Dave Collins

The University of Edinburgh | UoE · Institute for Sport, Physical Education and Health Sciences

Snow sports such as alpine skiing or snowboarding are associated with a high risk of injury and reinjury and are subject to a very special environment with specific rehabilitation challenges that must be addressed. Due to geographic decentralisation, seasonal climatic limitations, alternation of training in off-snow and on-snow settings and unique...

Mental imagery practice is widely used to help athletes prepare for competitions, as it can produce motor actions that enhance performance. The goal of imagery training for athletes is to create realistic images in their minds and to familiarize them with certain procedures, environments, and other aspects related to competition. Traditional imager...

A recent paper in this journal presented ideas and statements from the legendary martial artist Bruce Lee and tried to demonstrate how his ideas "align with contemporary theorizing in movement skill acquisition"; specifically, with the Ecological Dynamics approach. In this paper, we offer a critical consideration of their arguments, suggesting that...

Performance psychology has increased in usage and popularity; however, we contend that within the elite spheres of the military, there is a need for research and development to fit the context and environment. In this study, we describe an explorative case study on the integration of mental skill training techniques to an advanced sniper course in...

Sport specialization and intensive training programs are becoming increasingly popular, but there is an ongoing debate as to their value. This study explored how children experience arduous, specialized training and whether they find it enjoyable and meaningful. We also examined their perspective of what parental involvement they needed. One hundre...

Psycho-behavioural skills play a key role in optimising progression through talent development, and this study investigated to what extent athlete's self-perceptions align with those of their coaches and parents. Firstly, we examined if levels of alignment between these three raters differ across age of the athlete. To this end, 122 athletes betwee...

Within high performing, team invasion sports, collective decision making and coordination between teammates are essential characteristics. There is a wealth of evidence supportive of shared mental models as being an important construct to underpin team coordination. Yet, to this point, there is limited research considering the coaches' voices in th...

A large body of evidence highlights the importance of psycho-behavioural skills as a key feature of talent development in sport. The purpose of this study was to explore pedagogic intentions of coaches in the psychological development of athletes. Eleven coaches were purposefully sampled for interview based on a track record of expert practice. Usi...

A good set of cognitive and psycho-behavioural skills are beneficial for young athletes to overcome and benefit from developmental challenges. Unfortunately, there is still a dearth of knowledge on how both these cognitive (i.e., executive functions; EF) and psycho-behavioural (i.e., psychological characteristics of developing excellence; PCDE) ski...

Performance support teams are increasingly comprised of sub-disciplines, bringing varied expertise to support an athlete or team in achieving the desired result. With more voices in the room, however, there is a need to investigate how these individuals can effectively work together collaboratively. Accordingly, the present study reviewed empirical...

Psychobehavioral skills are acknowledged as useful for coping within talent development pathways, but the idiosyncratic nature of challenge experienced across individuals makes it hard to evaluate their use and efficacy. This study aimed to explore the impact of a generic stressor, the COVID-19 lockdowns, on dancers within a talent development path...

Introduction: Extensive research has been carried out on Talent Development (TD) environments and an increasing amount of work shows the development of psychological characteristics as an important formal part of the academy experience. Importantly, however, very little attention has been paid to what types of skills, if any, young players arrive...

During the talent development (TD) process in sport, cognitive and psycho-behavioural skills are necessary to successfully overcome TD-specific challenges. This cross-sectional study explored executive functions (EF) and psycho-behavioural skills (PCDE), in male and female high-level artistic gymnasts between 9 and 26 years old. The first objective...

Over the past 30 years, implicit coaching has emerged as a popular learning tool and pre-emptive intervention to avoid choking under pressure. Despite advocacy in the sport coaching literature, however, we are concerned that theoretical, methodological, and practical issues have potentially inflated or obscured its utility for coaching practice. In...

In recent literature, constraints-led approaches have been promoted for practice design to coaches of American foot- ball. While we agree that this approach would represent a useful tool, we put forward that ecological approaches alone are insufficient to address the complexity and diversity of real-world sporting contexts, so coaches must carefull...

There is growing recognition of the value of “in situ” coach development practice across a variety sporting contexts. Unfortunately, however, there remains a limited number of tools available with which to observe coaching practice. In this study, we pilot and test a quasi-systematic tool for observation in the form of the 3Ps. Drawing on a range o...

Perceptions towards mental health symptoms and disorders seem to be shaped by societal, environmental, cultural, and personal beliefs. As such, differences may exist across different sub-groups or cultures which could, in turn, influence treatment and prevention. The present study considered performers’, selected from different environments, knowle...

As performance psychology expands to address different environments, military settings are viewed as a natural extension. In certain cases, however, we suggest that a sub-optimal approach has been employed, due to a lack of specific knowledge of military culture and context, coupled with a diminished emphasis on conducting psychological research ta...

A growing body of literature identifies the importance of conditionality in coaching and coach education. In simple terms, the complexity and hyperdynamic nature of many coaching environments makes it increasingly unlikely that any one approach, tool or even paradigm will be appropriate to every situation. Accordingly, in this paper, we critically...

The Multi-Action Plan (MAP) presents as an action-focused, sport-specific, mixed methods intervention model. MAP research characterized four Performance Types (PTs). Each PT operates on an affective, cognitive, behavioral, and psychophysiological level—across performance contexts. In this narrative review, we present a synthesis of our current unde...

(1) Background: The pursuit of excellence is central to most development environments, and this is particularly the case in high-performance sport. Accordingly, we examined some mechanisms for development, focusing on the nature and impact of challenge in the experiences of more or less successful high-level rugby players. (2) Methods: Retrospectiv...

Background In recent years there has been a growing interest in potential pedagogical tools to be used in Physical Education (PE), and specifically in games. This has involved the exploration of both Gamification and Digital Video Games Approach (DVGA). Both are viable pedagogical tools for any teacher, and each have clearly different intentions fo...

In order to evaluate an experimental intervention, it should be contrasted against at least one relevant comparison group. Without meaningful and relevant comparisons, results can be difficult to interpret, effect sizes may be unduly minimised or exaggerated, and any resulting recommendations for practice could be called into question. Despite reco...

Judging soccer players’ game understanding can pose ambiguities for coaches and coaching teams, partly due to the many situational factors which can affect how a player thinks on field. Consequently, interdisciplinary coaching teams must have a shared and coherent view on what game understanding looks like and why. Therefore, initial purposes of th...

In their recent systematic review and meta-analysis, Cabral et al. (2022) explored the effects of implicit motor learning under pressure conditions. As a stated focus, they aimed to address the previously inconsistent findings in the literature and provide clarity to researchers and practitioners. Although we agree that such clarity is needed, we c...

Cricket coaches are presented with challenges unlike many other sports. Coaches are tasked with developing players’ skills to play two distinct and increasingly specialist formats of the game, namely red ball and white ball cricket. Observations (n = 18), semi- structured interviews (n = 23) and focus groups (n = 2) were conducted with coaches who...

Traditionally Strength and Conditioning Coaches have been prepared for their roles through the development of a strong theoretical knowledge base and demonstrating proficiency across a range of technical frameworks. Importantly, however, recent research within Strength and Conditioning (S & C) has argued for a focus on cognitive skills and processe...

(1) Background: The interpersonal dimensions of coaching in high performance sport have been subject to increasing scrutiny but with limited evidence to guide practice. Similarly, there is increasing practical interest in the concept of psychological safety, often portrayed as an implicitly desirable characteristic of all sporting environments but,...

(1) Background: There is abundant literature in talent development investigating the relative age effect in talent systems. There is also growing recognition of the reversal of relative age advantage, a phenomenon that sees significantly higher numbers of earlier born players leaving talent systems before the elite level. However, there has been li...

Decision making (DM) is a crucial part of team invasion games. The role of context and how this drives both initial DM and primes in-action planning and execution, termed contextual priors, has been investigated. Findings suggest a significant role for cognition, which appears to run contrary to some of the suggestions made by an ecological dynamic...

Background We draw on the work of established scholars in the field of reflective practice who highlight its importance as a key cognitive skill for professionals to hold. While the substantive effect of engaging in reflective practice is emphasised in the literature, apparently coaches only spend a limited time learning about and engaging with it....

In recent years, high-performance sport has seen a rising interest in Psychological Safety, a construct with a strong empirical basis in certain business contexts. As research and practice interest grows in PS, there are early indications of practitioners and, to a lesser extent research, treating the construct as being universally transferable. We...

This study probed a psycho-motor switch between “attention” and “intention” using electroencephalography (EEG) of the occipital cortex during target versus ball focused aiming when golf putting. Specifically, we investigated (1) the pattern and power of ɑ-frequency between putting methods at 8 and 15 ft. distances and (2) the EEG activity for misse...

Coach education is a learner-centred process, which often fails to consider the preferences of the consumer. Historically, research into performers’ experiences of coaching have been influenced by the social constructivism of learning: in short, an expressed preference for what the performer has experienced as determined by their coach, rather than...

Making changes to an athlete’s already learnt, long practiced and well-established skill is a common challenge for most coaches. Despite this, however, most scientific literature focuses on the acquisition of entirely new skills in novices or how, once a skill has been acquired, it can be successfully performed under challenging conditions (e.g., f...

Recent literature has identified and examined the construct of bullshit as a notable threat to the promulgation and use of accurate information. The parallel challenges posed by increasing availability of unfiltered online information have been identified as further exacerbating factors. Accordingly, the present paper adds to this perspective by ex...

Academic studies of the golden section are evidenced across a range of disciplines. In music the discourse has been dominated by analytical studies from the realm of classical music but much less with relation to popular music. In order to explore this absence an in-depth case study was undertaken into the golden section within EDM through an analy...

Feedback from coaches and other stakeholders is well established as having a significant impact on the development of performance. This study investigated perceptions of the feedback process and the sensemaking of athletes transitioning to elite sport. Specifically, the aims were to: (a) investigate the number of feedback providers young players re...

Problem Statement: There is an noticable absence of scientific research on the role of certain physical fitness parameters in Olympic clay target shooting. Purpose: The objective of this exploratory study was to identify the relationships between selected anthropometric and fitness parameters with shooting performance of Olympic clay target shoote...

Athletes who want to benefit most optimally and efficient from the Talent Development (TD) pathway, should start developing their psychological characteristics at a young age. The Psychological Characteristics Developing Excellence Questionnaire–Version 2 (PCDEQ2) can provide a full assessment of the mental characteristics athletes need. However, t...

This chapter considers issues in optimizing the impact and efficacy of mental skills training (MST). Balancing MST focus between performance, well-being, and character development is essential and requires data-driven case conceptualization. Effective professional judgment and decision-making underpins development of effective MST, enabling conside...

This book brings to light the most pressing questions that must be addressed to advance the field. The book, which contains 25 chapters organized into three categories (Performance and Learning, Health and Well-Being, and Cultural and Professional Issues), includes contributions from leading experts in the field. Each chapter starts with a brief su...

Various studies have identified features of effective talent development environments and their impact on the development of successful athletes. In contrast, there has been limited investigation of failures in talent development practice. Accordingly, the present study sought to understand the perceptions of coaches about barriers to integrating s...

An important factor affecting sports development in India has been a longstanding issue with deploying policy initiatives introduced as early as 2001. Consequently, this paper explores policies implemented in India till today, highlighting two main issues; inadequate consideration of certain aspects of policy formulation and lack of effective imple...

Background Invasion team sports such as soccer require teams and individual players to understand the game and problem solve. One aspect of problem solving that has recently been more prominent in team sport literature is the role of metacognition. Purpose The purpose of the current study was to examine how high-level youth soccer players approach...

Sport coaching researchers have stressed the need for reflection in practitioners whilst the increased growth and impact of online applications has offered new ways to pursue this important goal. Recently, Stoszkowski, Hodgkinson and Collins (2021) showed that Flipgrid, an online communication tool that enables short video-based interactions, was a...

Research into sports coaches has identified the valuable role they play concerning social support provided to athletes together with their contribution to social and cultural interactions within both the participation and performance domains. The purpose of the present study was to qualitatively extract and examine the knowledge and on-task cogniti...

Previous studies have identified several key barriers to Physical Education, Physical activity and Sport (PEPAS). However, there is a paucity of qualitative evidence investigating why young people do and do not participate in PA and the relationship between their levels of participation at different stages of life. This study builds on a previous s...

The role of Strength and Conditioning coaches within sporting environments is growing in importance and more attention is being directed towards acknowledging the characteristics and decision making processes of these coaches. To date, most of the research has been with experienced coaches thus created a need to better understand those coaches at t...

Purpose/Rationale Good Practice in Sport Science and Medicine (SSM) delivery is clearly of interest and importance, with both anecdotal insights and developing empirical research focussing on the evaluation of good practice in delivery. Accordingly, to develop deeper understanding of the positive mechanisms of SSM delivery, our aim was to gain long...

Research on the developmental trajectories of performers increasingly focuses on the nature of challenge in talent development. This study sought to investigate the interaction of challenge, emotional disruption and impactful feedback in the talent pathway. Employing a pre-post design, a group of eight junior international rugby league players were...

Developing talent requires consideration of social networks that can facilitate or inhibit progression. Of fundamental influence in this regard is the family, with recent investigation extending its focus from parents to the role of siblings. As such, the purpose of this Conceptual Analysis article is to, firstly, review the characteristics of the...

While psycho-behavioural skills play a crucial role in negotiating and growing from developmental trauma, the precise outcomes which these skills enable has been underexplored. Accordingly, six senior international performers were interviewed to explore what such skills led to when negotiating and growing from traumatic experiences. It was subseque...

Rationale/Purpose : Despite its best efforts, India is still struggling to succeed in international sport. Consequently, this study aimed to firstly, contribute an empirically driven rich picture of the current sports environment in India and secondly, to explore management factors that might explain India’s elite sport achievements and stagnations...

Although there is an established body of research on twins within the wider social science domain, scarce attention has been applied to this relationship within sport coaching practice. Specifically, this is apparent during talent development, despite a growing empirical interest toward the developmental impact of age-gapped siblings on sporting su...

Recent developments have seen a growth in coaching, with an associated boom in interest on how it may be optimised. Clearly, we applaud this evolution. This growth has been paralleled by an explosion in the availability of information, driven through internet access and the phenomenon of social media. Unfortunately, however, this juxtaposition of i...

There appears to be general agreement that interaction with significant challenge should be a central feature of the development pathways for future high performers. There is, however, far less clarity about how such programs should be designed and delivered against core psychological principles. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to offer g...

Coaching can be seen, in large part, as a decision-making game in which coaches must decide on and then deploy an optimum blend of tools to best meet the needs of performance and context. Examining this concept through a lens of professional judgement and decision making, research has shown positive benefits for this approach to understanding and e...

Background: Coaching researchers have stressed the need for critical reflection in practitioners, as an important tool to facilitate development. In parallel, however, coaches' preference for more informal development methods are well documented. The increased impact of social media and other online applications offers new ways to pursue these impo...

The purpose of this study was to explore professional soccer coaches’ interpretations of features suggesting players’ game understanding across the age phases of professional academy youth soccer in England, with particular attention paid to the role of strategic understanding. Semistructured interviews were conducted with coaches ( n = 19) of play...

The present study investigated the prevalence and influence of psychosocial factors amongst a sample of highly-skilled athletes who had previously attempted to refine their technique. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with eight tennis players to gain an in-depth understanding of their experiences during the process. Results rev...

Background: We present a unique study of adventure sports coaches teaching lead climbing. Expanding existing work on judgement and decision making, we examine the coaching process and the decision making employed to manage the pedagogical and security needs of climbers when they are being introduced to lead climbing. Research design and data collec...

This study explored talent-development coaches’ experiences of athletes having faced mental health issues (MHIs). A second objective was to allow participants to share their opinion on how sport environments could improve the support offered to coaches and athletes encountering MHIs. A thematic analysis was performed on 11 verbatim-transcribed inte...

Purpose/Rationale: Sport Science and Medicine practitioner delivery is clearly of interest, with numerous anecdotal insights to good practice and research focussing on the evaluation of competence in delivery. However, little research has explicitly examined perceptions of the skills sets, process and mechanisms that lead to good practice. Accordin...

Background: Over the past 10 years, research has started to investigate the pedagogic practices of instructors and coaches working in adventure sports settings. Outdoor instructors face particular challenges regarding the impact the dynamic environment has on the coaching process and their students. This challenging combination of factors obliges t...