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Athlete-Centred Coaching

About the author

Lynn Kidman is a coach educator who has been training coaches since 1994. Lynn has authored another book, Developing Decision Makers: An empowerment approach to coaching, and co-authored a first and second edition of The Coaching Process: A practical guide to improving your effectiveness.

Lynn has coached many teams, mostly secondary school age, in the sports of basketball, swimming, softball, and volleyball. Currently, she is taking on a player manager role, where she can help promote the team vision, enable athletes to learn best and become great human beings. Read further details . . .

The contributing authors

Dave Hadfield is one of New Zealand's best known and most experienced sport psychologists and coach educators. Previously a University lecturer in coaching, sport psychology and leadership, Dave has since spent the last 5 years working both for Wellington and Hurricanes Rugby, and since ending his contract with them, he has formed his own company, MindPlus. He currently works extensively in NZ sport (primarily for NZ Rugby), working both with elite players and coaches throughout the country.

He has worked with 3 Super 12 teams in the last 4 years. Dave also holds elite level III coaching qualifications from New Zealand Cricket and the Australian Cricket Board and was a Central Districts senior selector last season, having previously been Coaching Director for C.D. in the early 1990s.

He developed the Query Theory approach to coaching a number of years ago and describes his coaching philosophy as "A caring guide to self-discovery and improvement". He is now introducing his coaching and self-improvement approach to the business world.

Rod Thorpe trained as a Physical education teacher in the early 60s, joining Loughborough University (then Loughborough College of Education) in 1968. Through the late 60s and 70s Rod at Loughborough evolved his own approach to teaching and coaching and then with colleagues at Loughborough and many teachers and coaches refined the thinking. In 1982 he and David Bunker produced a model that became known as Teaching Games for Understanding.

Whilst much of the work in the 80s was developing games teaching in Physical Education, Rod was also developing ideas to enable less experienced non specialists offer valuable games experiences (that evolved into TOP play and TOP sport in the UK) and introducing ideas to coaches, even those working with elite players (not least Games Sense in Australia and New Zealand).

Rod retired from Loughborough in 2003 after spending 6 years developing a major sports development concept with new sports facilities to the value of £40m. Rod has been inducted into the UK Coaching Hall of Fame, was awarded the prestigious Munrow Award for Services to University and College Sport and the Biennial IOC award for services to sport.