studies designed to encourage coaches to critically reflect upon their own coaching strategies, their interpersonal skills and important issues in contemporary sports coaching. This is an essential textbook for any degree-level course in sports coaching, and for any professional coach looking to develop their coaching expertise.

This book addresses important topics of coaching in order to better understand what sports coaching is and the challenges that arise when assuming this activity. It provides the reader with useful insights to the field of sports coaching, and discusses topics such as coaching education, areas of intervention, and main challenges. With contributions by experts and well-known authors in the field, this volume presents an up-to-date picture of the scholarship in the coaching field. It introduces key aspects on the future of the science of coaching and provides coach educators, researchers, faculty, and students with new perspectives on topics within the field to help improve their coaching effectiveness.

Global interest in quality sport coaching is at an all-time high, but until now, there hasn’t been a go-to resource to help national governing bodies, sport organizations, or coach educators within universities to structure coach education, learning, and development. Coach Education and Development in Sport fills that gap, offering a comprehensive guide of instructional strategies used by world leaders in coach education. Each chapter is written by experienced scholar-practitioners, seamlessly integrating personal experience and insight with current research to show how and why to use an instructional strategy in a specific context that can be adopted or adapted to fit many sport contexts. Covering essential topics such as reflective practice, social learning, online technology, diverse populations, and more, the book provides the fundamentals of tried and trusted instructional strategies to develop coaches from youth, club and collegiate sport to elite, professional, and Olympic levels. It is a complete resource for fostering coaching excellence in small- and large-scale programming, and from volunteer to part-time or full-time coaches. Designed to stimulate ideas and provide flexible, practical tools, this book is an essential read for anybody working in sport, including coach developers, sport managers, coaches, mentors, athletic directors, sport psychology consultants, and teachers or professors.