Over Egging the Pudding? Comments on Ojala and Thorpe

Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning

2019

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Why do individuals seek out adventure sport coaching?Individualisation is a key aspect of coaching practice. This is particularly important for adventure sport coaches, given the demands of the hyper-dynamic coaching environment and the various motivations to participate in adventure sports. However, the literature on individualisation is limited. As a logical beginning, the aim of this study is to understand why individuals seek coaching in the context of adventure sports. Semi-structured interviews with adventure sport clients (N = 15) were thematically analysed, revealing that clients seek three different but not mutually exclusive experiences: holistic, authentic, and developmental. Importantly, the extent to which each experience was desired varied between individuals. These differences in individual desires place a fundamental emphasis on coaches' understanding of why an individual seeks coaching as well as their longer-term participation goals, and then having the adaptive expertise to meet those expectations. Further research is required to understand how aspects of the developmental experience are achieved, specifically in the desired contexts.

Section: Individualisation In Adventure Sport Coachingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why do individuals seek out adventure sport coaching?

Eastabrook

Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning

2019

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“…The need for cultural sensitivity and alignment is demonstrated by Objala and Thorpe (2015) who identified that some nature sports participants reject formal highly structured facilitation. While it would be an oversimplification to say all participants reject formal approaches to the design and facilitation of learning (Collins, Wilmot, & Collins 2016), this does support a need for breadth and range in facilitation skills.…”

Section: Facilitating Learning In Nature Sports?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding nature sports: a participant centred perspective and its implications for the design and facilitating of learning and performance

Annals of Leisure Research

Brymer

2018

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Nature sports is a term used to describe a collection of physical activities that are frequently defined by characteristics of their environment or an inherent risk. These perspectives overlook new aspects of nature sports and motivations for participation, imposing an inaccurate perspective on the design and facilitation of learning experiences. Namely, that nature sports are undertaken by participants with an inherent need for risk. This paper presents an alternative perspective based on critiques of the traditional notions of the experience of participants which goes beyond notions of risk taking and thrill seeking. Adopting a participant focus provides insight into the constant evolution of techniques, participation, philosophies and the continuous striving for creativity and innovation. Effective learning design and facilitation in nature sports therefore demands adaptability, flexibility, cultural sensitivity, and the capacity to facilitate a participant's interaction with their environment.

“…Specifically, a comparative dearth of investigation, together with this recent but powerful change, has effectively negated what little data were already available (e.g. Collins, Collins & Willmott, 2016). Such information is essential to the coach for effective planning, monitoring, and direction of athlete progression (cf.…”

Section: A Retrospective Analysis Of Trick Progression In Elite Freesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Retrospective Analysis of Trick Progression in Elite Freeskiing and Snowboarding

Willmott¹,

International Sport Coaching Journal

2017

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This study offered a first examination of skill development within freeskiing and snowboarding, using semi-structured interviews to examine trick progression. Participants were purposefully recruited as performing at world top 8 level in 2014, the most recent Winter Olympic Games. A semi structured interview protocol, using a personalized progress chart, enabled the examination of trick progression across disciplines, with at least one participant from each of the events represented at the Games.Trick progression was achieved intermittently, moving through different stages during the year subject to experiencing the right conditions, training facilities, balancing time for progression with time for consolidation, competition periods and rehabilitating from injuries. There was high variance in the duration of trick progression between individuals and also high variance in the number of repetitions required in order to land a trick in competition. Imagery was a mental skill widely used and universally supported by our sample. Athletes and coaches should take directionality into consideration when planning their progression, ensuring all four directions are included and that pre-requisite manoeuvres are included in an athlete's training repertoire at the right stage in order to facilitate the learning of more complex manoeuvres at a later stage of development. Our data found a 60-40 balance between time-spent training on and off-snow, further research is required to determine the best combination of traditional strength and conditioning versus movement conditioning approaches, both from an injury prevention and a performance enhancement perspective.Keywords: training modalities, directionality, skill acquisition, Olympic, quadrennial, A retrospective analysis of trick progression in elite Freeskiing and SnowboardingIn an earlier paper, we highlighted the tensions inherent in the new Olympic disciplines of slopestyle and half-pipe freeskiing and snowboarding (Willmott & Collins, 2015).Specifically, the training challenge-athlete health balance was considered: a usual issue for most sports but a particular one for these high-risk disciplines. In this regard, Kotler (2014, p. vii) what are the levels of psycho-emotional loading which characterize elite athletes' development in this high-risk environment? How might differences in the developmental template across individuals inform and enhance practice? Accordingly, in order to inform coaches on the safe but optimum progression of athletes in these sports, a current and detailed picture is required.Providing further complication, evolution in the sport has resulted in an increased variety of training approaches and modalities, combined in a number of permutations and schedules.As a result, athletes and coaches have tended to either follow the anecdotal/biographical accounts of established elite athletes, or to be overly influenced by the waves of new but unspecific sport science support now available to move towards an apparently well-structured but, so far...