Chris Harwood
Loughborough University, England
Chris is a Professor in Sport Psychology and the University Beacon lead for Sport and Exercise. He is also a Practitioner Sport Psychologist registered with the Health Care Professions Council and a Chartered Psychologist of the British Psychological Society.
His research interests and expertise lie in the psychosocial aspects of youth sport and athlete development with a particular focus on the socio-environmental influence of parents and coaches. He has particularly focused his applied research in the field of achievement motivation, sport parenting and through his work on the 5Cs approach (www.the5Cs.co.uk) to athlete development. As a scientist-practitioner, he is also noted for his work in professional practice and the study of factors related to the training and development of applied sport psychologists.
Chris teaches across a variety of modules in the School given his experience as a practitioner, but leads final year and postgraduate modules focused on applied sport psychology and professional practice. He has served as Chair of the Psychology Division for BASES since 2014 and is currently a Section Editor for the International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology and editorial board member for The Sport Psychologist, Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, Psychology of Sport and Exercise, the Journal of Sport Psychology in Action and Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health.
As a practicing consultant in sport psychology, he has worked extensively with the Lawn Tennis Association, the Football Association, and several professional sporting bodies and clubs. For his contributions to applied sport psychology and sport science he has been awarded Fellowships of both AASP and BASES.
Engaging parents towards optimal support in youth sport
Chris Harwood
Loughborough University, England
In this online workshop presentation, Professor Chris Harwood will explore the means and methods through which coaches and practitioners might engage parents in supporting their child in optimal ways for their development, health and performance. He will emphasise the importance of relationship-building with parents in the context of taking an empathic position towards parental stressors, and the vitality of knowledge-sharing around the journey and demands of a specific sport. Participants will consider what areas of knowledge parents need to possess in order to facilitate appropriate support to their child and the coach, as well as manage expectations. Professor Harwood will highlight tasks, exercises, and strategies with parents from his parent education and support work using the 5Cs approach and in UK tennis that have nurtured parent engagement and improved child perceptions of parent behaviour.
