Biography
My keen interest in coaching research and development comes initially from my practical coaching experience. I have over 25 years of experience as a professional cricket player and coach playing across a variety of environments in the UK, South Africa, New Zealand and Scotland. My previous roles in cricket have included operating as a full-time professional cricket player and coach in South Africa (1992-2000), England (1993), Scotland (1998-2013) and New Zealand (2010). Currently I am a lead International Youth Coach working with the Scottish U17's, 18's and 19's. I have been involved in three u17 European Qualifying events and two U19 World Cups, Bangladesh (2016) and South Africa (2020). I am also a Cricket Scotland Level 3 coach mentor and assessor and a contributing member of the Cricket Scotland High Performance Coaching Group.
My academic qualifications are as follows;
I obtained by my PgCert in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education in 2015 and became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). I completed by PhD studies into the South African Cricket Development Pathway Environments in 2017.
My main interests in coaching lie now in the research of effective coaching practice and the development and application of evidence-based coach development and education at elite, elite development and participation levels. I am currently the programme leader for the BSc Developing Athletes through Professional Practice and the BSc Football Coaching, Performance, and Development. My other teaching and research interest include talent development environments, sports organisational culture, leadership, strategic performance management in sport.
My work to date includes collaborations and partnerships with the Scottish Football Association, Scottish Rugby, Scottish Gymnastics, Cricket Scotland, UKSport, Sportscotland, Scottish Volleyball, Scottish Basketball, British and Scottish Handball, Hearts of Midlothian Football Club.