Team Psychology in Sports: Theory and Practice

Teams are more than just a collection of individuals, and as a result, understanding the broad range of factors that both influence and determine team functioning and performance is crucial to maximize team outcomes. For teams to truly be effective, the environment in which they exist must be optimized, because it directly impacts how much they will ultimately thrive. This new edition of Team Psychology in Sports bridges the gap between theory and practice to develop a strong understanding of key concepts and crucially explores contemporary interventions that can be applied to further enhance team functioning and performance.

Each fully revised chapter considers contemporary knowledge to further underpin the specific understanding of the key concepts discussed. The book covers a broad range of factors influencing team functioning, including team culture, leadership, the building of effective teams and performance environments, team communication and teamwork, team confidence, resilience, momentum, team thinking and decision-making, and group dynamics. No other book offers such an up-to-date, relevant, and applied guide to both understanding and working with sports teams.

The book is essential reading for all students and practitioners working or aspiring to work with teams and groups within the domain of sport.

Stewart T. Cotterill is Head of School for Health and Rehabilitation at Health Sciences University, and a Professor in the Psychology of Human Performance. He is a HCPC registered sport and exercise psychologist, and BASES accredited sport and Exercise Scientist, He has over 25 years’ experience working as a sport and performance psychologist across a wide range of performance domains including professional and Olympic sport, the performing arts, business, the military, medical professions and eSports. Stewart has worked with multiple teams across a broad range of sports including football, cricket and rugby. He has also undertaken significant research relating to leadership and captaincy in sports teams. In addition, Stewart was the inaugural editor for the journal Case Studies in Sport and Exercise Psychology, as well as sitting on the editorial boards of a number of other journals.