Practical Sports Coaching is a thorough and engaging guide for all sports coaching students and practitioners. Drawing on real-life case studies and examples, the book is designed to develop practical coaching skills and provides readers with the methods and tools they need to become an expert coach. Structured around all facets of the coaching process, the text comprehensively covers topics such as: Preparing to Coach, the Role and Philosophy of Coaching, Coaching Environments and the use of Modern Technology in Coaching.
This new and fully updated edition includes several new chapters that examine new and critical research areas such as the Coaching Professional, Coach Wellness & Mental Health and Performance Analysis for Coaches.
The book’s practical approach allows the reader to consider common challenges faced by coaches, suggesting solutions to performance concerns and preparing students for the realities of professional sports coaching. The contributors draw upon their practical coaching experience as well as an understanding of coach learning and development.
Practical Sports Coaching helps to bridge the gap between theory and practical coaching skills, and is an essential text for coaching students looking to deepen their understanding of sports coaching and experienced coaches developing their own practical skills.
Section 1
1. The Role of the Coach
Kristen Dieffenbach and Melissa Thompson
2. Planning your Coaching: A focus on Youth Participant Development
Andy Abraham, Sergio Lorenzo Jimenez Saiz, Steve Mckeown, Gareth Morgan, Bob Muir, Julian North, and Kevin Till
3. The Importance of a Coaching Philosophy
John Widdowson and John Sproule
4. The Coaching Professional
Christine Nash
Section 2
5. The Talent Development Curriculum
Jamie Taylor and Dave Collins
6. The Art and Science of Refinement: Modifying, Polishing and Tweaking Learnt Skills
Howie J. Carson and Dave Collins
7. Team Coordination and Decision Making
Alan MacPherson and Chris Duncan
8. The Competition Environment
Dave Collins and John Kiely
Section 3
9. Coach Learning and Development
Christine Nash
10. Interpersonal Knowledge of Coaching
Koon Teck Koh and Li Quan Warrick Tan
11. Coach mental health and well-being
Sebastian Altfeld, Michael Kellmann, and Jürgen Beckmann
12. Moving beyond Competence
Christine Nash
13. Communities of Practice and Social Learning Spaces for Sport Coach Learning: What and How
Diane M. Culver and Tiago Duarte
Section 4
14. Big Data in Sport
Jill Clark and Christine Nash
15. Performance Analysis for Coaches
Christopher Carling & Naomi Datson
Section 5
16. Putting it all together: Expertise in Coaching
Christine Nash
Biography
Christine Nash, PhD is the Head of Institute for Sport, Physical Education and Health Sciences (ISPEHS) in the Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh, UK. She has worked within a number of Higher Education institutions worldwide, most recently as a Visiting Professor at Technische Universität München (TUM), Germany. Before entering Higher Education, Christine has worked in multiple countries as a coach, most notably a National Coach, as well as a university coach, within the sport of swimming.
