Understanding Sports Coaching ― The Pedagogical, Social and Cultural Foundations of Coaching Practice

Every successful sports coach knows that good teaching and social practices are just as important as expertise in sport skills and tactics. Now in a fully revised and updated third edition,Understanding Sports Coaching is still the only introduction to theory and practice in sports coaching to fully explore the social, cultural and pedagogical concepts underpinning good coaching practice.

The book examines the complex interplay between coach, athlete, coaching programme and social context, and encourages coaches to develop an open and reflective approach to their own coaching practice. It covers every key aspect of coaching theory and practice, including important and emerging topics, such as:

• athletes’ identities

• athlete learning

• emotion in coaching

• coaching ethics

• professionalization

• talent identification and development

• coaching as a (micro)political activity

Understanding Sports Coaching also includes a full range of practical exercises and extended case studies designed to encourage coaches to reflect critically upon their own coaching strategies, their interpersonal skills and upon important issues in contemporary sports coaching. This is an essential textbook for any degree-level course in sports coaching, and for any professional coach looking to develop their coaching expertise.

Tania Cassidy is a Senior Lecturer in Pedagogy in the School of Physical Education, University of Otago, New Zealand. Her research interests include the pedagogy of sports coaching and coach education, youth development and sports coaching, coach development polity, and physical education history, politics and policy. She is on the editorial boards of seven journals, includingSports Coaching Review, the International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching,and Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy.

Robyn L. Jones is a Professor of Sport and Social Theory at the Cardiff School of Sport, Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK, a Visiting Professor (II) at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway, and a Visiting Associate Principal Lecturer (Research) at Hartpury College, UK. He has also been a Visiting Professor at the University of Malaysia. He has (co) published in excess of 60 peer reviewed articles and several books on sports coaching and pedagogy; the latter includeSports coaching cultures, The sports coach as educator and A sociology of sports coaching. In addition to serving on the editorial board ofSport, Education and Society, Robyn is also the General Editor of the Taylor & Francis journalSports Coaching Review.

Paul Potrac is a Professor of Sports Coaching at the Department of Sport and Physical Activity, Edgehill University, UK, and an Honorary Professor at the University of Hull, UK. His research focuses on the political and emotional features of practice in coaching and coach education. He has (co) published several books on sports coaching, includingSports coaching cultures, the Routledge Handbook of Sports Coaching’, Research methods in sports coaching andA sociology of sports coaching. Paul is also an Associate Editor of the Taylor & Francis journalSports Coaching Review