Coaches, Athletes, Skill Acquisition Specialists: A Case of Misrecognition

Steel, Kylie A; Harris, Ben; Baxter, David; King, Mike; Ellam, Eathan

doi:10.1260/1747-9541.9.2.367

Cited by 13 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The interdisciplinary (multivariate analysis) approach in our study revealed that psychological and perceptual-cognitive-motor components of individual constraints contributed to significantly predict disposal efficiency. This finding is consistent with coach perception that superior performance in sport is related to psychological and perceptual-cognitive-motor skills (Steel et al, 2014 ; Zaichkowsky and Peterson, 2018 ). A likely reason for this is that coping with psychological pressure and making accurate decisions allows the player to apply their physical capability efficiently (less energy cost) to dispose of the ball effectively.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Interdisciplinary Sport Research Can Better Predict Competition Performance, Identify Individual Differences, and Quantify Task Representation

Piggott

Müller

Chivers

et al. 2020

Front. Sports Act. Living

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Sport performance consists of interacting individual, task and environmental constraints, but research has used a monodisciplinary, rather than an interdisciplinary approach to understand performance. This study used Australian football (AF) as the exemplar sport to investigate the value of an interdisciplinary approach to understand sport performance. Through this, it was also possible to quantify individual differences and representative task design. Fifty-nine semi-professional Australian footballers participated. Based upon accessibility, combinations of these players completed physiological (3 × 1 km trial) and perceptual-cognitive-motor (small-sided game, SSG) tests, with coach rating of psychological skill (mental toughness coach, MTC). Univariate monodisciplinary models indicated that all tests predicted disposal efficiency; 3 × 1 km trial (p = 0.047), SSG (p = 0.001), and MTC (p = 0.035), but only the SSG predicted coaches' vote (p = 0.003). A multivariate interdisciplinary model indicated that SSG and MTC tests predicted disposal efficiency with a better model fit than the corresponding univariate model. The interdisciplinary model formulated an equation that could identify individual differences in disposal efficiency. In addition, the interdisciplinary model showed that the higher representative SSG test contributed a greater magnitude to the prediction of competition performance, than the lower representative MTC rating. Overall, this study demonstrates that a more comprehensive understanding of sport performance, individual differences, and representative tasks, can be obtained through an interdisciplinary approach.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Interdisciplinary Sport Research Can Better Predict Competition Performance, Identify Individual Differences, and Quantify Task Representation

Piggott

Müller

Chivers

et al. 2020

Front. Sports Act. Living

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“…This variety of understanding of how a sport science discipline can support a coach has previously been reported as occurring with skill acquisition specialists. 1,19 The role of the biomechanist in altering coaches' understanding of biomechanics was explored as part of the coach education theme that was prominent in the interviews.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The coach–scientist relationship in high-performance sport: Biomechanics and sprint coaches

Waters

Phillips

Panchuk

et al. 2019

International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching

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It is common for sport science practitioners, including sport biomechanists, to interact with high-performance coaches in the daily training environment. These relationships are beneficial for both scientist and coach, as well as the athletes. However, as indicated by difficulties in transferring new research into coaching practice, these relationships are not functioning as well as they could. The aim of this paper is to examine the various factors that influence the coach–biomechanist relationship in the elite sprinting context and gain an understanding of what impedes and enhances this, which will ultimately maximise an athlete's performance. Sprint coaches ( n = 56) and applied sport biomechanists ( n = 12) were surveyed to determine the participants' experiences working with each other and use of biomechanics in the training environment. Semi-structured interviews with coaches ( n = 8) and biomechanists ( n = 8) were conducted to further explore these ideas. From the biomechanists perspective, the relationship appeared to be less effective than from the coaches' perspective and both groups identified areas for improvement. The coaches had an inconsistent understanding of biomechanics theory and the support a biomechanist could provide in the training environment, while it was acknowledged that biomechanists needed to improve their communication skills. Coach and practitioner education were identified as where these improvements could be facilitated. There are many aspects of the coach–biomechanist relationship that could contribute to establishing optimal practice in the high-performance environment and enhance the transfer of knowledge from scientist to coach. This paper proposes a number of directions that could be taken.

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“…Given the coaches' goal of integrating 'scientifically-driven literature' into practice within the fast-paced coaching environment (Williams & Kendall, 2007), it has been suggested that coaches place value in working with a "mediator" who can translate and transfer knowledge from scientific sources into mediums that are more accessible (Williams & Kendall, 2007;Steel, Harris, Baxter, King, & Ellam, 2014). Considering the support services available to coaches, particularly at the elite level, one potential solution to this issue is working in conjunction with a skill acquisition (SA) specialist who could act as an ally and resource (Lyle, 2018).…”

Section: The Skill Acquisition Specialist As a Mediatormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A SA specialist has been identified as a sport scientist that 'examine[s] the theories, principles and processes of motor and perceptual learning' (Steel et al, 2014, Pg. 1) and works closely with coaches and athletes to bridge the gap between theory and practical application (Steel et al 2014;Williams & Ford, 2009;Williams, Ford, Causer, Logan, & Murray, 2012).…”

Section: The Skill Acquisition Specialist As a Mediatormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although, the role of a SA specialist within sport systems has become (a little) more prominent with scientists imbedded in daily training environments, literature pertaining to their role and contribution to effective coach development is very scant (Pinder & Renshaw, 2019;Steel et al, 2014). Using theoretical underpinnings and evidence-informed approaches, SA specialists are concerned with understanding how to optimize all aspects of training designs (e.g.…”

Section: The Skill Acquisition Specialist As a Mediatormentioning

confidence: 99%

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Olympic and Paralympic coach perspectives on effective skill acquisition support and coach development

Dehghansai

Headrick

Renshaw

et al. 2019

Sport, Education and Society

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The role of skill acquisition specialists within sport systems has become more prominent and imbedded in daily training environments with coaches; however, literature pertaining to their role and contributions to effective coach development is very scant (Pinder & Renshaw, 2019). The objective was to extend our understanding of the coaches' perception of the role of, and relationship with, a skill acquisition specialist to identify key factors of effective support that shape coach behavior and ultimately enhance athlete performance. Semi-structured interviews with two National coaches with experience and podium success in multiple Olympic/Paralympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and World Championships was conducted. Three distinct narratives were identified: representing various experiences of the coaches in their sport ('the unplanned journey'), their relationship with the skill acquisition specialist ('more than just a skill expert'), and how this impacted athletes' development ('keys to success'). As part of the relationship development process, aspects of coaches' philosophy were challenged. In addition, the skill acquisition specialists had to display a wide range of skills in the pursuit of shaping coaching behaviors that could further enhance athletes' performance. Required skills included, but were not limited to, bridging the gap between scientific literature and practical application, ensuring knowledge was logical and aligned with the specific needs of the coach and cultural context, demonstrating trust and accountability, displaying personal and social skills and an ability to engage athletes and obtain their approval. Crucially, while overlapping themes occurred, the skill specialists needed to be adaptable to each unique working relationship and this emerged over time.

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Coaches, Athletes, Skill Acquisition Specialists: A Case of Misrecognition

Cited by 13 publications

References 14 publications

Interdisciplinary Sport Research Can Better Predict Competition Performance, Identify Individual Differences, and Quantify Task Representation

Interdisciplinary Sport Research Can Better Predict Competition Performance, Identify Individual Differences, and Quantify Task Representation

The coach–scientist relationship in high-performance sport: Biomechanics and sprint coaches

Olympic and Paralympic coach perspectives on effective skill acquisition support and coach development

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