Introduction

Your starting point for this course is to look more closely at the range of factors that contribute to sporting success. By exploring the big picture, you will be able to see how coaching and psychology lie at the centre of understanding, taking part in and succeeding in sport.

In this session you will read about sporting success and see different people talking about it. You will then be guided through a visual diagram that summarises some of the factors that researchers consider to be the most important influences. You will also consider the part played by coaching and psychology using exciting video footage from two contrasting sports that bring these ideas into sharp focus.

By the end of this session, you should be able to:

• consider how a range of components contribute to sporting success
• identify how coaching and psychology link and interact with a number of these components
• recognise how understanding mental aspects of sport contributes to coaching.