Strategy in Sport Performance: How Training Programmes Could Shape Dynamic, Adaptive Intentional Processes in Performers

Authors

DOI: https://doi.org/10.6018/cpd.603531
Keywords: complexity, ecological dynamics, intentionality, performance strategy, athlete development

Supporting Agencies

  • This paper is financed by National Funds provided by FCT- Foundation for Science and Technology through project UIDB/04020/2020 and with DOI 10.54499/UIDB/04020/2020 (https://doi.org/10.54499/UIDB/04020/2020) and by National Funds provided by FCT- Foundation for Science and Technology under Grant UIDB/00447/2020 to Interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of Human Performance (CIPER - unit 447; DOI: 10.54499/UIDB/00447/2020).

Abstract

Recent developments in sports science have indicated that traditional models for planning training programs typically lack coherence for developing the complexity of adaptive processes that emerge from and are invited by, training and competition. Here, we argue that the strategic management of training programs for sports performance development may emerge from continuous interactions between individuals in a non-linear transformative causality, displaying transactional intentionality. Based on the understanding and application of theories in complexity sciences, and from the perspective of the ecological dynamics of human behavior, it is intended to contribute to the strategic process that underlies the development of sports performance.  Here, we seek to articulate how the strategic process that underlies sports performance development is based on an "educated intentionality" that guides the coaches' actions (e.g., problem-solving, decision-making, planning, and organization). This approach requires a co-evolving design process and decision-making in sports performance development so that athletes can implement adaptive behaviors in competitive contexts.

 

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Author Biographies

Elsa Pereira, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal; CinTurs (Research Centre for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-being), University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal

Elsa Pereira holds a PhD (with distinction and honours) in Sport Sciences in Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon. Merit specialist in Sports and Tourism (FMH-UL). Master's Degree in Sports Organisation Management (FMH-UL). Taecher at the University of the Algarve's School of Education and Communication since 1994. Director of the Masters in Recreational Sport at the University of the Algarve and the Polytechnic Institute of Santarém. Researcher at the Centre for Research on Space and Organisations (CINTURS) at the University of the Algarve. Participation in research and sports development projects in the areas of sports training, water sports, sporting events and sport in a tourist context. Member of the scientific committee of national and international congresses in the field of sport. Editor of scientific journals in the field of sport and tourism. Author of various national and international publications in the fields of sports management, sports and tourism and the management of water sports events.

João Carvalho, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal; SPRINT (Sport, Physical Activity and Health Research & Innovation Center), Santarém, Portugal

João Carvalho holds a PhD in Sports Sciences. He is Professor at the School of Education and Communication at the University of Algarve. Carvalho published several scientific articles in the field of performance analysis in tennis. He was a high level coach for more than 10 years (e.g., of the professional tennis player João Cunha e Silva) and has been a coaching consultant of several of the best Portuguese tennis players. His line of research is mainly focused on tennis in two different domains, Performance Analysis, particularly the identification of performance indicators to describe players’ actions and their dynamics of interaction, and teaching based on Constraints-Led Approach. 

Keith Davids, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK

Keith Davids is Professor of Motor Learning in Sport & Human Performance (2014 onwards), investigating skill acquisition, expertise and talent development in sport at different levels of participation from recreational to elite. He has over 30 years experience of teaching and conducting research in Ecological Dynamics with collaborators in UK, Portugal, France, Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Finland, Norway and Sweden in related fields like Sports Science, Psychology, Behavioural Neuroscience, Sports Coaching, Physical Education and Human Movement Science. He has held/holds research positions in the UK (Manchester Metropolitan University: 1991-2003), Finland (University of Jyvaskyla, Finnish Distinguished Professor: 2012-2016), New Zealand (University of Otago: 2003-2007), Australia (Queensland University of Technology: 2006-2014) and Norway (2020-22: Norwegian Sports Science University (NTNU, Trondheim), Adjunct Research Professor). His scientific research is applied in the work of international sports organisations (national and international teams in Association Football, NFL, Rugby Union and AFL) and national Institutes of Sport in Australia (AIS), New Zealand (NZSI), and England (EIS), as well as KIHU (Finnish Olympic Research Committee) and PESTA (Physical Education and Sports Teachers Association, Singapore).

Duarte Aráujo, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal; CIPER (Interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of Human Performance), University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

Duarte Araújo, Ph.D., is Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Expertise in Sport of the Faculty of Human Kinetics at the University of Lisbon, Portugal. He leads the research unit CIPER:  Interdisciplinary Centre for the study of Human Performance, funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), with more than 100 researchers. He was associate editor of the journal Psychology of Sport and Exercise (2014-2022, the only psychology journal ranked Q1 in Sport Sciences (WoS)) and is associate editor of Journal of Expertise and member of the Editorial Board of the following journals: International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Frontiers in Psychology - section Movement Science and Sport Psychology, Sports Medicine - Open, European Journal of Sport Science, Ecological Psychology. Araújos research focus on sport expertise and decision-making, performance analysis, and affordances for physical activity from an ecological dynamics, complex systems approach. He has published more than 200 papers in scientific journals (with over 9,300 citations in the Web of Science) and more than 15 books about expertise, team performance, variability, cognition, and decision-making in sport. He collaborates regularly with Sport Institutions and Clubs and supervises several doctoral students from Portugal, Brazil, Spain, and Australia. 

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Published
21-09-2024
How to Cite
Pereira, E., Carvalho, J., Davids, K., & Araújo, D. (2024). Strategy in Sport Performance: How Training Programmes Could Shape Dynamic, Adaptive Intentional Processes in Performers . Sport Psychology Notebooks, 24(3), 108–123. https://doi.org/10.6018/cpd.603531
Issue
Vol. 24 No. 3 (2024): CPD3(2024)
Section
Psicología del Deporte

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