This is a book about learning. Learning can often be forgotten or fringe in the pursuit of other fruits. When these fruits are practice books, formal & standardised education and easy to digest, saccharine infused niceties there is a risk that we overlook one of the fundamental human needs; to develop, change, grow and learn to master crafts. The mastery of crafts such as coaching takes time, earnest commitment and many challenging, chastening experiences that leave us feeling a little less than skilful. However we overcome these challenges, they are likely to be enablers that support our learning and growth towards becoming a better coach than we were yesterday. This book is intended to support that exploration; generate and guide your thinking whilst ensuring the gestation of those seeds of thought. We will encourage and enable a deeper understanding of the people or players in our care and provide some illumination on how to guide our decisions in designing environments that are responsive to both you and your players. There will be no coaching prescriptions, simply because the general nature of a constraints-led approach is at odds with prescription focussed approaches to coaching. A constraints-led approach encourages us to take account of, better understand and integrate what we understand about the player (person), the game of football (task) and the specific conditions on any given day (environment) into every interaction, coaching session, game-day, tournament and any other activity we might engage in within player development. There will, however, be some probing into alternative ways for coaches to eschew the traditional practice book or formal curriculum and scaffold player and coach development towards a unique, bespoke, responsive eco-system that keeps rhythm with the beating heart of our own football club. Taken together, this can support the experiences we are exposed to and build to be unique, individual and reflective of what collectively we have agreed and understand to be important in our world. The characteristics of our context should be coupled to our commitments. The backdrop to the way of thinking expressed in this book has been supported by a generation spent within coaching and development; fortune has favoured the opportunity for me to support in a sustained fashion the development of players who have been top scorers at The World Cup, multiple Premier League winners and coaches who coach and manage across some of Europe's top leagues. However, these perceived successes must be allied to the players within those same development programmes whose opportunity has been curtailed by serious injury and coaches who have fallen foul of some of the vagaries that the industry can perpetuate. As such, no development system is universally successful or unsuccessful and we should be careful, thoughtful and willing to as readily 'research' the graveyard as we do the top table. That mirror may be unpleasant to stare into at times, yet it is an important reflection of our own fallibilities and an important reminder to ensure that whatever outcomes our coaching and development programmes facilitate; supporting them to be as humanly supportive yet challenging as is consciously achievable is a worthy and important goal. The aspiration for this book is that it provides a map of some of the landscape that coaches may wish to explore in developing their own constraints-led approach to development, both for the players in their care and for themselves as a coach. Illuminating this fertile land sufficiently to support discoveries that are purposeful, personal and personable.

Introduction to the Constraints-Led Approach: Application in Football is a coaching resource football coaches can use to understand key theoretical components of the constraints-led approach. Sections discuss ecological dynamics, perception-action, degrees of freedom and complexity theory. Examples are provided within theoretical chapters to assist readers in their practical application. Over 30 designed practices using the constraints-led approach show readers how the theory translates into practice. These are ordered by the aim of the practice, from in possession, to defensive transition, to out of possession and attacking transition. Currently, there are no books on the market covering the constraints-led approach specific to football. The aim is to make this book accessible to football coaches without the necessity to focus solely on academic theory. - Provides an overview on the constraints-led approach that will help users gain a basic understanding of the theory - Covers fundamental knowledge for coaches who want to improve their practice - Includes over 30 practice session plans with key theoretical concepts

Science and Football VII showcases the very latest scientific research into the variety of sports known as ‘football’. These include soccer, the national codes (American football, Australian rules football and Gaelic football), and the rugby codes (union and league). Bridging the gap between theory and practice, this book is by far the most comprehensive collection of current research into football, presenting important new work in key areas such as: physiology of training performance analysis fitness assessment nutrition biomechanics injury and rehabilitation youth football environmental physiology psychology in football. Science and Football VII is an essential resource for all sport scientists, trainers, coaches, physical therapists, physicians, psychologists, educational officers and professionals working across the football codes. The papers contained within this volume were first presented at the Seventh World Congress on Science and Football, held in May 2011 in Nagoya, Japan. The meeting was held under the auspices of the International Steering Group on Science and Football, a representative member of the World Commission of Science and Sports.

This is a brand new multi-media resource to support new and experienced primary school teachers develop skills of critical reflection in order to improve teaching and learning. An integrated DVD and textbook present a range of innovative case studies comprising video clips of real teachers in the classroom, together with context and narrative, step-by-step guidance through key issues, and commentary and debate from experts and professionals in the field.

Human beings are the only creatures known to engage in sport. We are sporting animals, and our favourite pastime of football is the biggest sport spectacle on earth. The Philosophy of Football presents the first sustained, in-depth philosophical investigation of the phenomenon of football. In explaining the complex nature of football, the book draws on literature in sociology, history, psychology and beyond, offering real-life examples of footballing actions alongside illuminating thought experiments. The book is organized around four main themes considering the character, nature, analysis and aesthetics of football. It discusses football as an extra-ordinary, unnecessary, rule-based, competitive, skill-based physical activity, articulated as a social (as opposed to natural) kind that is fictional in character, and where fairness or fair play – contrary to much sport ethical discussion – is not centre stage. Football, it is argued, is a constructive- destructive contact sport and, in comparison to other sports, is lower scoring and more affected by chance. The latter presents to its spectators a more unpredictable game and a darker, more complex and denser drama to enjoy. The Philosophy of Football deepens our understanding of the familiar features of the game, offering novel interpretations on what football is, how and why we play it, and what the game offers its followers that makes us so eagerly await match day. This is essential reading for anybody with an interest in the world’s most popular game or in the philosophical or social study of sport.

MediaSport is a comprehensive introduction to the ways in which sport and the media interact. It is written by leading experts from around the world in the field of sports studies, sports journalism and leisure studies. Among the subjects covered are: * sports ethics * sport and race * sport and gender * sport and violence on television * the globalization of sports * marketing sports on the Internet.

For the last 25 years, a constraints-based framework has helped to inform the way that many sport scientists seek to understand performance, learning design and the development of expertise and talent in sport. The Constraints-Led Approach: Principles for Sports Coaching and Practice Design provides students and practitioners with the theoretical knowledge required to implement constraints-led approaches in their work. Seeking to bridge the divide between theory and practice, the book sets out an ‘environment design framework’, including practical tools and guidance for the application of the framework in coaching and skill acquisition settings. It includes chapters on constraints-led approaches in golf, athletics and hockey, and provides applied reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of motor learning, skill acquisition and developing sport expertise. Providing a thorough grounding in the theory behind constraints-led approaches to skill acquisition, and a foundational cornerstone in the Routledge Studies in Constraints-Based Methodologies in Sport series, this is a vital pedagogical resource for students and practising sports coaches, physical education teachers and sport scientists alike.