Amy Whitehead

Evidence for Skill Level Differences in the Thought Processes of Golfers During High and Low Pressure Situations

Two studies examined differences in the cognition of golfers with differing levels of expertise in high and low pressure situations. In study 1, six high skill and six low skill golfers performed six holes of golf, while verbalizing their thoughts using Think Aloud (TA) protocol. Higher skilled golfers’ cognitive processes centered more on planning in comparison to lower skilled golfers. Study 2 investigated whether thought processes of golfers changed in response to competitive pressure. Eight high skill and eight moderate skilled golfers, completed a practice round and a competition round whilst verbalizing thoughts using TA. To create pressure in the competition condition, participants were instructed that monetary prizes would be awarded to the top three performers and scores of all golfers would be published in a league table in the club house. When performing under competitive pressure, it was found that higher skilled golfers were more likely to verbalize technical rules compared to practice conditions, especially during putting performance. This shift in cognition toward more technical aspects of motor performance was strongly related to scores on the Decision Specific Reinvestment Scale, suggesting individuals with a higher propensity for reinvestment show the largest changes in cognition under pressure. From a practical perspective, TA can aid a player, coach or sport psychologist by allowing thought processes to be identified and investigate a performer’s thoughts when faced with the pressure of a competition.

Examination of the suitability of collecting in event cognitive processes using Think Aloud protocol in golf.

Two studies examined the use of Think Aloud (TA) protocol as a means for collecting data of cognitive processes during performance in golf. In Study 1, TA was employed to examine if different verbalisation (Level 2 or Level 3 TA) instructions influence performance of high and low skilled golfers. Participants performed 30 putts using TA at either Levels 2, 3, or no verbalization condition. Although Level 3 verbalization produced a higher volume of verbal data than Level 2, TA at either Level 2 or 3 did not impair putting performance compared to no verbalization. Study 2 examined the congruence between data collected via TA at Level 3 and cued retrospective recall of cognitive processes during golf performance. Experienced golfers performed six holes of golf whilst engaging in Level 3 TA. After performance, three semi-structured retrospective interviews were conducted (10 min after performance, 24 h after performance and 48 h after performance). A comparison of the themes identified large discrepancies between the information reported during TA and at interview, with only 38–41% similarity in variables reported to influence decision making on each hole. Both studies suggest TA is a valuable method for recording cognitive processes of individuals during task performance. TA provides richer verbal data regarding decisions than cued retrospective recall, and TA does not negatively impact performance.

Changes in cognition over a 16.1 km cycling time trial using Think Aloud protocol: Preliminary evidence

Objectives: This study investigated cognitions of cyclists during a competitive time trial (TT) event using Think Aloud (TA) protocol analysis. Design: Single group, observational design. Method: Fifteen male and three female cyclists from the North West of England verbalised their thoughts throughout an outdoor competitive 16.1 km cycling TT (Level 2 TA). Verbalisations were recorded using iVue Horizon 1080P camera glasses. Data were transcribed verbatim, analysed using deductive content analysis and grouped into themes: (i) Pain And Discomfort (Fatigue, Pain), (ii) External Feedback (Time, Speed, Heart Rate), (iii) Environment (Surroundings, Traffic and Other Cyclists), and (iv) Pace and Distance (Pace, Distance). The number of verbalisations within each theme was analysed by distance quartile using Friedman tests to examine changes in cognitions over time. Results: Associative themes, including Fatigue and Pain, were verbalised more frequently in the earlier stages of the TT and less in the final quartile, whereas verbalisations about Distance significantly increased in the last quartile. Conclusions: This study demonstrates how a novel data collection method can capture in-event cognitions of endurance athletes. It provides an important extension to previous literature, showing how individuals may process and attend to information over time during an exercise bout. Future research should establish the relationship between performance and cognitive processes.

Qualitative perspectives on how Manchester United Football Club developed and sustained serial winning

Talent development in sport is well represented in scientific literature. Yet, the drive to protect ‘trade secrets’ often means that access to these high performing groups is rare, especially as these high-level performances are being delivered. This leaves the details of high-end working practices absent from current academic commentary. As a result, clubs interested in developing excellent practice are left to build on personal initiative and insight and/or custom-and-practice, which is unlikely to yield successful outcomes. To address this shortfall, the current study reports on prolonged engagement with a single high performing club, considering how their practice corresponds with existing sport talent development models. The article ends by proposing an evidence-based, football-specific model for talent development, maintained high-level performance and serial winning. This model emphasises four dominant features: culture, behavioural characteristics, practice engagement and the managing and guiding of performance ‘potential’. The study provides insights into the visceral reality of daily experiences across the life course of professional soccer, while advancing the evidence-base for understanding how Manchester United achieved their serial success.

Carefully supporting autonomy – learning coaching lessons and advancing theory from women’s netball in England

Abstract Back to Netball (BTN) is an initiative that encourages women, whose engagement has lapsed, to return to regular Netball participation. This study explores what aspects of coaching practice within BTN are perceived to be effective. A thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 28 BTN participants and 6 coaches was undertaken. Analysis identified four pertinent themes; (1) participants personalising sporting experiences through choice, (2) coaches facilitating and / or directing participants to relevant opportunities, (3) critical considerations of autonomy; a need for balance, (4) caring as a coaching ethic. The subsequent discussion considers autonomy and care as two relevant theoretical explanations. Within the discussion, it is posited that autonomy supportive behaviours and caring relationships may be symbiotic features of successful coaching. A novel interdisciplinary theoretical contribution is therefore made by connecting Self Determination Theory with the burgeoning recognition of coaching as a caring practice.

Transforming, storing and consuming athletic experiences: a coach’s narrative of using a video application

ABSTRACT The analysis of sport performance in competitive contexts has become synonymous with the use of a range of software applications and hardware e.g. heart rate monitors and gps systems. With the prevalence of technology in mind, a small but growing corpus of literature has begun to consider this phenomenon and its influence upon the coaching process. This study adds to this literature by detailing the autoethnographic experiences of a case study coach; Derek. A contextualised and richly described narrative account of Derek’s experience of using coaching applications is provided. Analysis of Derek’s narrative suggests that technology can be a useful means by which individuals make sense of their experience. Specifically, (1) technology can be a ‘ready-to-hand’ instrument that enhances the coaching process. Unfortunately, (2) technology may become the only and ‘calculative’ means by which individuals come to understand their performance. In such instances, it is important to note that (3) the videos we use to understand our performance are transformed and incomplete representations of lived athletic experiences. Thus, Derek’s story illustrates how technology can be both an enabler and barrier to athletes who wish to holistically understand their own lived experiences and engage in coach-athlete relationships. The accompanying analysis draws upon concepts from Heideggerian philosophy to add insight into the use of technology within the coaching process. In so doing, the study prompts coaches to critically view their coach-athlete relationships as situated in a wider world which contains, and can be mediated by, technology. In addition, Derek’s story (re)directs researchers and coaching practitioners interested in technology to a useful literature (philosophy of technology) which may further inform their understanding of coach-athlete relationships.

Preparation, structured deliberate practice and decision making in elite level football: The case study of Gary Neville (Manchester United FC and England)

Decision making in elite level sporting competition is often regarded as distinguishing success from failure. As an intricate brain-based process it is unlike other physical processes because it is invisible and is typically only evidenced after the event. This case study shows how an individual achieved great success in elite level professional football through consistent positive decision making on and off the field of play. Through prolonged interviewing, Gary Neville, a player from Manchester United Football Club, explored personal behaviours, the structure and activities of deliberate practice and his professional choices in match preparation. His career-long devotion to purposeful organised practice was focused on cognition, physical preparation, context-relative physical action and refined repetition to optimise his mental comfort while enhancing his match day performances. This approach was underpinned by diligent personal and collective organisation and by concerted action. Results provide an insight into the categorical nature of his deliberate practice, sport-specific information processing and match-based decision making. At the operational level, his process was mediated by a complex mental representation of ongoing and anticipated game situations; these representations were continuously updated during each match. Allowing for the limitations of the design, implications are provided for developmental and educational coaching, match preparation, deliberate practice activity and improved use of the performance analysis software packages in professional football.

‘Net Mums’: a narrative account of participants’ experiences within a netball intervention

Abstract Back to Netball (B2N) is a coach-led programme established by England Netball, to encourage inactive individuals to re-engage. B2N engages a typically hard to reach group, with 52% of participants being mums. This study aims to understand how a physical activity intervention (i.e. B2N) influences mums’ identity. There is a distinct lack of qualitative studies that include mums’ own voices and how they negotiate being physically active alongside the role expectations associated with being a mum. A qualitative approach was utilised to consider and represent participant’s experiences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 women who were engaged with the Back to Netball scheme. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the experience of mothers who take part in B2N. Two key themes were identified (1) mum identity as enabler for relatedness and (2) exercise identity as an additional identity. Following the identification of the two key themes, two non-fiction constructs were created which illustrate each theme in the context of a B2N participant’s life. The narratives explore social categorisation and the development of social identity and exercise identity and how it can influence attitudes, beliefs and levels of engagement in other forms of physical activity. Practically, this paper demonstrates how future physical activity interventions can cater for a traditionally hard to reach group, such as mums. To be able to engage mums and facilitate the development of an exercise identity, relatedness should be a focus of a physical activity programme.

Exploring the use of think aloud within Women’s artistic gymnastics judging education.

&NA; Gymnastics is a judgement‐based sport whereby the decision‐making processes of judges are expected to lead to valid and reliable outcome scores. The concurrent Think Aloud method has been used to study decision‐making amongst coaches and athletes in previous sport‐related studies but never in judging‐based studies. Hence, this project has two aims: 1) to explore decision‐making underpinning the judging process in Womens Artistic Gymnastic (WAG) by using a concurrent verbal report, Think Aloud (TA) and: 2) to examine the utilisation of TA as a means to facilitate judging education with Malaysian WAG judges. 10 qualified judges were required to verbalise (TA) their thought processes whilst judging a balance beam routine. Follow‐up interviews investigated the prospective utilisation of TA within judging education. During the judging process participants verbally reported most frequently as to lack of balance, bending of arms and knees, pointing of feet, confidence, rhythm and tempo, and personal style as focal points for scoring. Overall TA was reported prospectively as an appropriate tool for use within judging education, however, some participants reported performance in the primary task of judging was affected by TA. Study outcomes reported the potential utility of TA to study the decision‐making process amongst judges to enable deduction scores to be applied objectively. This study will inform future research to investigate the decision‐making processes of both expert and novice judging extending to that of all four WAG apparatus.

Investigating relationships between and within entry pathways on a sport related programme and the degree outcome obtained

Abstract Research within Higher Education in the United Kingdom has reported conflicting findings when investigating the relationship between undergraduate entry routes and gender, with successful performances across the degree cycle. This paper adds to this body of knowledge and examines the relationship between entry routes and gender on student outcomes in a sport related degree at an UK HE institution. Students’ demographic data, entry qualifications and grade point averages (GPAs) across the 3-year degree programme were retrospectively analysed. In relation to entry routes the findings of this study revealed that no significant difference existed between entry level qualifications and all outcomes measures. Indicating that although entry routes into HE may differ this did not impact on student success for those who completed the programme. Further findings revealed significant differences (p < 0.05) between genders, in that females outperformed their male counterparts at levels 5, 6 dissertation and final GPA. Additionally, females were also more likely to achieve a first degree qualification. This study adds further weight to findings which have shown gender differences but in contrast adds to the complexity of predicting successful performances from entry qualifications.