This book highlights the latest advances in coach education and development through collaborative research co-ordinated by the English Football Association, the only national governing body of sport to run a coaching research programme. Advances in Coach Education and Development presents the first set of studies generated by this programme that display how research has informed policy and practice within the FA. Divided into three parts, each investigates an aspect of this programme such as the FA’s coaching education and development provision, its commitment to developing the developer, and how its coaches put their knowledge into practice. Each chapter includes sections that examine current issues, suggest considerations for other governing bodies and pose key questions including: What can other governing bodies learn from the FA’s programme? What is the best way to capture and compare different coaching systems? How can other organisations optimise success within their coach education and development programmes? How can future research continue to unpack and understand the complex role of coach educators? Bringing together a unique set of studies covering every level of football, from elite to grassroots, this book is essential reading for any serious sports coaching student, researcher or coach educator.

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.

This book highlights the latest advances in coach education and development through collaborative research co-ordinated by the English Football Association, the only national governing body of sport to run a coaching research programme. Advances in Coach Education and Development presents the first set of studies generated by this programme that display how research has informed policy and practice within the FA. Divided into three parts, each investigates an aspect of this programme such as the FA’s coaching education and development provision, its commitment to developing the developer, and how its coaches put their knowledge into practice. Each chapter includes sections that examine current issues, suggest considerations for other governing bodies and pose key questions including: What can other governing bodies learn from the FA’s programme? What is the best way to capture and compare different coaching systems? How can other organisations optimise success within their coach education and development programmes? How can future research continue to unpack and understand the complex role of coach educators? Bringing together a unique set of studies covering every level of football, from elite to grassroots, this book is essential reading for any serious sports coaching student, researcher or coach educator.

Despite the rapid advance of the academic study of coaching science, there is a dearth of evidence on contemporary progressions within the coaching profession itself, particularly around the wide-ranging challenges that coaches face. Professional Advances in Sports Coaching constitutes an essential collection of the most innovative, up-to-date reviews and research on professional issues in sports coaching and coaching psychology. Seeking to assess and challenge contemporary conceptual and theoretical research around the evolving nature of the coach’s role, issues associated with athlete and coach welfare, and societal demands of the coach, the book covers topics as diverse as: gender and spirituality within sports coaching; working in culturally diverse environments and disability sport; understanding hazing, mental health issues, and disordered eating in athletes; moral behaviour and safeguarding; high performance coaching and talent development; communicating with athletes in the age of social media, and managing cliques. Written by leading experts from around the world, every chapter clarifies and defines key concepts, gives an up-to-date and comprehensive review of literature within the area, and examines the implications for future research and applied practice. This is a critical resource for any upper-level student enrolled in sports coaching science or practice classes, sports coaching academics with an interest in professional practice, and practicing sports coaches.

Sport coaches have a tremendous influence—positive or negative—in the lives of athletes. Too often, however, the delivery of quality coaching is left to chance. Athletes deserve coaches who create positive environments, foster skill development, and build character. In Coach Education Essentials, leading coach educators and professionals from around the world cover the core elements of coach education and development, and describe how best to understand, cultivate, and evaluate quality coaching. Edited by Kristen Dieffenbach, PhD, and Melissa Thompson, PhD, this text is the most authoritative resource on the topic ever assembled, and the book’s contributors represent a who’s who of coach education: John Bales Gordon Bloom Trey Burdette Penny Crisfield Edward Cope Kristen Dieffenbach Lori Gano-Overway Brian Gearity Wade Gilbert Daniel Gould Matthew Grant Stephen Harvey Luke Jones Cameron Kiosoglous Clayton Kuklick Sergio Lara-Bercial Sarah McQuade Jenny Nalepa Christine Nash Matt Robinson Ronald Smith Frank Smoll Melissa Thompson Cecile Reynaud Charles Wilson Jr. Grounded in current research and emerging trends in the field of coach education, Coach Education Essentials adheres to the guidelines for coach education and development established by the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE) and is consistent with the ICCE’s International Sport Coaching Framework. The chapters cover the roles and responsibilities of the coach across various levels of sport, ranging from prepubescent participation to Olympic-level competition; current models of coaching education, training, and certification used by leading international sport organizations; and the evaluation of coach education. Coach Education Essentials is a comprehensive, insightful, and practical resource for those invested in the development and advancement of quality coaching and coaching education. It will be an asset to all who promote coaching as a profession.

Association Football is undoubtedly a global sport, with millions of individuals participating in more than 200 countries. The need for an educated football coaching workforce to deliver appropriate coaching practices has never been greater. Formal coach education, which is often the primary medium for developing football coaches, is socially constructed, meaning an array of social, cultural, and historical factors underpin the design and delivery of any provision. Coach Education in Football: Contemporary Issues and Global Perspectives is the first book to explicitly explore these aspects, by providing critical insight into football coach education programmes from across the globe. Each chapter, organised via a central theme, highlights a contemporary issue affecting football coach education and development within a specific country, offering insights into the contextual opportunities and challenges. The book covers essential topics including the progression of female football coaches, coaches’ perspectives towards current provision, technological and pedagogical advances, and the historical development of formal coach education. Each chapter demonstrates the complexities associated with developing football coaches within grassroots and high-performance domains, while providing recommendations for national governing bodies, policy makers, and coach developers. This book is the first of its kind to explicitly investigate football coach education globally. This accessible book is an important read for students, academics, and practitioners with an interest in sports coaching, coach education, and football.

Contemporary sports coaching studies have moved beyond simple biophysical approaches to more complex understandings of coaching as a set of social relationships and processes. This is the first book to examine what that means in the context of one major international sport, rugby union. Drawing on cutting-edge empirical research in the five most powerful rugby-playing nations, as well as developments in pedagogical and social theory, the book argues for an holistic approach to coaching, coach development and player and team performance, helping to close the gap between coaching theory and applied practice. With player-centered approaches to coaching, such as Game Sense and Teaching Games for Understanding, at the heart of the book, it covers key contemporary topics in coach education such as: Long term coach development Experience and culture in coaching practice Positive coaching for youth rugby Improving decision-making ability Collaborative action research in rugby coaching Informed by work with elite-level rugby coaches, and examining coaching practice in both the full and sevens versions of the game, this book encourages the reader to think critically about their own coaching practice and to consider innovative new approaches to player and coach development. It is essential reading for all students of sports coaching with an interest in rugby, and for any coach, manager or administrator looking to develop better programmes in coach education.