October 07, 2025

"You can take a pick and mix approach to theory - but not if you want to be evidence based" - A conversation with the Constraints Collective

1 hour 33 minutes

In this fascinating conversation, I joined Keith Davids and Ian Renshaw, two of the 'founding fathers' of Ecological Dynamics and the Constraints Led Approach in sport to explore the critical challenges facing coach education and athlete development. We dive deep into why the traditional cognitive-information processing approach still dominates coaching practice, despite decades of research suggesting more effective alternatives.

3 Key Takeaways:

The Educational Paradigm Problem – Coach education has been built on the same linear, knowledge-transfer models used in formal schooling, creating a massive "knowing-doing gap" that leaves coaches unprepared for real-world practice.
The Dualism Dilemma – You can't truly pick and mix between ecological and information-processing theories if you claim to follow a scientific approach – they're built on fundamentally different assumptions about how humans learn.
The Moral Imperative – Coach educators and curriculum designers have a duty to expose practitioners to alternative learning paradigms, not just the dominant cognitive approach, so coaches can make genuinely informed choices about their practice.

This conversation challenges us to think critically about how we develop coaches and whether we're truly serving the practitioners and participants who depend on quality coaching experiences.

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Ready to explore these ideas further? Join The Guild of Ecological Explorers – a community of practitioners committed to deepening their understanding of ecological dynamics and constraints-led approaches. Head to www.thetalentequation.co.uk and click the 'Join a Learning Group' button to become part of this transformative conversation

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By Stuart Armstrong

4.6

5858 ratings

October 07, 2025

"You can take a pick and mix approach to theory - but not if you want to be evidence based" - A conversation with the Constraints Collective

1 hour 33 minutes

The Educational Paradigm Problem – Coach education has been built on the same linear, knowledge-transfer models used in formal schooling, creating a massive "knowing-doing gap" that leaves coaches unprepared for real-world practice.
The Dualism Dilemma – You can't truly pick and mix between ecological and information-processing theories if you claim to follow a scientific approach – they're built on fundamentally different assumptions about how humans learn.
The Moral Imperative – Coach educators and curriculum designers have a duty to expose practitioners to alternative learning paradigms, not just the dominant cognitive approach, so coaches can make genuinely informed choices about their practice.

...more