UK Youth Sport Coaches and Coaching Efficacy: an Exploration into the Perceived Development of Coaching Ability

The current study has three purposes. Firstly, to explore coaches’ perceptions of their abilities in leading athletes to success and what experiences have influenced their perceived competence (or game strategy efficacy). Secondly, to investigate the relationship between winning and development within the developmental youth sport context. Lastly, to discover whether the conclusions from previous studies apply to youth sport coaches within the UK. A new methodological approach called interpretive description was applied to gather data. Interpretive description is an approach that is characterised by creating meaning (knowledge) through the interchange between researcher and participant and extending a form of understanding that is of practical importance to the applied disciplines (Thorne, 2008). Data obtained highlighted sources and outcomes of coach efficacy within the UK developmental youth sport context, which both supported previous findings and identified novel features specific to this context. Also, results demonstrate coaches’ views on the relationship between winning and success is within this context, which challenges common notions surrounding the concept. Future research efforts should seek to build upon the current research to improve coaches’, sport programmers and researchers’ understandings of the relationship between the UK developmental youth sport context and coaching efficacy

Village of Petrified Men

"These stories often concern themselves with men chasing down a flawed sort of manhood. In these characters' minds, masculinity is a romantic mix of failure and drink, of chasing the wrong women and brooding in the face of calamity. These people like being sad; they mistake self-pity for courageous pain. They search for diamonds not in spite of the stink, but because of it, scouring for hope in the imaginary since they know hope is much scarcer in the reality they've so haphazardly constructed."--Abstract from author supplied metadata

Essential elements of an early intervention service for psychosis: the opinions of expert clinicians

BACKGROUND: Early intervention teams attempt to improve outcome in schizophrenia through earlier detection and the provision of phase-specific treatments. Whilst the number of early intervention teams is growing, there is a lack of clarity over their essential structural and functional elements. METHODS: A 'Delphi' exercise was carried out to identify how far there was consensus on the essential elements of early intervention teams in a group of 21 UK expert clinicians. Using published guidelines, an initial list was constructed containing 151 elements from ten categories of team structure and function. RESULTS: Overall there was expert consensus on the importance of 136 (90%) of these elements. Of the items on which there was consensus, 106 (70.2%) were rated essential, meaning that in their absence the functioning of the team would be severely impaired. CONCLUSION: This degree of consensus over essential elements suggests that it is reasonable to define a model for UK early intervention teams, from which a measure of fidelity could be derived

An exploration of game-strategy efficacy beliefs in UK youth sport coaches

In the sport domain, game-strategy efficacy is the belief that coaches can lead teams or athletes to a successful performance in competition. Developmentally focussed youth sport coaches, however, may define success differently to those working in other contexts. Researchers suggest that if youth sport coaches define successful performances in terms of winning only, the psychosocial development of young athletes could be hindered. Therefore, scholars and practitioners need to understand how developmentally focussed youth sport coaches cultivate their game-strategy efficacy beliefs to improve coach education and personal development programs. The purpose of this study was to explore UK developmentally focussed youth sport coaches’ development of game-strategy efficacy beliefs and to examine the sources and outcomes of perceived efficacy. A secondary focus was the generation of practically relevant and useable findings that developmentally focussed youth sport coaches could utilize. Method: Data was obtained by interviewing 10 male youth sport coaches and analysed using an interpretive description methodology. Results: Results are presented as a representative bricolage from the perspective of two fictional coaches who either have high or low game-strategy efficacy. These results highlighted sources of game strategy efficacy within the UK developmentally focussed youth sport context, including acknowledgement, playing experience, relationships with athletes and peers, results, self image, and success. Additionally, two outcomes of game-strategy efficacy included releasing control and self-evaluation. Conclusions: The findings offer coaches a chance to explore their own game-strategy efficacy beliefs against others in similar positions while opening a dialogue between research findings and those in the field

The information coaches use to make team selection decisions: A scoping review and future recommendations

Selecting players for a team is one of the most important and recurring decisions sport coaches regularly make, impacting athletes, teams, and coaches. Despite this, relatively little is known about the information coaches use to make team selection decisions. In response to this, the following scoping review aims to (1) present literature that can offer insight into the information coaches use to make team selection decisions and (2) provide a platform from which researchers, practitioners, and coaches can explore this often taken-for-granted decision. The systematic literature search was conducted following guidelines set out by PRISMA. Given the small number of studies found (N=16), the extant literature fails to fully answer the question of why some players are selected and others are not. Results are therefore discussed in light of key theoretical approaches to decision making (i.e., information processing, naturalistic decision-making, and ecological psychology) to demonstrate the value of adopting each in specific instances in order to further our understanding of coaches’ team selection decisions

Effects of case-load size on the process of care of patients with severe psychotic illness. Report from the UK700 trial

Background Studies of intensive case management (ICM) for patients with psychotic illnesses have produced conflicting results in terms of outcome. Negative results have sometimes been attributed to a failure to deliver differing patterns of care. Aims To test whether the actual care delivered in a randomised clinical trial of ICM v. standard case management (the UK700 trial) differed significantly. Method Data on 545 patients' care were collected over 2 years. All patient contacts and all other patient-centred interventions (e.g. telephone calls, carer contacts) of over 15 minutes were prospectively recorded. Rates and distributions of these interventions were compared. Results Contact frequency was more than doubled in the ICM group. There were proportionately more failed contacts and carer contacts but there was no difference in the average length of individual contacts or the proportion of contacts in the patients' homes. Conclusions The failure to demonstrate outcome differences in the UK700 study is not due to a failure to vary the treatment process. UK standard care contains many of the characteristics of assertive outreach services and differences in outcome may require that greater attention be paid to delivering evidence-based interventions. Declaration of interest None. </jats:sec

Talking about human papillomavirus and cancer:development of consultation guides through lay and professional stakeholder coproduction using qualitative, quantitative and secondary data

Background High-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) cause all cervical cancer and the majority of vulvar, vaginal, anal, penile and oropharyngeal cancers. Although HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection, public awareness of this is poor. In addition, many clinicians lack adequate knowledge or confidence to discuss sexual transmission and related sensitive issues. Complex science needs to be communicated in a clear, digestible, honest and salient way. Therefore, the aim of this study was to coproduce with patients who have cancer appropriate resources to guide these highly sensitive and difficult consultations. Methods A matrix of evidence developed from a variety of sources, including a systematic review and telephone interviews with clinicians, supported the production of a draft list of approximately 100 potential educational messages. These were refined in face-to-face patient interviews using card-sorting techniques, and tested in cognitive debrief interviews to produce a ‘fast and frugal’ knowledge tool. Results We developed three versions of a consultation guide, each comprising a clinician guidance sheet and patient information leaflet for gynaecological (cervical, vaginal, vulvar), anal or oropharyngeal cancers. That cancer could be caused by a sexually transmitted virus acquired many years previously was surprising to many and shocking to a few patients. However, they found the information clear, helpful and reassuring. Clinicians acknowledged a lack of confidence in explaining HPV, welcomed the clinician guidance sheets and considered printed information for patients particularly useful. Conclusion Because of the ‘shock factor’, clinicians will need to approach the discussion of HPV with sensitivity and take individual needs and preferences into account, but we provide a novel, rigorously developed and tested resource which should have broad applicability in the UK National Health Service and other health systems