The conceptual process of skill progression development in artistic gymnastics

In this study, we examined the methods used and knowledge required by 16 elite men's gymnastic coaches in the development of skill progressions. Following in-depth interviews, a conceptual model representing the process of skill progression development was generated. We found that: (1) elite gymnastic coaches developed skill progressions through experimental practice, reflection and critical inquiry; (2) the development of skill progressions was underpinned by the coaches acquiring a mindset based on four further sub-components (i.e. skill progression refinement, current coaching knowledge, mental imagery and biomechanical understanding); and (3) coaches identified the importance of replication of the spatial and temporal characteristics of the final skill. The results are consistent with task analysis, reflective practice and the principle of specificity. Practically, these findings suggest the need to develop coaches with a more objective approach to skill progression development and a greater understanding of the controlling mechanisms inherent in such practices.     

Enhancing cricket batting skill: implications for biomechanics and skill acquisition research and practice

This review synthesises the biomechanical and skill acquisition/sport expertise literature focused on the skill of cricket batting. The literature is briefly reviewed and the major limitations, challenges, and suggested future research directions are outlined. This is designed to stimulate researchers to enhance the understanding of cricket batting biomechanics and skill acquisition and in turn assist cricket coaches develop efficacious batting skill development programmes. An interdisciplinary approach between biomechanists and skill acquisition specialists is advocated to further knowledge of the underlying processes and mechanisms of cricket batting expertise. Issues such as skill measurement, practice design, ball machines, skill transfer, the impact of Twenty/20 cricket, video simulation, and skill decomposition are discussed. The ProBatter ball machine systems are introduced along with suggestions for best practice approaches for coaches when designing batting skill development programmes.     

An analysis of practice activities and instructional behaviours used by youth soccer coaches during practice: Exploring the link between science and application

Abstract

We examined the practice activities and instructional behaviours employed by 25 youth soccer coaches during 70 different practice sessions. We evaluated the extent to which these activities and behaviours differ from those shown in contemporary research to best facilitate skill acquisition. Nine coaches worked with the under-9 years age group and eight coaches each with the under-13 and under-16 years age groups; nine of those coaches were employed at the elite level, nine at the sub-elite level, and seven at the non-elite level. Coaches had players spend more time in activities that were deemed less relevant to soccer match performance, termed “training form” (e.g. physical training, technique and skills practices), than activities deemed more relevant, termed “playing form” (e.g. small-sided/conditioned games and phase of play activities). Coaches provided high levels of instruction, feedback, and management, irrespective of the activity in which players engaged. Few differences in practice activities and instructional behaviours were reported across skill and age groups, implying the absence of any notable age- or skill-related progression. Findings are discussed with reference to recent research in the areas of skill acquisition, motor learning, and expert performance.     

Primary physical education,coaches and continuing professional development

Physical education (PE) in primary schools has traditionally been taught by qualified primary teachers. More recently, some teaching of PE in primary schools has been undertaken by coaches (mostly football coaches). These coaches hold national governing body awards but do not hold teaching qualifications. Thus, coaches may not be adequately prepared to teach PE in curriculum time. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perceptions of a group of community-based football coaches working in primary schools for the impact of a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme on their ability to undertake ‘specified work’ to cover PE in primary schools. The programme focused on four areas identified as important to enable coaches to cover specified work: short- and medium-term planning, pedagogy, knowledge of the curriculum and reflection. Results showed that for the majority of coaches the CPD programme had made them more aware of the importance of these four areas and had helped to develop their knowledge and ability to put this into practice in covering planning, preparation and assessment time. However, further input is still required to develop coaches’ knowledge and understanding in all four areas, but especially their curriculum knowledge, as well as their ability to put these into practice consistently. These findings are discussed in relation to the implications of employing coaches to cover the teaching of PE in primary schools and, if employed, what CPD coaches need to develop the necessary knowledge, skill and understanding for covering specified work in schools.     

我国省市级专业体操队蹦床训练现状与对策

本文就我国省市级专业体操队训练场馆的蹦床设备状况、教练员所持的态度和认识、训练中主要解决的问题、蹦库实际使用情况、练习程序以及对基本动作和基本难度动作的理解等方面作了较细致的调查,并提出了相应的对策与建议,以期改进竞技体操的蹦床训练。     

Inter-segmental coordination in progressions for the longswing on high bar

This study focused on identifying the most effective skill progression for developing the longswing on high bar in men's artistic gymnastics. Building on previous work by Irwin and Kerwin, in which a method to rank progressions based on their angular kinematics was developed, this study aimed to use the method to quantify similarities in inter-segmental coordination between selected progressions and the longswing on high bar. Video images of four members of the UK men's national gymnastics squad performing three series of five longswings and eight progressions were recorded at 50Hz. Two-dimensional direct linear transformation techniques were used to determine the real-world coordinates from the digitized data. Inter-segmental coordination of the hip and shoulder joints during the functional phases of the longswing was assessed using continuous relative phase. Similarity between the longswing and each progression was represented by a "specificity score", which was also used to rank the progressions. Each progression's specificity score was calculated by combining a "difference score" (root mean squared difference between the continuous relative phase profiles of the longswing and the progression) and a "variability score" (standard deviation of the continuous relative phase profiles for each progression). The progressions that were most similar to the longswing included the looped bar longswing and layaway swing down (ranked 1st and 2nd), with specificity scores of 9% and 10% respectively. In contrast, the least similar progressions were the looped bar "no action" longswing (51%) and pendulum swing (63%) (ranked 7th and 8th). Establishing effective skill learning pathways is recognized as a key component of the coaching process and ranking progressions based on their specificity score provided a mechanism to identify progressions with similar inter-segmental coordination profiles to the key skill on the high bar, the longswing.     

Coach ratings of skills and their relations to practice,play and successful transitions from youth-elite to adult-professional status in soccer

Elite soccer players (~15 yr) from professional academies in the UK were rated on technical, tactical, physical and creative skills by coaches at time 1 (T1). Players estimated accumulated hours in soccer practice (coach-led activities) and play (self-led activities) during childhood. Coach-ratings were again collected 2.5 yr later (T2) for players that received a professional contract (~17 yr). Adult-professional status was determined at T3 (~ 20 yr). Skill ratings distinguished across the three “future” groups (academy-only, youth-professional only and adult-professional), for all but creative skill. For players that transitioned to youth-professional, medium sized correlations were noted between childhood practice amounts and technical and creative skill ratings at T1, although practice amounts correlated more strongly with skill ratings at T2. Play amounts were not related to any skills. Within groups of youth elite athletes, domain-specific play in childhood, and to a lesser degree practice, were generally not good discriminators of specific-skills. The effects of sport-specific practice on the development (and discriminability) of skills takes time to emerge. We consider the implications for talent development models and purported links between play and creativity.     

从刘璇奥运夺金谈体操运动员心理定势

心理定势在当今的体操运动中有着举足轻重的作用。通过归纳奥运会平衡木冠军刘璇及中国体操队赛前的心理训练内容，分析我国优秀运动员在比赛中的事例，提出体操运动员在日常训练及比赛时期应具有的心理定势。     

Career evolution and knowledge of elite coaches of swimmers with a physical disability

In the last decade there has been an increase in empirical research on coaches of elite able-bodied athletes, while coaches of athletes with a disability have generally been overlooked. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to address this oversight by examining the career evolution and knowledge of these coaches. Six elite coaches of swimmers with a physical disability were interviewed using an unstructured, open-ended interview format. Results revealed information pertaining to the coaches' backgrounds, career evolution, and knowledge in training and competition. As well, all coaches stressed the importance of coaching their athletes as an elite swimmer as opposed to coaching a swimmer with a disability.     

Visual Recognition of a Gymnastics Skill by Experienced and Inexperienced Instructors

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between teaching experience and selected factors involved in skill analysis, namely, perceptual recognition and visual inspection strategy. Specifically, the study compared three groups with different levels of gymnastic teaching experience in the ability to recognize components of previously presented gymnastic performances. The nature of the recognition task also made it possible to test certain tentative hypotheses regarding strategies employed by the groups. The recognition accuracy of 20 gymnastic coaches (Specialists), 20 veteran physical education teachers (Generalists), and 20 pre-service physical education teachers (Novices) were assessed using a unique film/slide testing technique which permitted variation of the information load imposed upon the observer. Results indicated that Specialists were significantly more accurate than Generalists and Novices, but that Generalists were not different from Novices. There was no statistical indication that Specialists allocated attention to the components of the gymnastic performances differently than the less experienced groups, although there were indications of a unique visual profile for Specialists when observing under the largest information load condition.     

Control,consent and complicity in the coaching of elite women’s cycling in Australia: a media analysis

The purpose of this study was to extend understanding of how athletes and coaches in a women’s cycling talent development and selection programme negotiate and normalise athlete abuse in the media. A thematic analysis of six online cycling magazine articles and their representations of the Australian women’s elite cycling development camp was analysed to explore athletic abuse and the (re)production of coaching practices using Bourdieusian theory. The findings revealed a link between the expression of coaching practice and the maltreatment of athletes. Analysis of these articles also revealed that athletes were complicit in the normalisation of coaching practices through the misrecognition of social power embedded in the coaching intervention. The representations by athletes within the articles contributed narratives related to the reproduction and proliferation of abusive coaching practices. This study extends understanding of how taken for granted and power laden aspects of coaching practices can be presented in the media and highlights the implications for coaches, athletes and the general public that consume online cycling media content.     

中国——加拿大国家级体操教练员社会心理构成的比较研究

本研究是对中国(N=12)和加拿大(N=12)国家级体操教练员社会心理构成异同所进行的跨文化研究。为完成此课题,首先编制出含有360个问题的心理问卷,并按照Brislin法由英文译成中文。本文着重对以下三个部分进行分析比较:1.教练员所关心的问题;2.教练员角色的心理特点;3.教练员的社会心理关系。从分析比较中可看出两组被试在许多问题上存在很有意义的共同点和不同点。     

The role of community sports coaches in creating optimal social conditions for life skill development and transferability – a salutogenic perspective

Sport is widely recognised as having the potential to enhance the personal development of socially vulnerable youth, yet there is very limited knowledge on how community sports coaches can create optimal social conditions for life skill development and transferability. We adopt a salutogenic approach in order to study whether and how community sports coaches create these optimal social conditions. Based on the salutogenic framework, a thematic analysis was conducted of 15 in-depth interviews with community sports coaches providing sports lessons to socially vulnerable youth. As part of the interviews, the sports coaches were presented with several training scenarios and asked how they would respond in specific training situations. The results showed that the sports coaches aimed to create meaningful sporting experiences for youths. These meaningful sporting experiences were considered a precondition for keeping youths engaged in the sporting activities, as well as a precondition for life skill development. The sports coaches specifically focused on creating little moments of success and on making sure that the youths felt they belonged to a group. In order to ensure that the youths could experience moments of success, specific coaching strategies were implemented to increase the youths’ comprehensibility and manageability in specific sport situations. According to the sports coaches, experiencing little moments of success could contribute to an increase in socially vulnerable youths’ understanding of the everyday challenges that they face, as well as contribute to their ability to deal with these challenges. Creating meaningful sporting experiences may help youths ‘to learn to cope' – a skill that could be beneficial over their lifespan and in different societal domains.     

Elite cricket coach education: a Bourdieusian analysis

The social structures within coach education have been largely unexplored, undiscussed, and treated as unproblematic in contributing to coach learning, both in research and practice. The study used semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 11 elite cricket coaches to gather their perceptions of an elite coach education programme. In particular, this research attempted a more nuanced critical inquiry into the impact of culture on coach learning, habitus on knowledge production and the extent to which capital structures practice within the field of cricket coach education. Data analysis followed abductive reasoning, combining inductive thematic analyses of the data, with a deductive abstraction of these themes within a Bourdieusian framework to provide a level of explanation to the data. The findings present coach education as a complex social field in which coaches were active social beings in the (re)production of coaching knowledge. The culture of cricket was found to perpetuate a powerful doxic system that highlighted the tensions and conflict between an accepted model of coach education with a singular and prescribed body of knowledge and a strong underlying sporting culture and individuals hierarchically placed within it. This data further highlighted how coach education contributes to the (re)production of power within the field of cricket coaching.     

Exploring formalized elite coach mentoring programmes in the UK: ‘We’ve had to play the game’

Formalized mentoring programmes have been implemented increasingly by UK sporting institutions as a central coach development tool, yet claims supporting formal mentoring as an effective learning strategy are often speculative, scarce, ill-defined and accepted without verification. The aim of this study, therefore, was to explore some of the realities of formalized elite sports coaching mentoring programmes. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 15 mentors of elite coaches on formal programmes, across a range of sports. The findings were read through a Bourdieusian lens and revealed the importance of understanding the complexities of elite sports coaching environments, that elite sports coach development is highly specific and, therefore, should not be over-formalized, and how current elite sport coach mentoring programmes may be better conceptualized as a form of social control rather than being driven by pedagogical concerns. Following this empirically based analysis of practice, a number of implications for Governing Bodies, mentors and mentees were considered.     

我国优秀体操教练员人格文化的分析与研究

通过问卷调查法调查了我国 6 5位高级体操教练员的人格特质 ,探讨了我国优秀体操教练员人格文化的特征 ,即优秀体操教练员人格根源高分特征的特质有 :B、C、E、G、H、N、Q3,低分特征的特殊有 :I、L、O、Q4 ,为体操教练员的选拔、培养提供理论和实践依据     

Perceptions of elite coaches and sports scientists of the research needs for elite coaching practice

A major objective of sports scientists and elite coaches is the enhancement of athletic performance. Despite this common goal, there is a general perception that research in sports science does not meet the needs of coaches. A study using survey and interview examined the perceptions of elite coaches and sports science researchers in Australia regarding the research needs of elite coaching. Congruence was found between coaches and researchers regarding research practice at the elite level. Both groups held common perceptions on the importance and application of research, the methods by which research questions are determined, and the qualities valued in elite coaches and sports science researchers. However, elite coaches perceived a need for more research in the area of sports psychology, dissemination of research findings via coaching clinics and sports-specific magazines, and the use of more appropriate "lay" language in information dissemination.     

Managing parasport: An investigation of sport policy factors and stakeholders influencing para-athletes’ career pathways

The way disability is understood and positioned by key stakeholders informs how policies are implemented in the development of pathways to sporting excellence of an athlete with a disability. In this paper, the authors seek to identify which sports policy factors and stakeholders influence the development of athletic career pathways in Paralympic sport (i.e., attraction, retention, competition, talent identification and development, elite, and retirement phases). Drawing from the theories of disability and the literature on elite sport policy, an interview protocol on policy dimensions and principles to support para-athletes’ development was created, and 32 key stakeholders from the Brazilian Paralympic sport context were interviewed. The data revealed that coaching provision and education as a policy factor and coaches with disability-specific knowledge as a stakeholder were perceived as most influential during all the phases of para-athletes’ careers. The classification system emerged as a parasport-specific factor that can facilitate or inhibit the development of para-athletes’ careers, influencing the implementation of policies. The authors suggest that understanding the concept of disability is notably essential when stakeholders have to think strategically and adapt management principles from able-bodied sporting contexts. Therefore, critically positioning disability within policy decision making can improve the thinking, action, and behaviour of policymakers, coaches, and sports managers, leading to the more efficient delivery of successful para-athletes’ careers.     

Perceptions of elite coaches and sports scientists of the research needs for elite coaching practice

Abstract

A major objective of sports scientists and elite coaches is the enhancement of athletic performance. Despite this common goal, there is a general perception that research in sports science does not meet the needs of coaches. A study using survey and interview examined the perceptions of elite coaches and sports science researchers in Australia regarding the research needs of elite coaching. Congruence was found between coaches and researchers regarding research practice at the elite level. Both groups held common perceptions on the importance and application of research, the methods by which research questions are determined, and the qualities valued in elite coaches and sports science researchers. However, elite coaches perceived a need for more research in the area of sports psychology, dissemination of research findings via coaching clinics and sports-specific magazines, and the use of more appropriate “lay” language in information dissemination.     

现代化辅助教学手段建立体操技术教学反馈系统的实验研究

基于现代化教学辅助手段在体育教学实践中的应用，建立了数码摄像机录像的即时反馈系统、多媒体CAI课件延时反馈系统和FIP文件与CSCL教学延时反馈系统，并在体操技术教学实践中进行了实验研究。结果表明：实验班结业成绩明显优于对照班，证明应用现代化反馈系统指导体操技术教学可提高教学质量，增强教学效果。