Parents are pivotal in allowing kids to pursue their sporting aspirations and enjoy all the benefits that youth sports have to offer…
Despite being much relied upon and expected to assume a host of different roles at various stages, the sport parent has to date been under-served with resources to help them fulfil these responsibilities. Sports Parenting was written to fill this gap and takes a deep dive to explore how parents can best support young performers, whether they aspire to reach the highest level or simply wish to enjoy the positive social, developmental and life-long health aspects.
The book aims to provide readers with the knowledge to discern the best ways to support kids to negotiate the various challenges they face in their youth sports participation. Beyond supporting the aspiring high performer, an over-arching theme is how we can help kids to stay on the path and prevent them falling through the cracks along the way.
Sports Parenting presents a guide to help parents and young performers navigate the youth sports journey. Informed by the relevant research literature and infused with wisdom gained from two decades overseeing within talent development pathways and working with young athletes on the ground, each section methodically walks the reader through the respective parts of the process and stages on the journey. Each chapter elucidates the key principles that parents can apply in different scenarios and closes with practical tips.
The pursuit of human performance goes beyond sport…
Whilst we might most readily associate sport with the quest to perform at the highest levels of competition, this is not exclusive to sports teams and athletes. Striving for excellence and dedication to continual improvement are hallmarks of high performing organisations, teams, and individuals across all realms. Following this logic, forward thinking individuals have started to explore processes and principles from elite sport and coaching, with the aim of applying high performance practices within their own domain.
Just as there are traits that unite high performers across sectors, there are common themes and challenges shared by all those who aspire to excellence in performance. With 'Prepared' we use the lens of elite sport to illuminate universal truths and illustrate the key lessons that we can apply to our chosen domain (including sport).
This is a book for all those who have an interest or involvement in human performance in the widest sense. Whilst the content remains highly relevant to those in sport, within the text we explore the parallels to other domains, and thereby derive unique insights for leaders, teams, and professionals in all sectors. Throughout the journey the reader is prompted to reflect and connect the dots at the culmination of each chapter to help relate the information presented to their own context.
Sport performance and sports injury do not respect boundaries…
Strength and conditioning thus in reality encompasses a myriad of different disciplines that span across all areas of sports science and sports medicine. Comprehensive Strength and Conditioning provides the reader with a detailed insight into the theory and practice for each respective element of athletic performance and all components of physical preparation for competition. The first edition of Comprehensive Strength and Conditioning was originally published in 2015. This revised and updated edition features extensive additions, citing over 900 references from the sports science and sports medicine literature. Comprehensive Strength and Conditioning is essential reading for those seeking to acquire real breadth and depth of understanding in physical and athletic preparation.
There is always a gap to bridge between theory and practice…
With this new offering, we delve into the uncharted territory that lies between textbook theory and real-world application. Whilst research should guide practice, there is inevitably a need to interpret what findings mean in practice and apply this information with 'live' athletes.
As implied to the title, there is an art to this translation of science into practice, and a great deal of wisdom and nuance involved in the process.
Informed: The Art of the Science of Preparing Athletes is a book for coaches, leaders, practitioners across disciplines, and athletes who wish to be informed. The text is broken into three parts. The first section is for practitioners. The second, for coaches and leaders. The final part is dedicated to the role of the athlete.
Teams sports pose unique challenges for physical and athletic preparation.
Strength and Conditioning for Team Sports is designed to help trainers and coaches to devise more effective high-performance training programs for team sports. This remains the only evidence-based study of sport-specific practice to focus on team sports and features all-new chapters covering neuromuscular training, injury prevention and specific injury risks for different team sports. Fully revised and updated throughout, the new edition also includes over two hundred new references from the current research literature. Bridging the traditional gap between sports science research and practice, each chapter features guidelines for evidence-based best practice as well as recommendations for approaches to physical preparation to meet the specific needs of team sports players. This new edition also includes an appendix that provides detailed examples of training programmes for a range of team sports. Fully illustrated throughout, it is essential reading for all serious students of strength and conditioning, and for any practitioner seeking to extend their professional practice.
Speed and agility are central to success in a wide range of sports…
Training for Sports Speed and Agility is the first evidence-based study of all those aspects of athletic preparation that contribute to the expression of speed and agility during competition. Drawing on the very latest scientific research in the fields of strength and conditioning, applied physiology, biomechanics, sports psychology, and sports medicine, the book critically examines approaches to training for speed and agility. Every chapter includes a review of current research as well as offering clear, practical guidelines for improving training and performance, including photographs illustrating different training modes and techniques. No other book offers a comparable blend of theory and practice. Training for Sports Speed and Agility is therefore crucial reading for all students, coaches and athletes looking to improve their understanding of this key component of sports performance.