Understanding coaching eco-systems: Challenges and opportunities for developing a more nonlinear coaching practice. A conversation with Dr Mark O'Sullivan.

My guest Mark O'Sullivan is an associate professor at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences and an 'A' Licence Football Coach. Mark is also a co-author on my concept paper, 'Can't jump, won't jump.' In this conversation we explore why Mark chose to go back into academia and follow a PhD researching coaching and skill acquisition from an ecological dynamics perspective.The conversation follows our curiosity and wanders through a variety of topics starting with Mark's motivation to 'fall into a PhD' at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK with James Rumbold and Keith Davids alongside his full time job as Head of Development for 8–12 years olds at AIK FC in Stockholm. The conversation centres on the challenges and opportunities of trying to move from a more linear to nonlinear pedagogy in sports coaching practice. Mark challenges many of our current coaching practices, myths, coach education, and the pervasiveness of socio-cultural influences.For those of you who are paying attention, Mark is also one of my co-authors on the paper 'Can't jump, won't jump: Affordances of the horse-rider dyad underpin skill adaptation in showjumping using a constraints-led approach.' Davies at al, 2022.https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/17479541221107379Here are some of Mark's open access academic papers:The Learning in Development Research Framework for sports organizations, O'sullivan et al, 2021. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13573322.2021.1966618Not just to know more, but to also know better: How data analysis-synthesis can be woven into sport science practiced as an art of inquiry, O'sullivan et al, 2023. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13573322.2023.2261970Researchgate (if you are not familiar with this site, it's a great place to search for academic researchers and often has copies of papers available as open access): https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mark-O-Sullivan-PhdTwitter (X): @markstkhlmMark's Blog: https://footblogball.wordpress.com/