Short description:

This book provides a comprehensive and range of critical reflections of key areas impacting on children?s sport and coaching up to the age of 16 and includes chapters written by academic in various disciplines, including nutrition, psychology, pedagogy, medicine, youth development and sociology.

Long description:

The Routledge Handbook of Coaching Children in Sport provides a comprehensive and extensive range of critical reflections of key areas impacting on children?s sport and coaching up to the age of 16. With coaching related chapters authored by academic across various disciplines, including nutrition, psychology, pedagogy, medicine, youth development and sociology, the text provides detailed reviews of the existing state of research and consideration of the implications of these particular factors upon parents, coaches, administrators and clearly the young people themselves as well as recommendations for future research.

This new volume provides in-depth investigation to key topics of coaching topics such as Learning and Child Development, Protecting Young Athletes, Talent Identification and Development and Inclusive Coaching and finally introduce a broad array of contextual considerations for coaches from considering professional learning through to coaching in particular contexts.

This book is more than simply an academic text and it offers insights that will further inform practice in children?s sport coaching. The handbook is relevant for students (UG, PG), researchers, academics, parents, coaches and administrators, as well as those interested in children?s sport coaching and the related topics therein.

Martin Toms, PhD is a senior lecturer (associate professor) in the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Birmingham, UK. A former professional sports coach with an MPhil and PhD exploring the sociological issues of young people in junior sport, Martin has been heavily involved in juniors sport all of his adult life. He has published widely and presented extensively around the world on youth sport, including working on international projects and for NBGs/Federations and National Governmental organisations. He has gained European and SCUK funding for youth and coaching related projects as well as being involved in international consultancy. He is a co-editor of the European Journal for Sport and Society as well as the current Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Golf Science.

Ruth Jeanes, PhD is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education at Monash University, Australia. Ruth?s research examines inclusion and exclusion within youth sport, particularly examining how sport can be used to achieve broader social policy objectives targeted at young people. Within this, she is particularly interested in the role of coaches in facilitating broader social outcomes for young people. Ruth has published extensively in these areas with over 100 publications across journal articles, book chapters and books. She is widely cited and has been successful in securing extensive funding for her research including two highly competitive Australian Research Council grants.

"Beyond other resources, the Routledge Handbook of Coaching Children in Sport provides a contemporary overview of a wide-range of key topic areas associated with coaching children in sport. This book provides a breadth and depth of child-specific coaching content like no other, and is therefore important reading for students, researchers and practitioners interested (or working) in child and youth sport."

-Ed Cope, Loughborough University, UK

Table of Contents:

Section 1: Learning and Skill Development

1. Coaching Children in Sport: A Focus on Learning










2. Coaching Pedagogy










3. Developmental Considerations for Coaching Preschooler Sport










4. Supporting the Development of Sporting Creativity in Children Through an Enskilment Approach










5. To Have Fun: What is Means and its Significance in Sport










6. Creativity-enhancing Approaches in the Coaching of Children in Sport: Present and Future Directions










7. Coaching Psychological and Life Skills Through Sport: Advancing the Contemporary Coaching Agenda










8. Exploring Contextual Factors Influencing Positive Development Through Sport










9. Transitions in Child and Youth Sport










10. The Role of The Coach in Player Retention and Attrition







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Section 2: Protecting Child Athletes









11. Preparing Children for Sport: The Importance of Athletic Development










12. Sport Readiness and Injury Prevention in Young Athletes: Current Recommendations on When to Enter, Compete and Specialise in Sport










13. Nutritional Considerations for Children in Sport










14. Sports Related Concussions in Children










15. Disordered Eating in Child and Youth Sport: The Role of the Coach










16. Parental Involvement in Organised Youth Sport










17. Making the Cut: Coaches and the Deselection Young Athletes










18. Mental Health and Coaching Children in Sport










19. Child?s Play? Safeguarding and Protecting Children in Sport










20. Coaching Care-Experienced Children and Young People in Sport







Section 3: Talent Identification and Development









21. Coaching Elite Junior Athletes










22. What Makes Champions? Childhood Multi-Sport Practice Facilitates Long-Term Development










23. The Impact of Growth and Maturation Upon Children?s Participation in Sport and Physical Activity










24. Digging for Diamonds? The Abstract and Questionable Nature of Talent Identification in Children?s Sport










25. The Child and Adolescent Sport Dropout Problem: Could Modifying the Coaching Micro-System Climate Help?










26. Psycho-Social Maturation and the Implications for Coaching Children










27. Integrating Specificity and Generality of Practice to Enrich Children?s Learning in Sport










28. Sampling and Specialising in Children?s Sport: Implications for Research and Coaching Practice










29. Group Based Strategies in Children?s Organised Sport: Looking Beyond Fixed Chronological Age







Section 4: Diversity and Inclusion









30. Children?s Rights and Sports Coaching










31. Coaching Disabled Children: A Brief Look Around and Forward










32. "I treat every Player equally": Coaching Culturally Diverse Children in Sport










33. Addressing the Needs of Indigenous Children?: Coach Education Programs in Canada, Aotearoa New Zeeland and Australia










34. Coaching Children and Youth with Refugee Backgrounds










35. Towards a Critical Inclusion of LGB Youth in Coaching Contexts










36. Exploring the Implications of Ability in Children?s Sport










37. Social Justice Organisations, Community Sport and Coaching Children







Section 5: Cultures and Context?









38. Coaching Children and Youth Sport Policy










39. Volunteering in Children?s Sport: From Motivation to Child Protection










40. Retaining Volunteer Coaches in Child and Youth Sport










41. The Digital Sideline: What Coaches Need to Know about Children?s Engagement with Social Media










42. A Space to Play: The Geographies of Children?s Sport and Physical Activities










43. The Learning Cultures of Informal Self-Organised Action Sports: Implications for Child and Youth Coaching










44. Scaling Children?s Sport to Augment Motor Skill Acquisition










45. Learning to Coach Children in Sport