The Applied Sport and Exercise Practitioner

This book is designed to help all developing sport and exercise practitioners navigate the complex, messy and rewarding world of applied work. The book explores contemporary conceptual issues surrounding applied practice such as the identity and role of the applied practitioner, professional ethics and how to be part of a multi-disciplinary team. In addition it will also offer a critique of the soft, inter-personal skills required by all good practitioners. The book takes a broad cross-disciplinary look at these issues by covering both domains of sport and exercise. The challenges for the sport practitioner are often the same ones faced by the exercise practitioner and there is much to be learnt from looking across domains. In addition, the book dives in to how sport and exercise practitioners on the ‘frontline’ have developed their practice in specific domains or with particular populations. The intention is to draw links from the conceptual to the practical throughout the text. Authors will be invited to weave together insights from personal practice, ‘tales from the field’, with current theoretical ideas about practice. The book will also tackle the real nitty gritty information around practical issues such as insurance or data protection. Too often discussion of practice doesn’t expose the developing practitioner to these basic yet critical issues in working in applied settings.
Finally, the book looks at how practice might evolve and provide a challenging vision for the future. Currently practice is evolving without any clear overarching framework that summarises issues or highlights areas for development. We think the book provides a platform where that can be addressed in the final chapter.