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The psychological factors that influence performance in the practice environment, where competitive athletes engage in deliberate practice, have recently been given specific research attention. The current study employed an action research approach to implement the practice environment model as an education strategy to increase the practice performance of players in a U.K. basketball academy team over a 20-week period. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of the education strategy on practice performance. The team competed nationally and consisted of the head coach, the assistant coach, and 18 male players aged 16–19 years. Data were collected through focus groups, joint semistructured interviews, field observations, and a practice environment model web-based questionnaire. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic narrative analysis and the Friedman test analysed quantitative data. Quantitative results suggested that the education strategy decreased perceptions of stress and increased effort, preparation activities, and teammate support. Qualitative results provided an in-depth narrative of the environmental changes undertaken to improve practice performance. Discussion focuses on the key strategies of effort and control, performance expectations, team drive, positive communication, and preparation. This study is the first to apply the practice environment model to a real-world sporting domain.

The psychological environment where sporting activity is undertaken has been suggested to influence performance. The coach orchestrates practice activities and their perception of the psychological environment has been regularly evaluated in competition research but not in practice. The aim of this study was to explore coach perceptions of the psychological influencing factors present in the practice environment. Participants were six U.K. academy basketball coaches (mean age = 35 years). Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Five superordinate themes were constructed from data analysis, which were player characteristics, team-first orientation, current performance perceptions, coach characteristics, and coaching structure. Results suggest that the coach has a unique insight into the psychological influencing factors of the practice environment. Combined with the practice environment framework offered by Smith, Cotterill, and Brown, a model is offered to aid practitioners in understanding the interrelatedness of psychological influencing factors in the practice environment.

The aim of this study was to explore the lived experiences of the coach in relation to the perceived function of captains in professional rugby union. Participants were eight elite male rugby coaches purposefully sampled for this study. Participants were interviewed individually to gain an understanding of their experiences and perceptions of the role of the captain. The data were thematically analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Ten super-ordinate themes emerged in the study: types of captain, captain development, challenges, captains’ role, off field responsibilities, nature of the job, selection, cultural architects, coach-captain relationship, and key attributes. Results suggest coaches view the captain as an extension of their authority in the team, leadership groups are increasingly important to support captains, and that the criteria for the selection of captains is still vague. As a result, future research should explore the development of specific evidence-based approaches to captain selection and development. ispartof: Sport Psychologist vol:33 issue:4 pages:276-284 status: published

Leadership has been shown to be a fundamental factor influencing the performance of sport teams. Within these teams, leadership can be provided by coaches, formal athlete leaders, such as team captains, and other 'informal' athlete leaders. The role of the athlete leader in a team, either formal or informal, has been consistently reported over the last 10 years to have a significant impact upon a teams' functioning and effectiveness, as well as teammates' general health and mental wellbeing. As such, cultivating the provision of this leadership within a team has emerged as an important focus for managers, coaches, sport psychologists and scholars alike. While the recognition of the importance of athlete leadership is well established, there has been a lag in the development of systematic approaches to enhance and develop the leadership skills and capabilities of the athletes within sport teams. As a result, this paper seeks to review contemporary examples and current understanding of approaches to athlete leadership development. The paper will also highlight future areas for research and applied practice development. ispartof: FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY vol:13 ispartof: location:Switzerland status: published

Some sports coaches believe that empowering the players in their team can undermine their own leadership status. In business organizations, however, recent theorizing on shared leadership refutes this belief by suggesting that the most effective leaders engage in behaviors to strengthen the leadership qualities of their followers. The present study sought to investigate this perspective within sports teams. Social network analyses were performed to study the leadership structure within a stratified sample (across sport, gender, and competitive level) of 64 sports teams, encompassing 64 coaches and 776 players. Next, we related the perceived leadership quality of the coaches to specific characteristics of their teams’ leadership networks. The results highlighted that the perceived leadership quality of the coach was positively related to the density of the team’s leadership networks (i.e., the average leadership qualities of all players). This finding held for the four leadership roles of task, motivational, social, and external leadership. This outcome suggests that the best coaches are the ones who adopt a shared leadership approach and who strengthen the leadership quality of their players. However, our findings also suggest that the perceptions of coaches and players on the team’s leadership dynamics often differ. Consequently, coaches could benefit from the analysis of leadership networks to gain insight in their team’s leadership structure. Based on this knowledge, coaches could then correctly identify the best leaders in the team, as perceived by the other team members. By creating and developing these leaders, coaches then become better leaders themselves. ispartof: JOURNAL OF APPLIED SPORT PSYCHOLOGY vol:32 issue:1 pages:5-27 status: published

Objectives Leadership has been suggested to be a key factor in gaining a competitive advantage as a team, with shared leadership being a better predictor of team functioning than vertical leadership. Although the benefits of shared leadership are well-documented, evidence about how to implement a shared leadership structure remains sparse. This leaves coaches with three key challenges: (1) identifying the best leaders; (2) defining what roles those leaders should fulfill; and (3) developing their leadership skills. Solutions to these challenges have been proposed in the 5R Shared Leadership Program (5RS) — a leadership development program that seeks to implement an effective structure of shared leadership within sports teams. Design To test the effectiveness of 5RS program, we conducted an experimental-comparison group intervention in which eight national-level basketball teams (N = 96) completed a questionnaire at two points in time (i.e., pre- and posttest). The teams in the intervention condition completed the 5RS program, in which we identified the leadership structure in their teams (through Shared Leadership Mapping), appointed the best leaders in their leadership role, and then developed their identity leadership skills. Results The results revealed that the 5RS program was successful in strengthening athlete leaders’ identity leadership skills, and as a result also team members’ identification with their team. Furthermore, in contrast to athletes in the comparison condition, athletes in the 5RS condition were able to maintain their levels of intrinsic motivation and commitment to team goals, while also reporting improved well-being. Conclusions The present study provides encouraging evidence that, by implementing a structure of shared leadership and by promoting athlete leaders’ identity leadership skills, the 5RS program is able to improve the team’s functioning and the well-being of its members. ispartof: Journal Of Science And Medicine In Sport vol:23 issue:8 pages:770-775 ispartof: location:Australia status: published

This chapter explores the challenges and opportunities that novel technological tools and social media present to sport psychology practitioners and how advances in software and hardware can be utilized by practitioners to maximize behavior change and performance. The profession of sport psychology has not been immune to these changes, and there are increasing demands on practitioners to communicate with their clients utilizing social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Many social media users are unaware of the extent of their digital footprint and the security of their personal information. Many users are unaware of privacy settings, and how to ensure that their private posts and networks remain relatively private. S. T. Cotterill developed social media guidance for sports coaches that suggested a range of basic steps to help protect themselves, their clients, and the information that they generate.

Fandom around the world yearns for sports entertainment. Much of the discussions within the recent flurry of sport and exercise psychology writings have been focused on the challenging experiences ...

Emotional contagion has been recognized as a variable influencing individual behaviour and team functioning. In particular, leaders within the team have been suggested to have a significant impact on their teammates through the expression of their emotions. As a result, the aim of this study was to provide greater insight into how different athlete leaders impact the emotional state of their team members, and whether gender differences existed in these relationships. Participants were 295 university student-athletes (200 male and 95 female) recruited from four universities in the UK. Data were collected in a two-step process. First, a voting/rating procedure was conducted within team to identify dominant task, motivational, social and external leaders. Then, participants completed the emotional contagion subscale of the Measure of Empathetic Tendency to rate the impact different athlete leaders had upon their emotional state. A MANOVA was conducted to explore gender differences in reported emotional susceptibility by leadership role. Subsequent ANOVAs highlighted significant differences between leadership role scores for female participants only. The results suggest that female athletes are more susceptible to emotional influence than male athletes. Furthermore, female athletes experienced a greater variation in the perceived emotional influence of different leadership roles in the team. ispartof: Journal of sports sciences vol:38 issue:10 pages:1181-1185 ispartof: location:England status: published

Much importance has been assigned to the role of the team captain. In this article, we test whether today’s team captains live up to these high expectations. Furthermore, we provide greater insight into the selection procedures leading to a captain’s appointment and assess how this process impacts upon the captain’s perceived leadership qualities. Adopting a mixed methods design, a total of 398 participants (226 players and 172 coaches) listed the attributes of both their current team captain and their ideal captain. Altogether, participants listed 635 attributes for their current team captain and 919 attributes for their ideal team captain. Both inductive and deductive approaches were used to analyze these qualitative data. Furthermore, quantitative data were obtained on the perceived influencers in the captain’s selection process. The results indicated that, although players and coaches expect their team captains to have good motivational and social leadership skills, the selection process is often underpinned by non-leadership factors, such as experience, sport-specific competence, or irrelevant attributes, such as being the daughter of the club president. This discrepancy held for both coaches’ and players’ perspectives, for male and female teams, across sports, and across competition levels. Although coaches were identified as main influencers in the selection process, giving players the deciding vote did not result in captains with better perceived leadership skills. The significant gap between participants’ expectations of the captain and reality highlights the need for implementing a structure of shared leadership. Furthermore, evidence-based leadership development programs are needed to maximize the team’s leadership potential. ispartof: Frontiers in Psychology vol:10 ispartof: location:Switzerland status: published

While there have been increasing opportunities for sport psychology practitioners in cricket, there are concerns regarding employment practices in the field and the knock-on impact on the practitioners. The aim of this research was to explore the experiences, reflections, challenges, and opportunities perceived by practitioners regarding their own roles delivering sport psychology in elite cricket. Participants were 12 sport psychology practitioners (8 male and 4 female) purposively selected based on their experience working in cricket. Participants were interviewed to gain an understanding of their experiences working as sport psychology practitioners. The data were thematically analyzed, resulting in the emergence of 7 higher order themes: the role, perceptions of the psychologist, consultation approach, limiting factors, first-team environment, challenges faced, and proposed changes. Results suggest that there are similarities in the challenges experienced across professional clubs and at different levels in cricket. Broader challenges for the clubs, the national governing body, and the sport psychology profession also emerged.

Research evidence suggests that outdoor education offers significant potential in priming healthy physical activity behaviors, developing life skills, enhancing self-esteem and promoting improved a...

Effective leadership in sport at the elite level can make the difference between success and failure. However, although the importance of leadership is acknowledged there is little published evidence regarding how the required skills could or should be developed. The current case study reports the implementation of a leadership development program with elite professional cricketers. The intervention itself was focused at three levels: (a) captaincy development, (b) leadership skill development, and (c) personal growth and leadership development. Program effectiveness was determined through the feedback provided by the individual players on the program, the reflections of the sport psychology consultant, and feedback from the professional staff. Evaluation and reflection of the program suggest that a formal development program can be both beneficial and impactful in enhancing the leadership capabilities of elite players.

This paper reports the outcomes of patients undergoing ACL reconstruction using a TransLateral single bundle, all-inside hamstring technique at a minimum of two year follow-up.The semitendinosus alone is harvested, quadrupled and attached in series to two adjustable suspensory fixation devices. Femoral and tibial sockets are produced using a retrograde drill. The graft is deployed, fixed and tensioned on both tibia and femur. Patients were evaluated preoperatively using the KOOS, Lysholm and Tegner scores and at six, 12 and 24months postoperatively. Objective assessment of knee laxity was performed using the KT-1000 along with goniometric measurement of range or motion.One hundred and eight patients, mean age 30.9years (range 15 to 61) were included. Mean follow-up 49.8months (range 30-66). The mean increase in KOOS at two years was 30.3 points; Lysholm, 33.1 points; Tegner Activity scale, 2.0 levels. These were all statistically significant (p0.001). Range of motion in the reconstructed knee approximated the uninjured knee by 12months and was restored by two years. KT-1000 showed significant reduction in side-side difference to no more than 2.4mm at all postoperative time points (p0.001). Re-rupture rate in this series was 6.5%, all following episodes of significant additional postoperative trauma to the knee.TransLateral all-inside ACL reconstruction demonstrates good medium term subjective and objective outcomes with a low complication and failure rate.

Leadership has been suggested to be a key factor in gaining a competitive advantage as a team, with shared leadership being a better predictor of team functioning than vertical leadership. Although the benefits of shared leadership are well-documented, evidence about how to implement a shared leadership structure remains sparse. This leaves coaches with three key challenges: (1) identifying the best leaders; (2) defining what roles those leaders should fulfill; and (3) developing their leadership skills. Solutions to these challenges have been proposed in the 5R Shared Leadership Program (5RTo test the effectiveness of 5RThe results revealed that the 5RThe present study provides encouraging evidence that, by implementing a structure of shared leadership and by promoting athlete leaders' identity leadership skills, the 5R

BackgroundResearch focused on mental health in sport has revealed a need to develop evidence-supported mental health practices that are sensitive to sport culture, particularly for non-elite athletes. A consensus statement was produced to assist effective mental health awareness in sport and guide programme implementation in this rapidly emerging field.MethodThe AGREE Reporting Checklist 2016 was used in two international expert consultation meetings, followed by two online surveys. Experts from 10 countries and over 30 organisations contributed.ResultsSix objectives were agreed: (1) to define mental health awareness and service implementation constructs for inclusion in programmes delivered in sporting environments; (2) to identify the need to develop and use valid measures that are developmentally appropriate for use in intervention studies with sporting populations, including measures of mental health that quantify symptom severity but also consider causal and mediating factors that go beyond pathology (ie, well-being and optimisation); (3) to provide guidance on the selection of appropriate models to inform intervention design, implementation and evaluation; (4) to determine minimal competencies of training for those involved in sport to support mental health, those experiencing mental illness and when to refer to mental health professionals; (5) to provide evidence-based guidance for selecting mental health awareness and implementation programmes in sport that acknowledge diversity and are quality assured; and (6) to identify the need for administrators, parents, officials, coaches, athletes and workers to establish important roles in the promotion of mental health in various sports settings.ConclusionThis article presents a consensus statement on recommended psychosocial and policy-related approaches to mental health awareness programmes in sport.

Making decisions is a fundamental requirement for effective sports performance. As a result, an understanding of the processes underpinning the generation of these decisions is crucial to researchers and applied practitioners alike. However, while there is much research that explores decision making from a number of different perspectives in sport there are still significant gaps in our knowledge and understanding of the mechanisms and processes involved. There is an increasing body of literature that seeks to understand decision-making from a number of perspectives including classical decision-making, naturalistic, ecological, and intuitive approaches. Often this understanding has been developed in isolation, and as a result has failed to coherently impact upon applied practice. This review seeks to clarify current understanding by exploring a number of current views on decision-making in sport and related applied interventions. Areas requiring further research are discussed.

Leadership is a fundamental aspect of sports performance, particularly within team sport environments. Over the past 25 years there has been significant research exploring the role of the coach/manager in this regard. However, this only represents one aspect of leadership within the sporting domain. Equally important, although far less examined is the concept of athlete leadership. The role of athlete leaders, both formal (e.g., the captain) and informal (such as motivators and cultural architects) can have a significant impact upon a range of team related factors including satisfaction, cohesion and team dynamics. However, the mechanisms through which this impact occurs are less well understood. Also, while the development of leadership skills has been proposed as an important aspect of coach development programs there is very little consensus regarding the approaches that should be adopted in developing athlete leaders and their associated leadership skills. This paper will review the existing literature relating to athlete leadership seeking to provide clarity regarding current understanding. Building upon this base the paper will then highlight future areas for research and theoretical development. peerreview_statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope. aims_and_scope_url: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=rirs20 ispartof: International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology vol:9 issue:1 pages:116-133 status: published

There is currently a lack of research exploring strategies to inspire and motivate students. As a result, the current study explored the perceptions of academic staff regarding what being inspirational meant, its sources, and the implications for the student. Eighteen academic staff were interviewed in this study (Age M=41.7; years in HE M=9.2) The data were thematically analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Seven super-ordinate themes emerged: inspiration, influencing factors, outcomes, motivating students, staff development, reducing factors, and responsibility for learning. Results suggest that inspiration is multifaceted and not simply dependent on the charisma/personality of the presenter.

This chapter explores the nature of preparation for performance with a particular focus on the use of routines before, during and after performance. It examines the nature of Pre-performance routines (PPRs), what they are, how they impact upon performance and crucially how to go about developing effective routines. Despite the considerable research attention exploring the effectiveness of PPRs on performance, few studies have investigated behavioral or psychological routines undertaken after performance execution. Numerous hypotheses have been developed to explain the roles that PPRs play in helping individuals achieve higher levels of performance. An exciting recent development in research on the use of PPRs has focused on hemispheric activation and the impact that PPRs can have upon this type of neural activity. Imagery has also been suggested to be a key psychological skill integrated into PPRs. Frequently occurring psychological components included relaxation, also ‘psyching up’, positive self-talk and related imagery mechanisms.

The ability to prepare effectively to execute complex skills under pressure is crucial in a number of performance-focused professions. While there is emerging evidence of best practice little research has sought to compare preparation strategies across professions. As a result, the aim of this research was to explore the approaches employed within a number of professions and whether there are similarities in the techniques and strategies adopted. Participants were 18 “performers,” purposefully selected from sporting, musical, performing arts, and medical domains. Participants were interviewed individually to gain an understanding of each participant’s preparation strategies and the functions these strategies fulfilled. The data were thematically analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results suggest that there are similarities in both behavioral and mental strategies adopted across professions. Future research should seek to explore the transferability of developmental approaches.

Effective decision-making forms an important aspect of the game of cricket. In particular, the ability of players to process relevant perceptual information to select an appropriate course of action is crucial. However, although the importance of decision-making in cricket is universally accepted, there is currently little consistency in the approaches adopted to develop this important ability. This article presents a practical framework for decision-making in the game of cricket, specifically focusing on batters and bowlers. Building upon this framework, relevant intervention strategies are presented that seek to specifically target the development of decision-making in the game of cricket.

The past 15 years has seen a significant acceleration in the availability of technological solutions for both business and social interactions. The use of social media as a way to communicate has had a significant impact upon education and the way that individuals share information, particularly in the under 25s age group. These developments are presenting new challenges and new opportunities to sport psychology consultants across the world. The aim of this article is to explore the benefits and pitfalls associated with a range of social media, hardware and software, and to consider how the technological solutions might be integrated into applied practice.

The captain is perceived to be an important member of the leadership structure within teams across many professional sports. However, while there is a general acceptance that this is the case, there is very little research exploring the role and associated demands at an elite level. As a result, the aim of this study was to explore the captaincy experiences of elite professional rugby union captains. The participants were eight male captains purposefully sampled for this study. Participants were interviewed individually to gain an understanding of each participant's captaincy experiences. The data were thematically analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Nine super-ordinate themes emerged in the study: role, skills, requirements, challenges, the coach, development, experience, context, and approach. Results suggest that the captaincy role is broader than previously highlighted, particularly at the elite level. Also, the study highlights inconsistencies in the selection of captains and a lack of formal developmental support for elite rugby captains. As a result, future research should explore the development of specific evidence-based approaches to captain selection and development.

The development of effective learning environments in higher education (HE) appears to become increasingly prioritised by HE institutions. This approach reflects an increasingly ‘consumer’ focused student body, and HE attempt to further quantify the quality of their products. However, all too often attempts to build more effective learning environments are hampered by the structures and processes that have historically existed in HE. The traditional lecture-seminar approach is increasingly been seen as not supporting effective student learning. As a result, the quality of the student learning experience is being compromised. This paper explores some of the factors currently limiting the development of effective learning environments and considers relevant questions and possible solutions. In particular, this paper explores the degree to which University interactions with student groups are driven by quality assurance processes rather than for maximising student learning.

While there is much research exploring the nature of pre-performance routines in sport there is very little work that outlines the process of developing and implementing these routines. This paper documents the development of pre-performance routines in professional cricket prior to the start of the season. The paper describes the method and approach adopted by the sport psychology consultant to develop specific individualized routines for the players involved. The consultant briefly reflects on the process, it's outcomes and potential implications for future practice.

Research has reported that initial evaluations of consultants’ competency are affected by dress and build. This investigation examined how athletes’ perceptions of sport psychology consultants (SPCs) are affected by SPCs’ physical characteristics of BMI and dress, and whether these perceptions are moderated by the athletes’ sex or standard of competition. Two hundred and thirty three competitive sports volunteers classified by sex and competitive standard viewed computer generated images of the same female SPC in sports and formal attire manipulated to represent a range of body mass indexes. Participants were asked to rank the SPCs in order of their preference to work with them, and to rate their perceived effectiveness of each of the SPCs. Results demonstrated that SPCs’ physical characteristics do influence athletes’ preference to work with them and perceptions of their effectiveness. Furthermore, athlete’s competitive standard does significantly moderate initial evaluation of SPCs based on physical characteristics.

The development of a pre-performance routine continues to be an intuitively appealing and widely accepted technique to enhance preparation for performance in sport. However, actual understanding falls somewhat short of that required to recommend with confidence the development of a pre-performance routine. At a fundamental level it is still not clear what function routines fulfil, what they should consist of or the most effective way to teach them. This review seeks to clarify current understanding and highlight areas requiring further attention. Greater understanding is required to understand the psychological components of routines as well as understanding the process through which a routine is developed/taught.

The purpose of this investigation was to explore the nature of pre-performance routines used in golf. Six male international golfers were recruited to participate in this study (Age M = 29; handicap M = +1.5; years playing golf M = 16.25). The golfers were interviewed individually to gain an understanding of participants’ perceptions of the nature and function of their pre-performance routines. The data were thematically analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. In total, 9 super-ordinate themes emerged: allocation of attention, psychological skills, shot selection, routine mind set, routine composition, compulsive behaviors, routine evolution/application, top players, and moderating factors. Results suggest that the development of routines is dependent on the personality, coping resources, and situational appraisals of each individual performer.