Talent transfer (TT) is a recently formalised process used to identify and develop talented athletes by selecting individuals who have already succeeded in one sport and transferring them to another. Despite the increasing popularity of TT amongst national organisations and sport governing body professionals, however, there is little empirical evidence as to its efficacy or how it may be most efficiently employed. Accordingly, this investigation was designed to gain a deeper understanding of the effectiveness and underlying mechanisms of TT, achieved through a two-part study. Stage 1 provided a quantitative analysis of the incidence and distribution or, in this respect, epidemiology of TT, finding the most popular transfer to be sprinting to bobsleigh, with an average transfer age of 19 years. Stage 2 scrutinised the TT process and explored the specific cases revealed in stage 1 by examining the perceptions of four sport science support specialists who had worked in TT settings, finding several emergent themes which, they felt, could explain the TT processes. The most prominent theme was the psychosocial mechanism of TT, an aspect currently missing from TT initiatives, suggesting that current TT systems are poorly structured and should redress their approach to develop a more integrated scheme that encompasses all potential mechanisms of transfer.

Decision making (DM) is a crucial part of team invasion games. The role of context and how this drives both initial DM and primes inaction planning and execution, termed contextual priors, has been investigated. Findings suggest a significant role for cognition, which appears to run contrary to some of the suggestions made by an ecological dynamics approach. Wishing to clarify this situation for coaches and psychologists, this research explores the experience of nine top-tier key decision makers in rugby union, using an interview approach. Results showed a wide range of context-based information considered by players during the DM process. Furthermore, this information acted to prime subsequent attention and in-action thinking. Finally, this research sought to understand if, and therefore how, DM could be taught, developed and primed by players and coaches. Our data are supportive of a more cognitively focused approach to developing DM, although our data do not dismiss a role for direct perception in optimising performance. Implications for practice are discussed.

Coach education is a learner-centred process, which often fails to consider the preferences of the consumer. Historically, research into performers’ experiences of coaching have been influenced by the social constructivism of learning: in short, an expressed preference for what the performer has experienced as determined by their coach, rather than their own personal preferences. Therefore, this research used skateboarding as a natural laboratory in order to explore the current practices and preferences of performers in a coach-free environment. Ninety-one skateboarders from parks in the United Kingdom and New Zealand offered information relating to their current learning practices, how they learnt about learning, and how the top-level performers in their environment were differentiated. Findings suggest that a number of learning tools are used by performers, which are closely aligned with a more traditional, cognitive view of coaching (e.g., demonstration, drills, and error usage). Results also suggest that performers deployed a number of cognitive skills (e.g., imagery, analogy, and understanding) to enhance storage of a movement as an internal representation. Finally, in the absence of formal coaching, performers use their knowledge of learning to appoint informal leaders. Implications for practice are discussed.

Background Primary care can be an appropriate setting to address opioid analgesic dependence among patients with chronic non-cancer pain. This study evaluated the South Gloucestershire Opioid Pain Review Pilot which aims to help patients understand their relationship with opioids and to develop alternative, non-drug-based, pain management strategies. Methods Patients from two general practices in South Gloucestershire, UK, were invited to take part in the pilot (September 2016-October 2018). They were given an individually tailored intervention, based on the shared care model, and social prescribing including pain management, and referred to external services. Experiences of the pilot were explored with semi-structured interviews. Routine quantitative data were collected on demographics; opioid use and dose; wellbeing and quality of life; and pain intensity, pain relief, and interference with life. A mixed-methods approach supported a comprehensive evaluation of the pilot. Interviews were analysed thematically. Quantitative and qualitative data were integrated using "following a thread" and triangulation. The study was given ethics approval by West Midlands-Coventry and Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee, and participants gave written or verbal informed consent. Findings Of 59 invited patients, 34 (58%) enrolled into the service and contributed quantitative data. 18 of the 34 service-users and seven service providers were interviewed. On average, service-users showed improvement in all outcomes except pain relief from medication. Baseline opioid dose reduced at follow-up (median 90mg, IQR 60-240 vs 72mg, 30-160, Wilcoxon signed-rank test p=0•00013). Service-users received the pilot positively, valuing their relationship with the project worker, time to discuss pain management, and individually tailored support. Individual needs and readiness to change shaped responses to the intervention. Perceived benefits related to understanding of pain, wellbeing, and quality of life; pain management strategies; and medication changes. Interpretation This novel pilot has shown promise. We recommend that future initiatives within primary care are individually tailored. Project worker and service-user relationships are important. A randomised controlled trial is needed to test the impact of this care-pathway.

Utilizing cognitive psychology as a foundation, this paper offers a deeper consideration of contemporary theoretical influences on coaching pedagogy. Countering recent dichotomies suggested between pedagogic approaches, we reintroduce key findings from the cognitive tradition and their implications for practice which coaches may find useful. Using cognitive load, novice and expert differences, desirable difficulty, and fidelity, we suggest that the lines drawn between different “pedagogies” may not be as sharp as suggested. Instead, we suggest that coaches avoid defining themselves as being aligned to a specific pedagogical or paradigmatic stance. We conclude by advocating for research informed practice, absent of strict theoretical boundaries and instead, considering contemporary pedagogy as drawing on the needs of the context, the experience of the coach and the best available evidence.