Dr Chris Pocock
Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology
About
Chris is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology (Skill Acquisition). Chris leads undergraduate and postgraduate modules which focus on skill acquisition and cognitive psychology for sports performance. Chris also contributes to teaching research methods and supervises a range of undergraduate and postgraduate research projects.
Prior to joining the university in 2020, Chris completed his PhD at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, which focused on understanding key constraints in Rugby Union place kicking. Chris’ current research interests include applying an ecological dynamics framework to understanding performance environments, using experiential knowledge of players and coaches to inform representative practice design, and analysing visual exploratory activity in sport.
Professional
Education
- 2019 – PhD in Expert Performance and Skill Acquisition, St Mary’s University, Twickenham
- 2017 – Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- 2017 – Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education, St Mary’s University, Twickenham
- 2015 – Master of Research (Science), University of Portsmouth
- 2014 – BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science, University of Portsmouth
Teaching
Chris is module co-ordinator for:
- The Research Dissertation (Level 7)
- Cognitive Processes in Sport (Level 7)
- Cognitive Psychology for Sports Performance (Level 5)
- Introduction to Skill Acquisition (Level 4)
Chris also contributes to the Level 4 module of Evaluating Sport, Exercise and Health.
In addition to teaching and module co-ordination, Chris is the programme co-ordinator for MSc Sports Coaching.
Research
Research Interests
Chris’ research focuses on applying an ecological dynamics framework to understand skilled performance and designing representative practice environments.
Understanding key constraints and contextual factors that influence performance of self-paced skills, and using experiential knowledge of players and coaches, has informed Chris’ research on practice design in sport.
During his PhD, Chris used qualitative and quantitative research methods to understand task, environmental, individual and situational constraints which influence place kicking performance in Rugby Union.
Other current research interests include visual exploratory activity in football and how expert performers scan for information to guide skilled actions.
Research Supervision
Currently supervising PhD students on the following projects:
- Understanding visual exploratory activity in women’s football: Developing recommendations for practice design
Research Output
Articles
Roca, A., Pocock, C. and Ford, P., R. (2024) Exploring decision-making practices during coaching sessions in grassroots youth soccer: a mixed-methods study. Science and Medicine in Football. pp. 1-8. ISSN 2473-3938 10.1080/24733938.2024.2399011
Feist, J., Runswick, O. R., Hope, E., North, J. S. and Pocock, C. (2024) Pattern recognition in soccer: Perceptions of skilled defenders and experienced coaches. The Journal of Sport and Exercise Science, 8 (1). pp. 20-32. ISSN 2703-240X 10.36905/jses.2024.01.04
Feist, J., Datson, N., Runswick, O. R., Harkness-Armstrong, A. and Pocock, C. (2024) Visual exploratory activity in elite women’s soccer: An analysis of the UEFA Women’s European Championship 2022. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. pp. 1-23. ISSN 1557-251X 10.1080/1612197X.2023.2300386
Figgins, S. G., Slater, M. J., Smith, M. J., Miller, A. J., Sharpe, B. T., Pocock, C. and Maiden, J. (2024) Promote “we” to inspire me: examining the roles of group identification and trust in the association between identity leadership and follower inspiration. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. pp. 1-20. ISSN 1557-251X 10.1080/1612197X.2023.2300001
Sharpe, B. T., Obine, E., Birch, P. D. J., Pocock, C. and Moore, L. (2023) Performance breakdown under pressure among esports competitors. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology. pp. 1-22. ISSN 2157-3905 10.1037/spy0000337
Runswick, O. R., Rawlinson, A., Allen, P. M., Sharpe, B. T., Pocock, C., Datson, N., Birch, P. D. J., Bruce, R. and Mann, D. L. (2023) The effects of simulated vision impairment on performance in football. Journal of Sports Sciences, 41 (14). pp. 1410-1422. ISSN 0264-0414 10.1080/02640414.2023.2273093
Jewell, S., Murphy, C. P., Pocock, C. and North, J. S. (2022) Exploring how the experiences of English youth football coaches have shaped their approach to player learning. The Journal of Sport and Exercise Science, 6 (3). pp. 179-190. ISSN 2703-240X 10.36905/jses.2022.03.04
Eldridge, D., Pocock, C., Pulling, C., Kearney, P. E. and Dicks, M. (2022) Visual exploratory activity and practice design: Perceptions of experienced coaches in professional football academies. International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching. pp. 1-12. ISSN 1747-9541 10.1177/17479541221122412
Pocock, C., Bezodis, N. E., Davids, K. and North, J. S. (2021) Effects of manipulating specific individual constraints on performance outcomes, emotions, and movement phase durations in Rugby Union place kicking. Human Movement Science, 79 (102848). pp. 1-12. ISSN 0167-9457 10.1016/j.humov.2021.102848
North, J. S., Bezodis, N. E., Murphy, C. P., Runswick, O. R., Pocock, C. and Roca, A. (2018) The effect of consistent and varied follow-through practice schedules on learning a table tennis backhand. Journal of Sports Sciences. pp. 1-8. ISSN 0264-0414 10.1080/02640414.2018.1522683
Conference or Workshop Items
Birch, P. D. J., Sharpe, B. T., Obine, E., Pocock, C. and Moore, L. (2024) Pressure impacts esports performance. In: 17th European Congress of Sport Psychology, 15 - 19 July 2024, Innsbruck, Austria. (Unpublished)
Feist, J., Datson, N., Runswick, O. R. and Pocock, C. (2024) Testing the validity of a 360-degree soccer video simulation for analysing visual exploratory activity in women’s soccer. In: Extended Reality and Skill Acquisition Symposium, Wednesday 15th May - Thursday 16th May 2024, King's College London. (Unpublished)
Sharpe, B. T., Obine, E., Birch, P. D. J., Pocock, C. and Moore, L. (2023) Stress influences gaze behaviour, quiet eye durations, and esport action performance. In: Annual Research Conference 2023, University of Chichester, 5 - 6 July 2023, Bognor Regis, England.
Feist, J., Datson, N., Runswick, O. R., Harkness-Armstrong, A. and Pocock, C. (2023) Visual exploratory activity in elite women’s soccer: An analysis of the UEFA Women’s European Championship 2022. In: University of Chichester 11th Annual Research Conference 2023, 5 - 6 July 2023, University of Chichester, Bognor Regis, England. (Unpublished)
Feist, J., Runswick, O. R., Hope, E., North, J. S. and Pocock, C. (2023) Pattern recognition in soccer: perceptions of skilled players and experienced coaches. In: 10th Meeting of Expertise and Skill Acquisition Network, 17th-18th May 2023, Manchester, UK.
Feist, J., Datson, N., Runswick, O. R., Harkness-Armstrong, A. and Pocock, C. (2023) Visual exploratory activity in elite women’s soccer: An analysis of the UEFA Women’s European Championships 2022. In: 10th Meeting of Expertise and Skill Acquisition Network, 17th-18th May 2023, Manchester, UK. (Submitted)
Roca, A., Aguilera-Suarez, S., Pocock, C. and Ford, P., R. (2022) Decision-making practices during coaching sessions in grassroots youth soccer: A mixed-methods investigation. In: World Conference on Science and Soccer, 15th-17th June 2022, Coimbra, Portugal.
North, J. S., Bezodis, N. E., Murphy, C. P., Runswick, O. R., Pocock, C. and Roca, A. (2017) The Effect of Consistent and Varied Follow-Through Practice Schedules on Learning a Table Tennis Backhand. In: 7th Annual Meeting of Expertise and Skill Acquisition Network, 24-25 May 2017, Coventry, UK.
Other department members
Amber Hartigan
Lecturer in Sports Therapy
