1st Edition
Tactical Decision-Making in Sport How Coaches Can Help Athletes to Make Better In-Game Decisions
This book expands on the ‘Developing Thinking Players’ model across a wide range of team and individual sports, to explain how coaches can help athletes to learn how to make better decisions during play and to think for themselves. It provides an overview of game-centred and athlete-centred approaches to teaching and coaching in sport, combining essential theory with practical tips and guidance.
Written by an international team of coaching researchers and practising coaches, the book provides sport-specific instructions for coaching players in territory games, net games, striking games, target games, racquet games and combat sports, including netball, basketball, ice hockey, cricket, softball, football, rugby, volleyball, squash and karate. The book argues that the implementation of these student and athlete-centred approaches creates more opportunities for athletes to understand their sport and improves their ability to think for themselves and to learn to make better in-game decisions. Providing a theoretical underpinning for teaching tactical decision-making, it considers the development of players at all levels and age groups, from youth athletes to elite level. Thirteen sport-specific case studies offer real-world coaching insights.
This is essential reading for any student, researcher or practising teacher or coach working in sport, physical education and coach education.
Part I: Introduction
1. Linking Athlete-Centred Coaching, Game Centred Approaches and Developing Thinking Players to in-game tactical decision-making
David Cooper
Part II: Tactical Decision Making - Ideas, Theories and Thoughts
2. Developing Thinking Players
Barrie Gordon
3. Theoretical considerations of athlete decision-making
Kaleigh Ferdinand Pennock
4. Common Considerations within the four pillars of coaching with reference to territory games
Guido Geisler
5. Challenges that coaches face in empowering athletes to “think for themselves”
Karlene Headley-Cooper
6. Can game data measure the effectiveness of the athlete decision-making process?
Tom Williams
Part III: Tactical Decision Making & Sport Specific Coaching for a Variety of Sports
7. Soccer (North America) or Football (Rest of the World)
Guido Geisler and James Wallis
8. Touch rugby
Tabitha McKenzie and Barrie Gordon
9. Ice hockey
Darren Lowe
10. Basketball
John Campbell
11. Netball
Nathalie Williams
12. Football (NFL/CFL)
John M. McCarthy and Dave Brunner
13. Strategies for teaching and coaching Territory games – “The End Zone Game”
David Cooper
14. Volleyball
John Barrett
15. Softball/Baseball
Barrie Gordon
16. Cricket
David Cooper
17. Coaching tactics and decision-making in target games
Barrie Gordon
18. Squash
Mike Way
19. Karate
Gerard Lauziere
Part IV: Through the Lens of a Coach
20. A coach’s journey
Greg Gary
21. Reflection on a lifetime of coaching
David Cooper
Part V: How Can Coaches Successfully Turn Theory into Practice?
22. Conclusion
Barrie Gordon
Biography
David Cooper is Associate Professor, Teaching Stream in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto, Canada. He is a National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) Course Facilitator and was Head Coach (1998–2015) of the successful University of Toronto Varsity Blues women’s squash team.
Barrie Gordon is Associate Professor in Health and Physical Education at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Barrie has been involved in playing fastpitch softball in the New Zealand national league and currently represents New Zealand in the over 55s TAG football team.
