Applied Sport Psychology and Leadership in Sport
What you'll learn
- Unit 1 - Introduction to Sport Psychology - History of Sport Psychology, The Role of & How to Become a Sport Psychologist, Career Opportunities in the Field
- Unit 2 - Sport Psychology Social Perspectives - Drop-out From Youth Sport, Gender Differentiation and Disability, Parenting in Sport, Character Development
- Unit 3 - Considerations for Psychological Skills Training (PST) - Regulating Anxiety, Over-arousal and Stress, Attention Control and Processing Efficiency,
- Unit 4 - Psychological Skills Training - Attentional Focus, Self Tal Self Confidence, Visualisation, Performance Profiling, Goal-setting & Arousal Regulation,
- Unit 5 - Team Processes – Motivation, Group Cohesion & Team Dynamics, Self-Efficacy in Sport. Theories of Motivation, Improving Motivation
- Unit 6 - Effective Leadership and Communication - Athlete Needs, Transformational Leadership, Creating a Positive Team Climate, Values Based Approaches
- Unit 7 - Enhancing Health and Well-being - Resilience / Mental Toughness, Exercise and Psychological Well-being, Burnout and Over-training, Well-being Factors
- Complementary work-book, including 33 practical engagement tasks to develop your knowledge across all areas.
- Numerous additional resources including blog articles and YouTube clips to support your learning and development.
Requirements
- No pre-requisite knowledge but a basic understanding and or experience of involvement in sport as a coach or athlete or any type of team management would be helpful.
Description
With over 12 hours of highly engaging content, consisting of 57 video lectures, and including numerous resources and examples from contemporary sport, this course is presented as a comprehensive applied sport psychology course for coaches, athletes and leaders or anybody considering some learning in this area. The course is pitched at a very attainable level to cater for all learners - ie NVQ Level 4 in UK. This would equate to equivalent of QQI or FETAC Level 6 standard course in Ireland. or pre-university course in other countries.
With over 20 years coaching experience across a range of sports and levels, from child and youth level sport up to and including elite level, I have developed this course to help you broaden your understanding of sport psychology in an easy and practical manner. This is additionally informed by over 10 years sport psychology experience in elite level high performance settings, working with athletes up to and including Olympic level (see bio for further details). With applied references to the most cutting edge research in sport psychology, I have included countless examples of how the best teams, coaches and athletes across the world, apply best practice in utilization of sport psychology in their pursuit of excellence.
Using a series of multiple choice quizzes and a complimentary 45 page work-book with 33 separate practical and applied tasks, this extensive course is designed to significantly enhance your knowledge in this area as an athlete, coach or leader in your field. It also includes complimentary deep breathing and relaxation exercises with some practical advice around implementing such practices. Those who finish the course will receive certification on completion.
See Course Content tab below for the level of depth across 7 units of work.
Thank you for taking the time to research this course. I look forward to you signing up and seeing you on the other side, where you will greatly enhance your knowledge in this area.
Who this course is for:
- This course is suitable for athletes or coaches involved in sport or any type of management (sport, military or business) at any level - or anybody that has an interest in the science behind sport and performance psychology. This course is also an excellent starting point for anybody considering further study or career options in the area of sport or performance psychology.
Instructor
With over 20 years coaching experience, I am an accredited sport psychology consultant with Sport Ireland Institute and registered with British Association of Sport & Exercise Science (BASES).
I have acted as a performance psychologist to IABA international boxers (junior) and Irish international athletes (junior and senior), up to and including Olympic, World Championship and Commonwealth Games level while I have also consulted successfully with numerous championship and league winning elite level senior hurling and football teams (GAA) at inter-county level. My experience also includes working with representative rugby players and various athletes up to elite level in golf, rowing, tennis, badminton, soccer and swimming among other sports. Previously, I have acted as a manager, skills and strength & conditioning coach with football and hurling teams from development to elite level.
Generally, I provide performance psychology and leadership support for leaders, coaches and athletes across a variety of areas. In 2015, I designed a sport psychology module for the Gaelic Athletic Association's (GAA) coach education programme. The module is for nationwide delivery of the Award 2 GAA coaching course in both hurling and Gaelic football. I currently deliver on this award for Dublin GAA and Leinster GAA as a Coach Education Tutor with Leinster GAA through Coaching Ireland.
From a well-being perspective, I have a broad range of experience across sport and education. After teaching Physical Education (BSc) for 14 years, a career change saw me working in education and youth mental health as a Home School Community Liaison with TUSLA for 6 years. Through this role, I have organised and delivered on community and school well-being programmes, and currently sit on a national committee for the development of a well-being programme for all second level schools in Ireland.
Throughout this period, I have been coaching and managing adult sports teams up to and including elite level in Gaelic sports (GAA - Hurling and Gaelic Football).
I hold an MSc in Applied Sport and Exercise Psychology (Distinction) from the Institute for Psychology of Elite Performance (IPEP), University of Wales, Bangor and have peer reviewed research published in Journal of Applied Sport Psychology (JASP) regarding attentional focus, self-talk and skill execution in elite sport. I also hold postgraduate qualifications in educational leadership, coach development and training.
Husband of one, and father of three, I still remain an avid exerciser and enjoy a game of golf when my time allows.