Expert Performance in Sports: Advances in Research on Sport Expertise

Abstract

Expert Performance in Sports: Advances in Research on Sport Expertise presents an overview of the critical issues facing researchers who study how athletes reach—and stay at—the pinnacle of their sports. The text will allow you to update your knowledge of sport expertise with the most current research and practical applications for the development of sport expertise in athletes, referees, and judges. This comprehensive reference reflects both theoretical underpinnings and future directions in the understanding of sport expertise research and is the first book to look specifically at how elite athletes are developed. Editors Janet L. Starkes and K. Anders Ericsson identify the questions typically asked in the study of sport expertise; they provide a stimulating, scientific debate that addresses the question of whether a general theory of expert performance is achievable; and they conclude with a glimpse of future directions for research on sport expertise. This new reference answers controversial questions that arise with regard to the training of high-level performers: - How can you potentially speed up the acquisition process? - How easy or difficult is it for experts to retain high performance levels as they age? - How can coaches structure practices to maximize active time and preparation for the next competition? - What is the role of coaches and mentors who work with elite performers? - What aspects of performance best reflect expert behaviors in a particular sport—anticipation, perceptual accuracy, decision speed, attention focus, response selection, response consistency, strategy, or others? With Expert Performance in Sports, you not only can read about sport expertise research but also find out how athletes and coaches benefit the most. “Experts' Comments” at the end of each chapter present the opinions of two world-class experts, Therese Brisson and Nick Cipriano. These experts' opinions bridge the gap between the research presented and its practical applications. Dr. Therese Brisson's academic training is in motor behavior; she also is an Olympic gold medalist, silver medalist, and six-time world champion in ice hockey. Professor Nick Cipriano is both an academic and an international-level wrestling coach. He is a former international-level wrestler and world-renowned coach in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, and he has coached both male and female athletes from the high school level to the Olympic team. This is a must-have reference that will challenge researchers to identify both their theoretical underpinnings and future directions in their study of how the best excel at sports.