Implementing Skill Acquisition Research in High-Performance Sport: Reflecting on the Importance of Autonomy-Support for Successful Collaboration

• Published in: Journal of sport psychology in action Vol. 13; no. 3; pp. 143 - 154
• Main Authors: Morris-Binelli, Khaya, Müller, Sean, van Rens, Fleur E. C. A., Staniforth, Dave, Appleby, Brendyn, Rosalie, Simon M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 03.07.2022
• Subjects: autonomy-support; coaching; high-performance sport; perceptual-cognitive-motor skills; Skill acquisition specialist
• ISSN: 2152-0704; 2152-0712
• DOI: 10.1080/21520704.2021.1964661

Perceptual-cognitive-motor skills, such as visual anticipation, are pivotal for superior performance in sport. However, there are only a limited number of skill acquisition specialists working with coaches to develop these skills in athletes. The purpose of this paper is to present a brief reflection on the use of psychological strategies to create an autonomy-supportive environment to embed a skill acquisition research project in high-performance sport. The research project was conducted with the Australian national field hockey high-performance unit and investigated individual differences in expert goalkeepers' visual anticipation. The paper first discusses the role of a skill acquisition specialist, how they collaborate with coaches and athletes, and barriers to collaboration. The paper then outlines how psychological strategies can be used to create an autonomy-supportive environment to build a relationship and establish a research collaboration with a team. Further, the paper discusses the importance of continually involving coaches and athletes in the research process to facilitate their engagement and self-determined motivation to complete the project. By applying psychological strategies to create an autonomy-supportive environment, sports scientists may have greater success in overcoming the many barriers to conduct research in an elite sport setting, with the outcomes highly valuable for athlete development.