Dave Collins is Director of Grey Matters Performance Ltd and a Professorial Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. As a practitioner, he has supported over 70 world or Olympic medalists, and worked at the highest levels of professional sport and other performance domains. His current support roles include Chelsea FC, Gloucester RFC, and Snowsports New Zealand.

Andrew Cruickshank is Lead Psychologist for British Judo, Sport Psychologist for England Golf, and consultant for other elite sport organisations and governing bodies through Grey Matters Performance Ltd. Andrew is also Researcher/Lecturer within the Institute of Coaching and Performance at the University of Central Lancashire in the UK.

Geir Jordet is Professor in Sport Psychology at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Norway, and regular consultant for several European football associations and professional football clubs. He is co-owner of cognitive training software company BeYourBest.

List of illustrations; List of contributors; Foreword; Introduction - defining, delineating, and driving elite performance; PART I Coaching elites - art and science; 1.The principles of elite coaching - blending knowledge, experience, and novelty; 2. Being the personal coach; 3. Being the national coach in an Olympic sport; 4. Coaching a national team in professional football; 5. Doing it week in, week out 6. Coaching in action/adventure sports - a novel challenge; 7. Specialist coaching - coaching quarterbacks in NFL, college, and high school; 8. Developing the players of tomorrow PART II The appliance of science - uni-disciplinary perspectives 9. Physiology - working in endurance 10. Strength and conditioning in the elite team sport environment 11. Performance analysis - working in football 12. Working with psychology in professional football 13. Keeping them on the pitch 14. Medical practice with elite athletes PART III The appliance of science - interdisciplinary perspectives 15. Effective performance support - an integrated view 16. Interdisciplinary performance development in elite sport - applied sport science 17. Using data in football 18. Research and innovation - seeking and securing competitive advantage PART IV Managing elite performance systems 19. Culture, leadership, and management with elites 20. Developing elites - academy systems 21. Supporting performance - a national institute perspective 22. The performance director's role 23. Leading a national system 24. Managing a professional football club 25. Managing impressions and relationships when speaking to the sports media PART V Fitting systems to societies 26 Fitting within the social milieu 27. Vive la difference - perspectives on the challenges of being a woman in high-level sport 28. Developing coaches and players around the globe 29. The coach nomad 30. The transition to elite performance - societal contrasts in the same sport PART VI Living in the system - the performer perspective 31. The new kids on the block 32. Staying at the top in Olympic rowing for 25 years 33. Playing home and away - and away and away 34. Life AND sport - making it happen AND progressing while you play PART VII Integration - making it all work 35. Driving the performance system - DOES research help? 36. Working in the jungle - how should elite sport practitioners operate and be developed? 37. Creating long-term high performing teams Index