Penny Werthner

Coaches of athletes with a physical disability: a look at their learning experiences

Literature has shown that research on coaches of athletes with a physical disability is lacking. The purpose of this study is to examine the learning experiences of coaches in disability sport. Five coaches participated in this study. Data included two semi-structured interviews and two non-participant observation sessions with each coach. Thematic analysis was employed using theory of human learning as a theoretical framework. Results indicated three main themes influencing the coaches’ learning and development: (a) their biographies, (b) how they chose to learn (i.e. through formal, non-formal and informal learning situations) and (c) the learning opportunities provided by their sport. The coaches noted the usefulness of varied learning situations, and identified a lack of resources and few non-formal and formal learning opportunities specific to disability sport.

How meaningful episodic experiences influence the process of becoming an experienced coach

The research on coach learning and development deals with the classification of the sources from which coaches learn, and more recently, with the identification of learning being an idiosyncratic process in which there are variations in coaches’ learning paths. From a constructivist view, learning may be seen as a process of becoming: a person engages in social situations throughout life that are transformed cognitively, emotively and/or practically, and integrated into the person’s biography so that the person becomes more experienced. ‘Episodic experiences’, when they are meaningful to individuals, may result in considerable change to the way that individuals perceive what they know, and have the potential to influence their perception on future learning. The purpose of this article is to illustrate how such meaningful episodic experiences can have an important influence on an individual coach’s process of becoming an experienced coach. Through the use of non-fictional vignettes, we explore how five Canadian women coaches from various sports learned throughout their long careers in coaching as a result of specific episodic experiences in their lives that they considered meaningful. The five vignettes respectively demonstrate learning from episodic experiences with an athlete, with other coaches, in formal and non-formal education courses, with family, and in taking time out to reflect. Due to their own unique biographies, coaches may perceive certain planned and unplanned experiences as meaningful and the learning that occurs as a result may ultimately influence their career paths. This article adds to the emerging body of literature regarding coach learning and highlights the importance of the various experiences of these female coaches in understanding their development.

Bimanual Psychomotor Performance in Neurosurgical Resident Applicants Assessed Using NeuroTouch, a Virtual Reality Simulator.

OBJECTIVE Current selection methods for neurosurgical residents fail to include objective measurements of bimanual psychomotor performance. Advancements in computer-based simulation provide opportunities to assess cognitive and psychomotor skills in surgically naive populations during complex simulated neurosurgical tasks in risk-free environments. This pilot study was designed to answer 3 questions: (1) What are the differences in bimanual psychomotor performance among neurosurgical residency applicants using NeuroTouch? (2) Are there exceptionally skilled medical students in the applicant cohort? and (3) Is there an influence of previous surgical exposure on surgical performance? DESIGN Participants were instructed to remove 3 simulated brain tumors with identical visual appearance, stiffness, and random bleeding points. Validated tier 1, tier 2, and advanced tier 2 metrics were used to assess bimanual psychomotor performance. Demographic data included weeks of neurosurgical elective and prior operative exposure. SETTING This pilot study was carried out at the McGill Neurosurgical Simulation Research and Training Center immediately following neurosurgical residency interviews at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. PARTICIPANTS All 17 medical students interviewed were asked to participate, of which 16 agreed. RESULTS Performances were clustered in definable top, middle, and bottom groups with significant differences for all metrics. Increased time spent playing music, increased applicant self-evaluated technical skills, high self-ratings of confidence, and increased skin closures statistically influenced performance on univariate analysis. A trend for both self-rated increased operating room confidence and increased weeks of neurosurgical exposure to increased blood loss was seen in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS Simulation technology identifies neurosurgical residency applicants with differing levels of technical ability. These results provide information for studies being developed for longitudinal studies on the acquisition, development, and maintenance of psychomotor skills. Technical abilities customized training programs that maximize individual resident bimanual psychomotor training dependant on continuously updated and validated metrics from virtual reality simulation studies should be explored.

The importance of reflection for coaches in parasport

Past research has described reflection as a process of thinking anew about already existing knowledge and experiences. More recently, reflection has also been referred to as a way of making sense of experience in complex situations. Research in coach learning has suggested that one of the ways coaches’ learn is by reflecting on their coaching practice. The purpose of the present study was to explore how four parasport coaches used reflection to help them learn and develop as coaches. The findings are discussed in light of the context of parasport and illustrated by four themes: reflecting on educational experiences, reflecting with a ‘lens of adaptability’, reflecting with others, and the relevance of the timing and depth of reflection, as coaches reported using reflection ‘before, during and after’ their coaching experiences. Given the apparent importance of reflection for parasport coaches, recommendations are suggested for how reflective practice might be nurtured.

Managing the Stress Response: The Use of Biofeedback and Neurofeedback with Olympic Athletes

Excessive stress and tension are major threats to optimal athletic performance. The goal of this project was to help the athletes optimize the management of their stress response through self-awareness and self-regulation of the activation levels of their autonomic and central nervous systems. Fifteen elite athletes preparing for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics underwent an EEG and psychophysiological stress assessment, as well as a bio–neurofeedback (BNFK) training intervention. Both athletes and coaches reported that the bio–neurofeedback intervention helped the athletes in managing the stress of training and competition and was a factor in producing better performances.

Exploring coaching actions based on developed values: a case study of a female hockey coach

There are few empirical studies that demonstrate how values are developed and how they are linked to coaching actions. There can be a discrepancy between the statement of coaches’ values and their actual coaching actions. In order to examine how coaching actions are influenced by values that are developed over a lifetime, the purpose of this article is to first describe a female hockey coach’s approach to coaching using five key coaching actions, then identify the underlying values that influenced those actions, and then explore how these values were developed in different experiences throughout her life. A time-oriented network analysis was conducted based on four semi-structured, in-depth interviews with the coach. The results present five key coaching actions: (a) organizing coach education programmes for athletes, (b) creating groups to help athletes bond, (c) bringing in experts from various domains, (d) asking athletes to reflect on attitudes and goals, and (e) giving athletes playing time based on hard work and effort. We identify the core values guiding these actions as: (a) equity, (b) connectedness, (c) holistic development, (d) respect, and (e) effort. Finally, we present a number of the coach’s experiences that demonstrate the complexity of developing these values throughout her life. The importance of reflecting on and discussing coaching actions, experiences, and the underlying learned values may help coaches develop coaching actions that are guided more explicitly by those values.

Olympic Medal-Winning Leadership:

The purpose of this qualitative research was to develop a detailed description of leadership in contemporary Canadian Olympic medal-winning sport to better understand how Olympic podium performances are developed. The integrated research model of Olympic podium performance acted as a theoretical framework and starting point for inquiry. Semi-structured personal interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of ten coaches and twelve athletes who together won gold or silver medals in the 2010 winter Olympic Games. The interview questions were designed to assess the theoretical framework of Olympic medal-winning leadership as well as allow for new themes to emerge from the interview process. Including both coach and athlete perspectives in this research created an opportunity for a nuanced portrait of leadership. Interpretive thematic analysis of the 22 interviews revealed three major themes. Leadership was found to be demanding, relational and solution-focused for all the coaches and a strong consensus was found between the coach and athlete descriptions of leadership. Recommendations are suggested for future research and the development of effective coach leadership behaviours for coaches in the Olympic sport context.

Cultivating focus: insights from dedicated yoga practice and the implications for mental health and well-being

Abstract Yoga has demonstrated some promising impacts on mental health and well-being. The ability to focus is a possible mechanism through which yoga practice influences mental health and well-being. Furthermore, there are relatively few empirical studies that have explored the experience of maintaining focus or the process of developing this capacity within yoga. This study explored focus in terms of its development within the practice of yoga. The two objectives of the study were: (1) to examine the experience of focus in individuals with extensive accumulated practice, and (2) to learn how they developed this ability to focus. Eight participants were selected based on duration and frequency of their practice. Two one-hour interviews were conducted with each participant in a semi-structured format and qualitative thematic analysis was used. The findings are discussed within two main themes: the practice and the nature of yogic awareness. Results are discussed in relation to the enhancement of mental health and well-being, and future directions are recommended.

Prestart Psychophysiological Profile of a 200-m Canoe Athlete: A Comparison of Best and Worst Reaction Times

The difference between success and failure in 200-m canoe and kayak events is measured in milliseconds. The gold medal for the 200-m kayak in the Summer 2012 Olympic Games in London was won by a margin of 294 milliseconds, and the difference between winning a bronze medal and not reaching the podium was merely 31 milliseconds. In addition to physical fitness, strength, and technique, the ability to focus effectively and manage arousal is crucial to the ability to react quickly off the start. Conversely, the inability to manage arousal and focus has been shown to reduce reaction time (RT) and, in extreme cases, lead to “choking.” Research in sport psychology and psychophysiology has identified multiple psychological, physiological, and neurological characteristics that underlie peak performance. Although many of the skills and characteristics identified in the research are common to most peak performers, it is also well known that each athletes optimal performance zone for competition is unique. For athle...

Exploration of event-related dynamics of brain oscillations in ice hockey shooting.

The research exploring the cognitive dynamics of sport performance has been largely dominated by the exploration of the alpha bandwidth in self-paced, closed skill sports or in resting conditions. Although voluntary (self-paced) movement demonstrates characteristic patterns of electroencephalographic activity, externally paced (stimulus driven) cortical activity is more complex and involves stimulus processing, anticipation, motor preparation, and execution (Neuper & Pfurtscheller, 2001). Thus, the primary purpose of the present study was to explore the event-related dynamics of brain oscillations in the externally paced sport skill of ice hockey shooting. Twenty-eight ice hockey players completed a total of 50 shots on net taken on five possible random targets that illuminated at a random time. This randomization of time and location enabled the evaluation of cue-driven cortical activity during a sport skill. Event-related desynchronization and synchronization of electroencephalographic activity were analyzed from −3 to +0.5 s relative to the cue light, and prior to shot execution was analyzed for multiple spectral bandwidths to explore premovement cortical dynamics. Overall, the results revealed that the cortical patterns of ice hockey shooting differ from that of self-paced, closed-skilled sport. Specifically, theta, alpha, and lower beta bands demonstrated significant widespread event-related desynchronization prior to the external cue (target light), and event-related synchronization (or reduction of event-related desynchronization) occurred only after the cue appeared.