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.
Key Publications
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles:
- Feist, J., Datson, N., Runswick, O., Harkness-Armstrong, A., & 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 (In Press).
- Figgins, S. G., Slater, M. J., Smith, M. J., Miller, A. J., Sharpe, B. T., Pocock, C., & 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 (In Press).
- Sharpe, B. T., Obine, E. A., Birch, P. D., Pocock, C., & Moore, L. J. (2023). Performance breakdown under pressure among esports competitors. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology (In Press).
- Runswick, O. R., Rawlinson, A., Allen, P. M., Sharpe, B. T., Pocock, C., Datson, N., … & Mann, D. L. (2023). The effects of simulated vision impairment on performance in football. Journal of Sports Sciences, 41(14), 1410-1422.
- Eldridge, D., Pocock, C., Pulling, C., Kearney, P., & Dicks, M. (2023). Visual exploratory activity and practice design: Perceptions of experienced coaches in professional football academies. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 18(2), 370-381.
- Jewell, S., Murphy, C. P., Pocock, C., & 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), 179-190.
- Pocock, C., Bezodis, N. E., Davids, K., & 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.
- Pocock, C., Bezodis, N. E., Davids, K., Wadey, R., & North, J. S. (2020). Understanding key constraints and practice design in Rugby Union place kicking: Experiential knowledge of professional kickers and experienced coaches. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 15(5-6), 631-641.
- Pocock, C., Dicks, M., Thelwell, R. C., Chapman, M., & Barker, J. B. (2019). Using an imagery intervention to train visual exploratory activity in elite academy football players. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 31(2), 218-234.
- Pocock, C., Bezodis, N. E., Davids, K., & North, J. S. (2018). Hot hands, cold feet? Investigating effects of interacting constraints on place kicking performance at the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup. European Journal of Sport Science, 18(10), 1309-1316.
- North, J. S., Bezodis, N. E., Murphy, C., Runswick, O. R., Pocock, C., & Roca, A. (2018). The effect of consistent and varied follow-through practice schedules on learning a table tennis backhand. Journal of Sports Sciences, 37(6), 613-620.
- Dicks, M., Pocock, C., Thelwell, R. C., & van der Kamp, J. (2017). A novel on-field training intervention improves novice goalkeeper penalty kick performance. The Sport Psychologist, 31(2), 129-133.
Conference presentations:
- Feist, J., Datson, N., Runswick, O. R., Harkness-Armstrong, A., & Pocock, C. (2023). Visual exploratory activity in elite women’s soccer: An analysis of the UEFA Women’s European Championships 2022. Expertise and Skill Acquisition Network Conference. 17th-18th May 2023, Manchester, U.K. (Invited symposium presentation).
- Feist, J., Runswick, O. R., Hope, E., North, J. S., & Pocock, C. (2023). Pattern Recognition in Soccer: Perceptions of Skilled Players and Experienced Coaches. Expertise and Skill Acquisition Network Conference. 17th-18th May 2023, Manchester, U.K. (Poster presentation).
- Pocock, C., Feist, J., Eldridge, D., & Pulling, C. (2023). Developing Visual Exploratory Activity (Scanning) in Practice Environments. League Managers Association Masterclass. 10th May 2023, St George’s Park, Burton-upon-Trent, U.K. (Invited symposium presentation).
- Figgins, S., Slater, M., Smith, M., Miller, A., Sharpe, B., Pocock, C., & Maiden, J. (2022). Promote we to inspire me: Trust mediates the relationship between identity leadership and follower inspiration. International Conference in Social Identity and Sport. 25th-28th June 2022, Liverpool, U.K. (Oral Presentation).
- Roca, A., Suarez, S., Pocock, C., & Ford, P. R. (2022). Decision-making practices during coaching sessions in grassroots youth soccer: A mixed-methods investigation. World Conference on Science and Soccer. 15th-17th June 2022, Coimbra, Portugal (Oral Presentation).
- Runswick, O. R., Rawlinson, A., Datson, N., Pocock, C., Sharpe, B. T., Birch, P. D. J., Allen, P. M., & Mann, D. L. (2021). The effects of simulated vision impairment on technical and perceptual-cognitive performance in football: developing evidence for minimum impairment criteria. VISTA Conference. 18th November 2021, Virtual Conference (Oral Presentation).
- Pocock, C., Bezodis, N. E., Davids, K., & North, J. S. (2019). Experiential knowledge of key constraints: Implications for representative practice environments. Expertise and Skill Acquisition Network Conference. 2nd May 2019, St Mary’s University, Twickenham, U.K. (Invited Symposium Presentation).
- Pocock, C., Bezodis, N. E., Davids, K., & North, J. S. (2017). Experiential knowledge of elite Rugby Union players on key performance constraints in place kicking. Second Scientific Conference on Motor Skill Acquisition. 14th-17th November 2017, Kisakallio, Finland (Oral Presentation).
- Pocock, C., Bezodis, N. E., Davids, K., & North, J. S. (2017). Effects of task and contextual constraints on place kicking performance at the 2015 Rugby World Cup. North American Society for Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity Conference. 4th-8th June 2017, San Diego, USA (Poster Presentation).
- Pocock, C., Bezodis, N. E., Davids, K., & North, J. S. (2017). Effects of task and contextual constraints on place kicking performance at the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Expertise and Skill Acquisition Network Conference. 24th-25th May 2017, Coventry, U.K. (Poster Presentation).
- North, J. S., Bezodis, N. E., Murphy, C. P., Runswick, O. R., Pocock, C., & Roca, A. (2017). The effect of consistent and varied follow-through practice schedules on learning a table tennis backhand. Expertise and Skill Acquisition Network Conference. 24th-25th May 2017, Coventry, U.K. (Poster Presentation).
- Pocock, C., Dicks, M., Thelwell, R. C., Chapman, M., & Barker, J. B. (2017). Using an imagery intervention to train Visual Exploratory Activity in elite academy football players. Research in Imagery and Observation Conference. 18th-19th May 2017, University of Roehampton, U.K. (Oral Presentation).
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
- Examining motor learning approaches in contemporary dance teaching: A theoretical and applied perspective
Research Output
Articles
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
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
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. ISSN 2703-240X (In Press)
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
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)
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., 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.
