The overarching purpose of research within this theme is to support athletes and coaches to enable them to perform at their best and/or support their psychological well-being.
Research within this theme is diverse and utilises multiple methods to answer important research questions. Accordingly, a variety of research methods are used to assess different constructs ranging from maturation of academy soccer players to the experiences of grassroots coaches. For example, research activities include assessing the influence of growth, maturation, and talent identification among high-level soccer players, attempts to understand the use of performance enhancing drugs and develop educational programmes for athletes and coaches, along with trust and trustworthiness in community sports coaching.
Other areas of expertise within this theme include understanding more about the nature of perfectionism among athletes, and the negative impact this can have on anxiety, depression and anger, in addition to how to support elite athletes through transitioning into retirement. The latter project is part of a Team GB PhD Research Cluster, which is being led by the School.