Howie Carson - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Howie Carson
Routledge International Handbook of Golf Science
The Sport Psychologist
While debate continues on “optimal” attentional focus, little empirical knowledge exists on the w... more While debate continues on “optimal” attentional focus, little empirical knowledge exists on the way that attention is operationalized across training and performance in elite golf. Accordingly, this study aimed to (a) explore the attentional foci promoted or used by coaches and players for different types of shots in training, plus their underpinning rationale and (b) explore the attentional foci promoted or used by coaches and players in competition, plus their underpinning rationale. Our findings revealed that (a) various foci were used across training and competition; (b) all players used different combinations of foci across training and competition, and within different aspects of training itself (e.g., short vs. long game); and (c) players often used alternative or additional foci in training to those promoted by coaches, and self-generated foci for competition. These results highlight the complexity and practical reality that needs to underpin future advances in theory, resea...
Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning
Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning
International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology
The present study investigated the prevalence and influence of psychosocial factors amongst a sam... more The present study investigated the prevalence and influence of psychosocial factors amongst a sample of highly-skilled athletes who had previously attempted to refine their technique. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with eight tennis players to gain an indepth understanding of their experiences during the process. Results revealed that participants sought to refine their technique in order to address an 'attenuated' movement pattern perceived as causing a competitive disadvantage. Addressing the psychosocial factors of interest here, commitment and confidence were reportedly important concomitants during the refinement process. Upon reflection, participants indicated that taking a break from competition and dedicating more time to the refinement might have increased the likelihood of effective change and performance improvement. Overall, findings indicate that psychosocial factors have a significant influence on players' ability to successfully enact technical refinement. However, it is suggested that greater consideration towards other motoric factors could also have improved levels of success. In conclusion, while the importance for change was understood, there is a need for improved understanding and planning in terms of how a coach might operationalize these factors within training for the competition environment.
Journal of Sports Sciences
European Journal of Sport Science
Please refer to published version for the most recent bibliographic citation information. If a pu... more Please refer to published version for the most recent bibliographic citation information. If a published version is known of, the repository item page linked to above, will contain details on accessing it.
Journal of Applied Sport Psychology
Recent studies have begun to explore the potentially positive impact of siblings on sporting tale... more Recent studies have begun to explore the potentially positive impact of siblings on sporting talent development. This study aimed to explore potential mechanisms through which siblings impact on this process. Bimonthly interviews were conducted with four families over a 1 year period (parents and siblings; N = 14) during the talent development process. Findings revealed several themes (regularity of interaction, emotional interpersonal skills, rivalry, resilience, and separation) aligning with previous studies, alongside two new themes; communication and skill development. The study's longitudinal nature exposed important differences of potential mechanisms across families, highlighting the complex nature of the sibling relationship.
Sport in Society
Recent research has recognized sports coaching as complex, chaotic, and cognitively taxing for co... more Recent research has recognized sports coaching as complex, chaotic, and cognitively taxing for coaches. Against this backdrop, the present paper explores challenges faced by high-level coaches working with disabled performers. Specifically, it seeks to understand how coaches create mental models of performance in adventure sports and para-canoe. Five coaches were purposively sampled and underwent a semi-structured interview. A thematic analysis revealed conceptualizing the mental model as being mechanically-related for all and as including a social construction within the para-canoe coaches. Reflection on the coaching process and on personal characteristics were perceived as important to individualized inclusive coaching. Coach training should particularly emphasize the need for critical judgment and decision making skills within a similarly oriented social structure of coaches and support staff where applicable.
Central European Journal of Sport Sciences and Medicine
This study addressed several inconsistencies and omissions in golf putting research by testing th... more This study addressed several inconsistencies and omissions in golf putting research by testing the performance impact of target focused aiming. Participants were 22 high-level and experienced golfers, currently using ball focused aiming. Participants were allocated in a quasi-random fashion to ball or target focused aiming conditions and each performed 32 putts under competitive conditions on a natural putting green from a distance of 8 ft. Data were recorded as putts holed or missed and further categorised into putts missed long, short, left, right, short left, short right, long left and long right. There was no significant difference between conditions (p > 0.05) for any of the categories tested, despite participants' prior extreme familiarity and expressed preference for the ball focused technique. These results notwithstanding, we discuss possible explanations for target focused benefits, including the role of vision during putting, the impact of intention during execution and possible expectancy effects. While these findings hold potential implications for golf coaching, more research is clearly required to further understand causative mechanisms and to clarify the existence and nature of advantage for one technique over the other. Based on this study, we recommend that high-level and experienced golfers might try target focused aiming as a 'cost-free' experiment.
International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching
While current research has begun to address parental influences on talent development in sport, s... more While current research has begun to address parental influences on talent development in sport, sibling interaction remains relatively under-examined. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the underpinning mechanisms through which sibling interaction impacts on talent development. Retrospective phenomenological interviews were conducted with four sets of siblings (N ¼ 9), where at least one sibling had competed to an elite level. Findings revealed several higher order themes that impacted positively on the talented athletes' development: regularity of interaction in sport, emotional interpersonal skills, rivalry, resilience, cooperation and separation. Separation appeared as the athlete reached elite status, suggesting that these former mechanisms primarily impact during the development phase. Such findings support and extend the sibling, elite sport and talent development literature and provide valuable insight for both practitioners and academics. Importantly, coaches should consider a sibling's role as an important mechanism outside of the formal coaching structure for talent development.
Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning
This paper utilised a two-part mixed-methodology to examine the value placed on judgement and dec... more This paper utilised a two-part mixed-methodology to examine the value placed on judgement and decision making by a sample of qualified mountain leaders in the UK. Qualified leaders (N = 331) completed a web-based survey and a smaller sample (N = 8) were then interviewed. Survey data showed that mountain leaders place greater value on their judgements and decision making when compared to the technical skills of mountain navigation and rope work; however, the process for developing these judgment skills was unclear. Interview data identified that judgment skills appear transferrable from other domains experienced by the leaders (e.g., emergency services, military) but are then recontextualised and modified for effective use within mountain leadership. The leaders facilitated this via a nested reflective process that combines inaction , on-action and on-action/in-context aspects that rely on metacognition. This combination of reflection and metacognition allows for rapid development of judgment making skills in-context. Implications for mountain leadership training are discussed.
Journal of applied sport psychology, 2016
There is increasing evidence for the significant contribution provided by sport psychologists wit... more There is increasing evidence for the significant contribution provided by sport psychologists within applied coaching environments. However, this rarely considers their skills/knowledge being applied when refining athletes' already learned and well-established motor skills. Therefore, this article focuses on how a sport psychologist might assist a coach and athlete to implement long-term permanent and pressure proof refinements. It highlights key contributions at each stage of the Five-A model-designed to deliver these important outcomes-providing both psychomotor and psychosocial input to the support delivery. By employing these recommendations, sport psychologists can make multiple positive contributions to completion of this challenging task.
Frontiers in human neuroscience, 2017
Journal of sports sciences, Jan 21, 2017
This paper explores the approaches adopted by high-level field athletics coaches when attempting ... more This paper explores the approaches adopted by high-level field athletics coaches when attempting to refine an athlete's already well-established technique (long and triple jump and javelin throwing). Six coaches, who had all coached multiple athletes to multiple major championships, took part in semi-structured interviews focused upon a recent example of technique refinement. Data were analysed using a thematic content analysis. The coaching tools reported were generally consistent with those advised by the existing literature, focusing on attaining "buy-in", utilising part-practice, restoring movement automaticity and securing performance under pressure. Five of the six coaches reported using a systematic sequence of stages to implement the refinement, although the number and content of these stages varied between them. Notably, however, there were no formal sources of knowledge (e.g., coach education or training) provided to inform coaches' decision making. Inste...
Current opinion in psychology, 2017
Over the past 15 years there has been much research into the PETTLEP model of motor imagery, orig... more Over the past 15 years there has been much research into the PETTLEP model of motor imagery, originally designed to improve the quality and impact of imagery interventions on sport performance. This article reviews the most recent trends within this research. Despite a suggested change of underpinning mechanisms involved, there is much support for the positive impact of the model when applied within the sporting context and with engaged participants. The model also appears to have provided impact in fields other than sport, such as medicine and music. Therefore we suggest that it has largely met its desired aims. However, not all research has optimised the model's guidelines, with a distinct failure to account for personal relevance when designing imagery scripts or selecting tasks for use in studies. Other recent and pertinent findings relate to the mediating role of expectancy and beneficial augmentation through movement observation. Future research should, however, seek explo...
International Sport Coaching Journal, 2016
Previous research has emphasised the dynamic nature of coaching practice and the need to consider... more Previous research has emphasised the dynamic nature of coaching practice and the need to consider both individual performer needs and necessary contextual trade-offs in providing optimum solutions. In this regard, a Professional Judgment and Decision Making framework has been suggested to facilitate an optimum blend of actions against these complex and dynamic demands. Accordingly, we extend this work and address recent calls for greater focus on expertise-oriented assessments, by postulating on the aspirant/developing coach’s capacity for and development of metacognition (i.e., active control over cognitive processes) as a ‘tool’ within the reflective process. Specifically, we propose that metacognition enables essential active cognitive processing for deep learning and impactful application, together with construction and refinement of useable knowledge to inform coaching decisions. Metacognition, therefore, helps to contextualise knowledge provided in training, further optimising...
International Journal of Golf Science, 2013
This paper provides an overview of current golf coaching practices employed with experts, when at... more This paper provides an overview of current golf coaching practices employed with experts, when attempting to make changes to (i.e., refine) a player's existing technique. In the first of two studies, European Tour golfers (n = 5) and coaches (n = 5) were interviewed to establish the prevalence of any systematic processes, and whether facilitation of resistance to competitive pressure (hereafter termed "pressure resistance") was included. Study 2 employed an online survey, administered to 89 PGA Professionals and amateur golfers (mostly amateurs; n = 83). Overall, results suggested no standardized, systematic, or theoretically considered approach to implementing technical change, with pressure resistance being considered outside of the change process itself; if addressed at all. In conclusion, there is great scope for PGA professionals to increase their coaching efficacy relating to skill refinement; however, this appears most likely to be achieved through a collaborative approach between coach education providers, researchers, and coaches.
Routledge International Handbook of Golf Science
The Sport Psychologist
While debate continues on “optimal” attentional focus, little empirical knowledge exists on the w... more While debate continues on “optimal” attentional focus, little empirical knowledge exists on the way that attention is operationalized across training and performance in elite golf. Accordingly, this study aimed to (a) explore the attentional foci promoted or used by coaches and players for different types of shots in training, plus their underpinning rationale and (b) explore the attentional foci promoted or used by coaches and players in competition, plus their underpinning rationale. Our findings revealed that (a) various foci were used across training and competition; (b) all players used different combinations of foci across training and competition, and within different aspects of training itself (e.g., short vs. long game); and (c) players often used alternative or additional foci in training to those promoted by coaches, and self-generated foci for competition. These results highlight the complexity and practical reality that needs to underpin future advances in theory, resea...
Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning
Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning
International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology
The present study investigated the prevalence and influence of psychosocial factors amongst a sam... more The present study investigated the prevalence and influence of psychosocial factors amongst a sample of highly-skilled athletes who had previously attempted to refine their technique. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with eight tennis players to gain an indepth understanding of their experiences during the process. Results revealed that participants sought to refine their technique in order to address an 'attenuated' movement pattern perceived as causing a competitive disadvantage. Addressing the psychosocial factors of interest here, commitment and confidence were reportedly important concomitants during the refinement process. Upon reflection, participants indicated that taking a break from competition and dedicating more time to the refinement might have increased the likelihood of effective change and performance improvement. Overall, findings indicate that psychosocial factors have a significant influence on players' ability to successfully enact technical refinement. However, it is suggested that greater consideration towards other motoric factors could also have improved levels of success. In conclusion, while the importance for change was understood, there is a need for improved understanding and planning in terms of how a coach might operationalize these factors within training for the competition environment.
Journal of Sports Sciences
European Journal of Sport Science
Please refer to published version for the most recent bibliographic citation information. If a pu... more Please refer to published version for the most recent bibliographic citation information. If a published version is known of, the repository item page linked to above, will contain details on accessing it.
Journal of Applied Sport Psychology
Recent studies have begun to explore the potentially positive impact of siblings on sporting tale... more Recent studies have begun to explore the potentially positive impact of siblings on sporting talent development. This study aimed to explore potential mechanisms through which siblings impact on this process. Bimonthly interviews were conducted with four families over a 1 year period (parents and siblings; N = 14) during the talent development process. Findings revealed several themes (regularity of interaction, emotional interpersonal skills, rivalry, resilience, and separation) aligning with previous studies, alongside two new themes; communication and skill development. The study's longitudinal nature exposed important differences of potential mechanisms across families, highlighting the complex nature of the sibling relationship.
Sport in Society
Recent research has recognized sports coaching as complex, chaotic, and cognitively taxing for co... more Recent research has recognized sports coaching as complex, chaotic, and cognitively taxing for coaches. Against this backdrop, the present paper explores challenges faced by high-level coaches working with disabled performers. Specifically, it seeks to understand how coaches create mental models of performance in adventure sports and para-canoe. Five coaches were purposively sampled and underwent a semi-structured interview. A thematic analysis revealed conceptualizing the mental model as being mechanically-related for all and as including a social construction within the para-canoe coaches. Reflection on the coaching process and on personal characteristics were perceived as important to individualized inclusive coaching. Coach training should particularly emphasize the need for critical judgment and decision making skills within a similarly oriented social structure of coaches and support staff where applicable.
Central European Journal of Sport Sciences and Medicine
This study addressed several inconsistencies and omissions in golf putting research by testing th... more This study addressed several inconsistencies and omissions in golf putting research by testing the performance impact of target focused aiming. Participants were 22 high-level and experienced golfers, currently using ball focused aiming. Participants were allocated in a quasi-random fashion to ball or target focused aiming conditions and each performed 32 putts under competitive conditions on a natural putting green from a distance of 8 ft. Data were recorded as putts holed or missed and further categorised into putts missed long, short, left, right, short left, short right, long left and long right. There was no significant difference between conditions (p > 0.05) for any of the categories tested, despite participants' prior extreme familiarity and expressed preference for the ball focused technique. These results notwithstanding, we discuss possible explanations for target focused benefits, including the role of vision during putting, the impact of intention during execution and possible expectancy effects. While these findings hold potential implications for golf coaching, more research is clearly required to further understand causative mechanisms and to clarify the existence and nature of advantage for one technique over the other. Based on this study, we recommend that high-level and experienced golfers might try target focused aiming as a 'cost-free' experiment.
International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching
While current research has begun to address parental influences on talent development in sport, s... more While current research has begun to address parental influences on talent development in sport, sibling interaction remains relatively under-examined. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the underpinning mechanisms through which sibling interaction impacts on talent development. Retrospective phenomenological interviews were conducted with four sets of siblings (N ¼ 9), where at least one sibling had competed to an elite level. Findings revealed several higher order themes that impacted positively on the talented athletes' development: regularity of interaction in sport, emotional interpersonal skills, rivalry, resilience, cooperation and separation. Separation appeared as the athlete reached elite status, suggesting that these former mechanisms primarily impact during the development phase. Such findings support and extend the sibling, elite sport and talent development literature and provide valuable insight for both practitioners and academics. Importantly, coaches should consider a sibling's role as an important mechanism outside of the formal coaching structure for talent development.
Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning
This paper utilised a two-part mixed-methodology to examine the value placed on judgement and dec... more This paper utilised a two-part mixed-methodology to examine the value placed on judgement and decision making by a sample of qualified mountain leaders in the UK. Qualified leaders (N = 331) completed a web-based survey and a smaller sample (N = 8) were then interviewed. Survey data showed that mountain leaders place greater value on their judgements and decision making when compared to the technical skills of mountain navigation and rope work; however, the process for developing these judgment skills was unclear. Interview data identified that judgment skills appear transferrable from other domains experienced by the leaders (e.g., emergency services, military) but are then recontextualised and modified for effective use within mountain leadership. The leaders facilitated this via a nested reflective process that combines inaction , on-action and on-action/in-context aspects that rely on metacognition. This combination of reflection and metacognition allows for rapid development of judgment making skills in-context. Implications for mountain leadership training are discussed.
Journal of applied sport psychology, 2016
There is increasing evidence for the significant contribution provided by sport psychologists wit... more There is increasing evidence for the significant contribution provided by sport psychologists within applied coaching environments. However, this rarely considers their skills/knowledge being applied when refining athletes' already learned and well-established motor skills. Therefore, this article focuses on how a sport psychologist might assist a coach and athlete to implement long-term permanent and pressure proof refinements. It highlights key contributions at each stage of the Five-A model-designed to deliver these important outcomes-providing both psychomotor and psychosocial input to the support delivery. By employing these recommendations, sport psychologists can make multiple positive contributions to completion of this challenging task.
Frontiers in human neuroscience, 2017
Journal of sports sciences, Jan 21, 2017
This paper explores the approaches adopted by high-level field athletics coaches when attempting ... more This paper explores the approaches adopted by high-level field athletics coaches when attempting to refine an athlete's already well-established technique (long and triple jump and javelin throwing). Six coaches, who had all coached multiple athletes to multiple major championships, took part in semi-structured interviews focused upon a recent example of technique refinement. Data were analysed using a thematic content analysis. The coaching tools reported were generally consistent with those advised by the existing literature, focusing on attaining "buy-in", utilising part-practice, restoring movement automaticity and securing performance under pressure. Five of the six coaches reported using a systematic sequence of stages to implement the refinement, although the number and content of these stages varied between them. Notably, however, there were no formal sources of knowledge (e.g., coach education or training) provided to inform coaches' decision making. Inste...
Current opinion in psychology, 2017
Over the past 15 years there has been much research into the PETTLEP model of motor imagery, orig... more Over the past 15 years there has been much research into the PETTLEP model of motor imagery, originally designed to improve the quality and impact of imagery interventions on sport performance. This article reviews the most recent trends within this research. Despite a suggested change of underpinning mechanisms involved, there is much support for the positive impact of the model when applied within the sporting context and with engaged participants. The model also appears to have provided impact in fields other than sport, such as medicine and music. Therefore we suggest that it has largely met its desired aims. However, not all research has optimised the model's guidelines, with a distinct failure to account for personal relevance when designing imagery scripts or selecting tasks for use in studies. Other recent and pertinent findings relate to the mediating role of expectancy and beneficial augmentation through movement observation. Future research should, however, seek explo...
International Sport Coaching Journal, 2016
Previous research has emphasised the dynamic nature of coaching practice and the need to consider... more Previous research has emphasised the dynamic nature of coaching practice and the need to consider both individual performer needs and necessary contextual trade-offs in providing optimum solutions. In this regard, a Professional Judgment and Decision Making framework has been suggested to facilitate an optimum blend of actions against these complex and dynamic demands. Accordingly, we extend this work and address recent calls for greater focus on expertise-oriented assessments, by postulating on the aspirant/developing coach’s capacity for and development of metacognition (i.e., active control over cognitive processes) as a ‘tool’ within the reflective process. Specifically, we propose that metacognition enables essential active cognitive processing for deep learning and impactful application, together with construction and refinement of useable knowledge to inform coaching decisions. Metacognition, therefore, helps to contextualise knowledge provided in training, further optimising...
International Journal of Golf Science, 2013
This paper provides an overview of current golf coaching practices employed with experts, when at... more This paper provides an overview of current golf coaching practices employed with experts, when attempting to make changes to (i.e., refine) a player's existing technique. In the first of two studies, European Tour golfers (n = 5) and coaches (n = 5) were interviewed to establish the prevalence of any systematic processes, and whether facilitation of resistance to competitive pressure (hereafter termed "pressure resistance") was included. Study 2 employed an online survey, administered to 89 PGA Professionals and amateur golfers (mostly amateurs; n = 83). Overall, results suggested no standardized, systematic, or theoretically considered approach to implementing technical change, with pressure resistance being considered outside of the change process itself; if addressed at all. In conclusion, there is great scope for PGA professionals to increase their coaching efficacy relating to skill refinement; however, this appears most likely to be achieved through a collaborative approach between coach education providers, researchers, and coaches.