Dynamic interceptive actions are those actions for which the body, or an implement, must be moved into the right place at the right time in order to accomplish a task. These actions are particularly prevalent in sport, for example reaching to catch a ball or running towards a target to make a tackle. This book is the first to offer a comprehensive review of existing theoretical research on dynamic interceptive actions, as well as close examination of specific, practical applications. The book includes material on: * catching * wielding tennis rackets * putting in golf * controlling and kicking a soccer ball. It is essential reading for anybody with a close interest in motor learning and control or skill acquisition, and will be of interest to students of sport psychology, movement science and coaching science.

Acquisition and Performance of Sports Skills provides students with the theoretical and practical background that is necessary for an understanding of the basics of skill acquisition and performance. This understanding is founded on the student's existing knowledge of sport and leads into the subject, using a student centred, problem-solving approach. The first half of the book examines the nature of sports performance and the second skill acquisition. There is a debate among researchers into psychomotor learning: the ecological versus the cognitive approach. Because this book is aimed clearly at students taking a first course in the subject the author includes examples from both schools of thought thus ensuring a balanced approach. looks at skill acquisition firmly within the context of sports performance takes students' practical experience as a starting point then clearly explains the underlying theories presents both cognitive and ecological approaches to the subject to give a balanced view excellent pedagogy including problem-solving tasks, practical experiments and revision notes at the end of chapters Written by an author with many years teaching, research and practical coaching experience, Acquisition and Performance of Sport Skills proves invaluable for students of sport and exercise science taking a first course in skill acquisition, motor learning and/or motor control. This is the second title to appear in the Wiley SportTexts Series that aims to provide textbooks covering the key disciplines within the academic study of sport.

Athletes are dependent upon a constant supply of accurate and reliable information from the environment whilst performing complex movements. Visual Perception and Action in Sport examines the information which is perceived by the human visual system and the way it is utilised to support actions in sport. It focuses attention on the rich diversity of sport-related studies drawn together from a number of theoretical approaches. Divided into three sections, this book covers: * indirect theories of perception and action * direct theories of perception and action * skill acquisition in the sports context. Each of the sections features learning objectives, summary, and study questions to help facilitate student learning. Throughout the text, the integration of theoretical knowledge and practical expertise is emphasised. All three authors are specialists have expertise in the teaching and researching of motor learning and control in sport.

This book provides a detailed review of much of the existing research on visual perception and sports performance. It summarises and integrates the findings of up to five hundred articles from areas as diverse as cognitive and ecological psychology.

Understanding and developing expertise is an important concern for any researcher or practitioner working in elite or high performance sport. Whether it's identifying talented young athletes or developing methods for integrating cutting-edge sport science into daily coaching practice, scientists, coaches and researchers all need to understand the skills, characteristics, and knowledge that distinguish the expert performer in sport. The Routledge Handbook of Sport Expertise is the first book to offer a comprehensive overview of current research and practice in the emerging field of sports expertise. Adopting a multi-disciplinary, multi-faceted approach, the book offers in-depth discussion of methodological and philosophical issues in sport expertise, as well as the characteristics that describe sporting ‘experts’ and how they can be facilitated and developed. Exploring research, theory and practice, the book also examines how scientists and practitioners can work together to improve the delivery of applied sport science. With contributions from many of the world’s leading researchers in expertise and skill acquisition in sport, the Routledge Handbook of Sport Expertise is important reading for any advanced student, researcher, coach or sport science support officer looking to better understand this cutting-edge topic.

The ability to anticipate and make accurate decisions in a timely manner is fundamental to high-level performance in sport. This is the first book to identify the underlying science behind anticipation and decision making in sport, enhancing our scientific understanding of these phenomena and helping practitioners to develop interventions to facilitate the more rapid acquisition of the perceptual-cognitive skills that underpin these judgements. Adopting a multidisciplinary approach — encompassing research from psychology, biomechanics, neuroscience, physiology, computing science, and performance analysis — the book is divided into three sections. The first section provides a comprehensive analysis of the processes and mechanisms underpinning anticipation and skilled perception in sport. In the second section, the focus shifts towards exploring the science of decision making in sport. The final section is more applied, outlining how the key skills that impact on anticipation and decision making may be facilitated through various training interventions. With chapters written by leading experts from a vast range of countries and continents, no other book offers such a synthesis of the historical development of the field, contemporary research, and future areas for investigation in anticipation and decision making in sport. This is a fascinating and important text for students and researchers in sport psychology, skill acquisition, expert performance, motor learning, motor behaviour, and coaching science, as well as practicing coaches from any sport.

Filling an important gap in performance analysis literature, this book introduces the key concepts and practical applications of performance analysis for team sports. It draws on cutting-edge research to examine individual and collective behaviours across an array of international team sports. Evidencing the close relationship between coaching and performance analysis, it promotes a better understanding of the crucial role of performance analysis in team sports for achieving successful results. This book not only presents a variety of different ways to analyse performance in team sports, but also demonstrates how scientific data can be used to enrich performance analysis. Part one delineates the main guidelines for research in performance analysis, discussing the characteristics of team sports, coaching processes, variables characterizing performance and methods for team member interaction analysis. Part two drills down into performance analysis across a range of team sports including soccer, basketball, handball, ice hockey, volleyball and rugby. Performance Analysis in Team Sports is an essential companion for any course or research project on sports performance analysis or sports coaching, and an invaluable reference for professional analysts.

"Insightful, thoughtful, and altogether wonderful." DANIEL COYLE, New York Times bestselling author of THE TALENT CODE "This book is a must read." EDDIE JONES, Head Coach, England Rugby "An engrossing guidebook for youth athletes, parents, coaches and perhaps even fantasy-league fans looking for a little insight." The Washington Post THE SECRETS OF SUPERHUMAN PERFORMANCE THE BEST reveals how the most incredible sportspeople in the world get to the top and stay there. It is a unique look at the path to sporting greatness; a story of origins, serendipity, practice, genetics and the psychology of excellence, as well as of sports science and cutting edge technology. Packed with gripping personal stories and exclusive interviews with top athletes including Siya Kolisi, Marcus Rashford, Pete Sampras, Steph Curry, Jamie Carragher, Ian Poulter, Helen Glover, Ada Hegerberg, Elena Delle Donne, Joey Votto and Mike Hussey, it explains how the best athletes develop the extraordinary skills that allow them to perform remarkable feats under extreme pressure. Get inside the minds of champions and understand first-hand what makes them perform during high-octane competition, what they think about in the heat of the moment and what drives them to do what they do. By combining examples from numerous original interviews with top athletes and leading sports science research, THE BEST deconstructs superhuman performance and answers the question on every sports fan's mind: "How did they do that?" "Fascinating and insightful... The Best isn't a one size fits all, it's a highly thought out, well-researched and accessible book that gives recommendations based on context and sport." JOANNE O'RIORDAN, The Irish Times ABOUT THE AUTHORS A. Mark Williams is an academic and one of the world's leading authorities on expertise and its acquisition in sport. He has published 18 books and written over 500 scientific articles on how people become skilled and achieve success in sport and across other professional domains. He has worked across the globe as a consultant with numerous Olympic and professional sports and has vast experience as a scientist, author and educator, and as an applied sports scientist. Tim Wigmore is the author of Cricket 2.0: Inside the T20 Revolution, the winner of the Wisden Book of the Year award for 2020. He is a sports writer for The Daily Telegraph, and has also written regularly for The New York Times, The Economist, the New Statesman and ESPNCricinfo. He is a former winner of the Young Cricket Journalist of the Year award and has been shortlisted for the Cricket Writer of the Year award.

In the movie Bull Durham, frustrated manager Joe Riggins stresses to his team, "This is a simple game. You throw the ball. You hit the ball. You catch the ball." This simplification works well for biomechanists too, as sports can be broken down into specific physical tasks like throwing, hitting, catching, and running. There have been significant advances in understanding some actions, but not others. In the first ten years of the journal Sports Biomechanics, only 18 of 236 articles were about hitting a ball. This scarcity is startling considering that according to USA Today (May 20, 2005), three of the five hardest things to do in sports involve hitting a ball (#1: baseball batting, #4: golf tee shot, and #5: tennis serve return). This book provides the latest biomechanical research in the under-studied field of hitting a ball. The biomechanics of baseball, cricket, hockey, hurling, softball, table tennis, and tennis are all examined. The chapters are written in a style that will both satisfy the high standards of biomechanists and provide information for instructors and athletes to improve performance. This book is based on a special issue of Sports Biomechanics.

Endorsed by the International Society of Sport Psychology, this classic reference draws on an international roster of experts and scholars in the field who have assembled state-of-the-art knowledge into this thorough, well-rounded, and accessible volume. It is completely updated to reflect the latest research and is an indispensable resource for any student or professional interested in the field of sport psychology.