This study aimed to formulate the characteristic features of Scandinavian successful high-performance coaching. We took our point of departure in the works of C & ocirc;t & eacute; and Gilbert (2009, 2013) concerning the knowledge possessed by high-performance coaches. We interviewed 18 successful Scandinavian coaches who were deeply committed to their respective coaching assignments and had achieved great success through the performances of their practitioners at major championships. We then conducted a thematic analysis of the interview data, identifying, analysing and reporting patterns (themes). Our results show that Scandinavian high-performance coaching is a value-based and sensitive balancing act between four knowledge dimensions: analytical and systematic, authority and stability, relational and communicative, and innovative and creative development. The four dimensions, together with an ethical core, form the link between C & ocirc;t & eacute; and Gilbert (2009) categorisation of high-performance coaches' knowledge base and how this knowledge is put into practice.

Boken behandlar framgångsrik coaching inom elitidrotten. Syftet är att fånga in vad som karakteriserar framgångsrik Mästerskapscoaching såväl långsiktigt som kortsiktigt, i prestationsfasen under mästerskapen. Författarna diskuterar vilket kunnande de framgångsrika coacherna utvecklat genom sina erfarenheter.

Boken baseras på samtal med 19 mycket framgångsrika coacher inom svensk, isländsk och norsk idrott. Coacherna representerar olika idrotter och tidsepoker, men har det gemensamt att de varit framgångsrika över tid och bidragit till ett stort antal mästerskapsmedaljer vid de stora internationella mästerskapen (OS,VM,EM,Davis Cup , etc.).

The relative age effect (RAE) has been extensively debated and researched in both popularmedia and academic discourse. This study examined RAE in Swedish tennis players born in1998–2001. The study was conducted in 2015–2016 and includes all ranked Swedish tennis players(n = 1835) registered in the Swedish Tennis Association database from the year 2014. The resultsshow that when the birth dates of the corresponding Swedish population and all the ranked playersare compared, they show a moderate RAE; however, the higher up they are in the ranking system,the greater the RAE becomes. Top 10 players display an average of 64.1% being born in the firsthalf of the year. Some gender differences were also found, with a greater proportion of bothhigher and lower ranked females being born in the first half of the year. In our discussion ofthe findings we raise several issues that need to be addressed to provide more equal opportunitiesfor all junior players regardless of birth date. Resolving ongoing problems associated with RAEin competitive sports such as tennis is important both in term of prolonged participation in thesport and increased performance. Suggestions made in this article include recognising RAE whendesigning the format of competitions/tournaments, not using official rankings until the juniorsget older, addressing RAE in a “gender sensitive” way, and conducting further in-depth studiesin which RAE is understood/examined as being associated with environmental factors. Althoughthese findings show the RAE effect in Swedish tennis players, thus pointing at the need for furtherconsideration in terms of ranking and selection procedures to ensure equal opportunities for playerdevelopment, the study also concludes by reasserting an emphasis on a holistic approach to playerdevelopment in which coaches focus on the developmentally appropriate needs and potential of eachindividual player regardless of their biological age.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the perceptions of leadership behavior and coach–athlete relationship in Scandinavian coaches. A secondary purpose was to investigate if differences in national sport education, level of coaching and coaching experiences in individual or team sport have an influence on leadership behavior and coach–athlete relationships. One hundred and forty nine coaches at international level or national top level from Denmark, Norway and Sweden participated in this study (134 male and 15 female). The methods of investigation were Chelladurai’s Leadership scale of sport (LSS) (Chelladurai & Saleh, 1980) and Jowett’s coach–athlete relationship perspective (Jowett & Wyllemann, 2006). The results showed that the most frequent self-reported behavioral components between the described coach–athlete relationship subscales and preferred leadership behavior among Scandinavian top-level coaches were training and instructions, positive feedback and democratic behavior, respectively. The study also revealed a positive coach–athlete relationship between (1) commitment and training and instruction, (2) positive feedback and social support, and (3) between complementarities and training and instruction behavior. A significant difference was found between top coaches in Denmark and Sweden on commitment and complementarity, and more experienced coaches used significantly more training and instruction and social support in their coaching than did less experienced coaches. Coaches in team sports reported more autocratic behavior and less democratic behavior than coaches in individual sports.