Author Description

This book is designed for progressive coaches who are motivated to consider and potentially adjust their current coaching or training programs so that they are getting the most out of contemporary Sport Psychology and Skill Acquisition research. A variety of Sport Psychology and Skill Acquisition issues are reviewed by two international experts in the respective fields, Jean Fournier and Damian Farrow. Based on their applied experiences working in their respective high performance sport systems in France and Australia they have identified the gaps between theory and current practice. In some instances, this gap is because the theory itself is not definitive, while in other instances the theory challenges traditional coaching approaches. What makes this book different from many other texts on Sport Psychology and Skill Acquisition is that the material is presented in a manner most applicable to coaches and athletes. The chapters are short and concise, there is an absence of academic referencing, and numerous practical examples are provided to illustrate how the theory is applied to practice. The book is divided into two sections. After an introductory chapter by both authors, Section one consists of four chapters focused on Sport Psychology issues presented by Jean Fournier and then Section two reviews four Skill Acquisition issues presented by Damian Farrow.