Joseph Vecchione’s MSc Thesis Proposal

Title: “Technique Change in Sport: Theory, Application and Future Research”

Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Nicola Hodges
Committee Members: Dr. Andrea Bundon, Dr. Ben Sporer (Vancouver Whitecaps FC),  Dr. Cate Madill (University of Sydney )
Chair: Dr. Guy Faulkner

Abstract: Changing automatic movement patterns is of practical significance to sport coaches; it’s often a time consuming and focal point for many athletic training programs. Currently, there is a gap in the literature outlining best practices in approaching this problem. While there are promising paradigms such as the “constraints-led” approach and “old-way, new-way”, there is little empirical evidence for them. Furthermore, there is a lack of research that directly compares the effectiveness of one method compared to the other. One of the aims of my master’s thesis will be to uncover potential mechanisms underlying both paradigms and their effectiveness.

The proposed research will be a survey of sport practitioners such as coaches, therapists, and strength & conditioning coaches on their current technique change practices. This evaluation will provide direction for future research and clarify whether there is a potential gap in knowledge translation and/or application of established technique change methods among sport practitioners.