1st Edition
Routledge Handbook of Elite Sport Performance
The Routledge Handbook of Elite Sport Performance is the first book to examine a broad span of performance and support issues in contemporary elite sport; including coaching, sports science and medicine, leadership and management, operating in different societies, living in the system as a performer, and future developments in the domain.
The book is written by authors with elite-level experience, expertise, success, and status across individual and team sports, including football, NFL, track and field athletics, rowing, and rugby, in professional, Olympic, and other elite domains. The book also considers the integration of systems at micro to macro levels, from working with individual athletes to developing national organisations and policy, and features in-depth case studies from real sport throughout.
This is an essential reference for any researcher or advanced student with an interest in elite sport or applied sport science, from sport injury and sport psychology to sports coaching and sport policy. It is also an invaluable resource for coaches, managers, administrators, and policy-makers working in elite sport, offering them a "breadth first" guide to how and why specialists may work together for maximum effect.
List of illustrations
List of contributors
Foreword
Introduction – defining, delineating, and driving elite performance
Dave Collins, Andrew Cruickshank, and Geir Jordet
PART I
Coaching elites – art and science
1 The principles of elite coaching – blending knowledge, experience, and novelty
Dave Collins
2 Being the personal coach
Toni Minichiello
3 Being the national coach in an Olympic sport
Mike Hay
4 Coaching a national team in professional football
Egil ‘Drillo’ Olsen with Geir Jordet
5 Doing it week in, week out
Dean Smith with Andrew Cruickshank
6 Coaching in action/adventure sports – a novel challenge
Tom Willmott
7 Specialist coaching – coaching quarterbacks in NFL, college, and high school
Steve Fairchild with Geir Jordet
8 Developing the players of tomorrow
Ruben Jongkind
PART II
The appliance of science – uni-disciplinary perspectives
9 Physiology – working in endurance
Andy Jones
10 Strength and conditioning in the elite team sport environment
Clive Brewer
11 Performance analysis – working in football
Christopher Carling
12 Working with psychology in professional football
Geir Jordet
13 Keeping them on the pitch
Andy Barr with Geir Jordet
14 Medical practice with elite athletes
Bruce Hamilton
PART III
The appliance of science – interdisciplinary perspectives
15 Effective performance support – an integrated view
Graeme Maw
16 Interdisciplinary performance development in elite sport – applied sport science
Fergus Connolly
17 Using data in football
Ian Graham
18 Research and innovation – seeking and securing competitive advantage
Peter Vint
PART IV
Managing elite performance systems
19 Culture, leadership, and management with elites
Andrew Cruickshank
20 Developing elites – academy systems
Neil McCarthy
21 Supporting performance – a national institute perspective
Phil Moore
22 The performance director’s role
Tim Jones with Andrew Cruickshank
23 Leading a national system
Alex Baumann with Andrew Cruickshank
24 Managing a professional football club
Frédéric Paquet with Geir Jordet
25 Managing impressions and relationships when speaking to the sports media
Kieran A. File
PART V
Fitting systems to societies
26 Fitting within the social milieu
Mads Davidsen
27 Vive la difference – perspectives on the challenges of being a woman in high-level sport
Tynke Toering
28 Developing coaches and players around the globe
Anne Pankhurst with Rosie Collins
29 The coach nomad
Guus Hiddink with Geir Jordet
30 The transition to elite performance – societal contrasts in the same sport
B. J. Mather and Dave Rotheram
PART VI
Living in the system – the performer perspective
31 The new kids on the block
‘Team Porteous’ with Dave Collins
32 Staying at the top in Olympic rowing for 25 years
Olaf Tufte with Geir Jordet
33 Playing home and away – and away and away
Tore Andre Flo with Andrew Cruickshank
34 Life AND sport – making it happen AND progressing while you play
Sinéad Jennings with Áine MacNamara
PART VII
Integration – making it all work
35 Driving the performance system – DOES research help?
Dave Collins and Andrew Cruickshank
36 Working in the jungle – how should elite sport practitioners operate and be developed?
Helen Alfano, Dave Collins, and Geir Jordet
37 Creating long-term high performing teams
Stuart Lancaster with Veronica Burke
Index
Biography
Dave Collins is Director of Grey Matters Performance Ltd and a Professorial Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. As a practitioner, he has supported over 70 world or Olympic medalists, and worked at the highest levels of professional sport and other performance domains. His current support roles include Chelsea FC, Gloucester RFC, and Snowsports New Zealand.
Andrew Cruickshank is Lead Psychologist for British Judo, Sport Psychologist for England Golf, and consultant for other elite sport organisations and governing bodies through Grey Matters Performance Ltd. Andrew is also Researcher/Lecturer within the Institute of Coaching and Performance at the University of Central Lancashire in the UK.
Geir Jordet is Professor in Sport Psychology at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Norway, and regular consultant for several European football associations and professional football clubs. He is co-owner of cognitive training software company BeYourBest.
"This lengthy volume of 37 essays may be the first to examine support issues in elite sports …The handbook is designed for researchers and advanced students in applied sports science, as well as sports coaches and administrators seeking guidance to maximize efficiency and success. All contributors seem to agree unanimously that elite sports teams, and individual athletes, require the following types of support: development of a team-based culture; focus on ethics in applying science to their needs; stress on good communication skills; and effort toward building trust. Various chapters address ways of enhancing cooperation between researchers and practically minded coaches … Summing Up: Recommended." - S. A. Riess, Northeastern Illinois University, Choice
