How would you recognise an expert coach if you saw one?

A review of the literature that frames coaching practice and specifically the formation and determination of expert coaching practice reveals a body of research that lacks continuity. It has recently been argued that much of the instability surrounding our professional interpretation of coaching practice stems from a penchant for subjective investigation. This analysis draws on a review of over 100 peer reviewed articles, chapters and books – all published within the last 35 years, that address the notion of coaching practice. The findings of this analysis suggests that much of the research used to establish conceptual clarity fails to distinguish between highly organised or efficient coaching practice and expert coaching practice. This paper concludes with some recommendations from alternate paradigms which suggest that expertise in interceptive sports coaching may be better theorised and suitably identified through a lens of the growing ideas surrounding ‘emergence’.

Multi-sensor classification of tennis strokes

In this work, we investigate tennis stroke recognition using a single inertial measuring unit attached to a player’s forearm during a competitive match. This paper evaluates the best approach for stroke detection using either accelerometers, gyroscopes or magnetometers, which are embedded into the inertial measuring unit. This work concludes what is the optimal training data set for stroke classification and proves that classifiers can perform well when tested on players who were not used to train the classifier. This work provides a significant step forward for our overall goal, which is to develop next generation sports coaching tools using both inertial and visual sensors in an instrumented indoor sporting environment.

Relatório de Estágio - Andebol

A elaboração deste Dossier de estágio surge no âmbito da Unidade Curricular de Estágio do 2º ano do Mestrado em Treino Desportivo na área de Treino de Alto rendimento da Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologia. Esse estágio consistiu numa primeira fase no acompanhamento da equipa do escalão de Seniores Masculinos do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, que se encontra a disputar o Campeonato Nacional de Andebol da 1ª Divisão - Andebol 1, da qual foi realizada uma caracterização e o relatório das observações. Fui integrado na equipa técnica como observador, ou seja, com a função de observar os jogos e seleccionar as jogadas importantes para visionamento e análise da restante equipa técnica. Numa segunda fase, complementando o que estava a realizar na equipa sénior, foi-me dada a oportunidade de fazer parte da equipa técnica do escalão de juniores, como treinador adjunto.

Efeito do treinamento de saltos em mini-trampolim na resistência de força e na aptidão aeróbia em mulheres treinadas

Este estudo teve como objetivo analisar o efeito de um período de treinamento com uma aula coreografada na resistência de força de membros inferiores e na aptidão aeróbia em mulheres. Participaram do estudo, 11 mulheres ativas (Idade = 31,8  8,04 anos, Massa corporal = 60,5  6,49 kg e Estatura = 160,7  4,35cm). Foram realizados antes e após o período de treinamento os seguintes procedimentos: 1) Teste progressivo de Bruce, para a estimativa do consumo máximo de oxigênio (VO2max); 2) Teste de repetições máximas, para estimar a resistência de força (RF) e; 3) Aula coreografada. O treinamento foi realizado em um período de 6 semanas, com frequência semanal de 2 sessões. Houve um aumento significante na RF (de 30,4 3,98 para 37,2 6,25) e no VO2max (de 28,2 6,25 para 34,3 6,24 ml/kg/min) após o período de treinamento. Portanto, um período de treinamento composto por aulas coreografadas envolvendo saltos e um alto número de repetições proporciona uma melhora na resistência de força de membros inferiores e na aptidão aeróbia e mulheres ativas

Competitive artistic gymnastics and coaches' philosophy

The current study is a piece from the original project entitled "Diagnosis of the Artistic Gymnastics Development Program in Brazil". Among others issues, the coaching philosophy of coaches who are developing gymnasts that may be representative of the national team was a matter of analysis. We interviewed 46 coaches from 29 sports institutions in Brazil. As data collection we used a semi-structured interview and for data treatment we adopted the content analysis method of Bardin (2010). We have found out that there is an inconsistent philosophical basis, and in many institutions this has been mixed up with the objectives of the training program or just doesn't exist. This fact needs consideration and criticism, but we know that the coaching philosophy is not developed during the coaching education courses.

Legal liability of coaches: a UK perspective

Attracting more coaches is fundamental to achievement of the European dimension in sport and the further promotion of sport in the European Union. Given the emerging relationship between the law and sports coaching, recruitment of such volunteers may prove problematic. Accordingly, this article critically considers the legal liability of sports coaches. To inform this debate, the issue of negligent coaching is critically scrutinised from a UK perspective, uncovering a number of distinct legal vulnerabilities facing volunteer coaches. This includes the inherent limitations of ‘objective reasonableness’ when defining the standard of care required in the particular circumstances. More specifically, fuller analysis of the justification of customary practice, and the legal doctrine of in loco parentis, reveals important ramifications for all organisations providing training and support for coaches. In short, it is argued that proactively safeguarding coaches from professional liability should be a priority for national governing bodies, and, following the recently published EU Work Plan for Sport for 2014–2017, the Expert Group on Human Resource Management in Sport. Importantly, given the EU’s supporting, coordinating and supplementing competence in developing the European dimension in sport, a Commission funded project to address the implications of the ‘compensation culture’ in sport is also recommended.

Intervenção técnico - pedagógica num contexto de iniciados no Núcleo Desportivo e Social da Guarda

Relatório de Estágio apresentado para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Desporto com especialização em Treino Desportivo

Intervenção técnico - pedagógica num contexto de iniciados no Núcleo Desportivo e Social da Guarda

Relatório de Estágio apresentado para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Desporto com especialização em Treino Desportivo

Conceção, planeamento,análise e orientação de uma equipa de futebol de iniciados ao longo da época desportiva 2014/2015

relatório de estágio apresentado para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Desporto com especialização em Treino Desportivo

Conceção, planeamento,análise e orientação de uma equipa de futebol de iniciados ao longo da época desportiva 2014/2015

relatório de estágio apresentado para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Desporto com especialização em Treino Desportivo

Insights from ecological psychology and dynamical systems theory can underpin a philosophy of coaching

The aim of this paper is to show how principles of ecological psychology and dynamical systems theory can underpin a philosophy of coaching practice in a nonlinear pedagogy. Nonlinear pedagogy is based on a view of the human movement system as a nonlinear dynamical system. We demonstrate how this perspective of the human movement system can aid understanding of skill acquisition processes and underpin practice for sports coaches. We provide a description of nonlinear pedagogy followed by a consideration of some of the fundamental principles of ecological psychology and dynamical systems theory that underpin it as a coaching philosophy. We illustrate how each principle impacts on nonlinear pedagogical coaching practice, demonstrating how each principle can substantiate a framework for the coaching process.