Applying Educational Psychology In Coaching Athletes

Applying Educational Psychology in Coaching Athletes discusses how to improve coaching success and athletic performance through the application of teaching principles and theories. Delving deeper than an explanation of what athletes learn and what coaches teach, Applying Educational Psychology in Coaching Athletes offers insight into the how of athletes’ learning and coaching by considering • principles of psychology that drive the emotions, motivation, expectations, self-worth, and relationships of athletes; • application of principles of psychology to the motor learning process; and • use of principles of educational psychology to improve sport expertise and coaching success. A three-time U.S. Olympic coach and veteran collegiate coach, Huber infuses his own experience in applying theories of educational psychology in working with individual athletes, as well as world-class national and international teams. With an engaging presentation and strong practical applications, Huber assists coaching students and practicing coaches in utilizing educational psychology as a platform for improving coaching skills. Applying Educational Psychology in Coaching Athletes introduces the idea of the developing coach as both teacher and learner, and how coaching principles and a strong coaching philosophy provide a foundation for effective management and decision-making. By considering the theories that drive successful coaching, developing coaches gain focus, motivation, and guidance as they learn how a thoughtful coach provides the structure and discipline to make athletes more successful on the field of play. Throughout the text, Huber focuses on how athletes learn, considering theories of motivation, behaviorism, cognition, and humanism, and the interplay between emotions and motor learning and performance. Each chapter opens with a coaching related anecdote that readers can relate to in order to highlight the significance of the theory under consideration. After careful explanation of each theory, Huber details concrete examples, guidelines, and specific applications for coaching. In addition to summary information, each chapter concludes with ‘Your Coaching Toolbox,’ which focuses readers on ways to incorporate their newly gained knowledge into their interactions with athletes. Applying Educational Psychology in Coaching Athletes is unmatched in its depth of insight into the teaching and learning process in sport and how to put it into practice. By examining how athletes learn and coaches teach, the text helps coaches understand how to maximize athlete performance and increase their athletic success.

Covering the five psychological areas considered to have the most influence on athletic performance - motivation, confidence, intensity, focus and emotions - this work provides a comprehensive approach to sport psychology.

Research on coaching education and development highlights, repeatedly, the difficulties of traditional coaching education to impact coaching practice. Practice seems to be disconnected from scientific theory with few coaches accessing the scientific literature as it too often is presented in dry, academic tones. This volume sets out to provide an integration of theory and everyday practice that to date has not yet been published in the field of coaching science in a text easily used by sports coaches. In order to bridge this theory to practice gap, Becoming a Better Sports Coach: Development through Theory Application presents theory and science connected to practice in a way that makes it possible for coaches to test, evaluate and improve upon their existing coaching practice. This hands-on approach sets out to improve coaches’ cognition and raising self-awareness as well as improve coaches' learning using specific tools for behavioural feedback and reflection. Improving on self-reflective skills and eliciting feedback on the coach’s own behaviour is how coaching practice is improved. What coaching practice includes and what is laid out for coaches in this new text is motivational climate, coaching behaviours, pedagogy, feedback, coach–athlete relationship, each in one chapter. Reflection and behavioural feedback are applied to each of these areas.

The facilitation of learning is a central feature of coaches’ and coach educators’ work. Coaching students and practitioners are, as a result, being expected to give increasing levels of thought towards how they might help to develop the knowledge and practical skills of others. Learning in Sports Coaching provides a comprehensive introduction to a diverse range of classic, critical, and contemporary theories of learning, education, and social interaction and their potential application to sports coaching. Each chapter is broadly divided into two sections. The first section introduces a key thinker and the fundamental tenets of his or her scholarly endeavours and theorising. The second considers how the theorist’s work might influence how we understand and attempt to promote learning in coaching and coach education settings. By design this book seeks to promote theoretical connoisseurship and to encourage its readers to reflect critically on their beliefs about learning and its facilitation. This is an essential text for any pedagogical course taken as part of a degree programme in sports coaching or coach education.

This is the first book to offer a comprehensive review of current research in the psychology of sports coaching. It provides detailed, critical appraisals of the key psychological concepts behind the practice of sports coaching and engages with contemporary debates in this field. Organised around three main themes, it discusses factors affecting the coaching environment; methods for enhancing coach performance; and how to put theory into practice through coaching work. Written by an international team of researchers and practitioners at the cutting edge of psychology and coaching, each chapter introduces a key concept, defines key terms, provides a comprehensive literature review, and considers implications for future research and applied practice. Encompassing the latest developments in the field, it addresses topics such as: the theory behind effective coaching creating performance environments promoting psychological well-being developing resilience through coaching transformational leadership and the role of the coach. The Psychology of Sports Coaching: Research and Practice is an indispensable resource for sport psychologists and sports coaches, and is essential reading for all students and academics researching sport psychology.

Some of the most effective coaches understand the fundamentals of sport psychology, which include interacting effectively with athletes, creating the optimal environment, assessing the psychological needs of their athletes, and even providing them with the mental training required to maximise performance. Fully revised and updated, the second edition of Psychology in Sports Coaching: Theory and Practice clearly and accessibly introduces the principles and practice of sport psychology in the context of the coaching process. Drawing on the very latest research and theory, the book introduces the psychological tools and techniques that coaches can use to get the best performances out of their athletes. Including six new chapters on applying self-determination principles in coaching, creating the optimal motivational climate, increasing motivation, developing anti-doping attitudes, promoting challenge states, and mindfulness-based stress reduction training, the book also offers step-by-step guidance on key topics such as: Assessing the needs of athletes Facilitating awareness through goal-setting and performance profiling Working with special populations, including children and injured athletes Building team cohesion Maximising relationships and socially supporting athletes Teaching mental skills such as imagery and coping Building mental toughness and confidence. Every chapter contains useful features to aid learning and understanding, including in-depth case studies, critical thinking questions, clear and concise summaries, and practice exam questions. Psychology in Sports Coaching: Theory and Practice is essential reading for any student of sports coaching or any practising coach looking to extend and develop their skills, and useful applied reading for students of sport psychology.

The material in this book entitled Psychology in Physical Education and Sport is critically intended for those indulged in the field of sport and physical education, specially coaches, athletes, teachers and students of physical education etc. The present book is particularly well-suited as a text for classes in sport psychology and psychology of coaching. The book will be a valuable reference for practicing coaches and sport psychologists who did not have the opportunity for such training in their own formal education. The whole book is arranged into nine comprehensive chapters providing relevant information of sport psychology. Hopefully, the present study will prove very useful for the physical educators, prospective coaches, students and teachers of physical education, sportsperson, as well as for the general readers.

This book addresses important topics of coaching in order to better understand what sports coaching is and the challenges that arise when assuming this activity. It provides the reader with useful insights to the field of sports coaching, and discusses topics such as coaching education, areas of intervention, and main challenges. With contributions by experts and well-known authors in the field, this volume presents an up-to-date picture of the scholarship in the coaching field. It introduces key aspects on the future of the science of coaching and provides coach educators, researchers, faculty, and students with new perspectives on topics within the field to help improve their coaching effectiveness.