Vicky Gottwald BSc. PGCE. PGDip. PhD. SFHEA is a skill acquisition researcher and member of the Institute of Psychology for Elite Performance (IPEP) at Bangor University. Her research interests are well aligned with her passion for sports coaching, and she is particularly interested in coaching instruction. More specifically, the way in which verbal instruction can direct an athlete's attention and consequently, either enhance or impede motor learning and performance. Similarly, Vicky has an interest in talent identification and development; specifically, with regards to enhancing the practice environment for optimal performance.

Vicky is the Talent Identification and Transfer lead for the Welsh Institute for Performance Science (WIPS: https://www.swansea.ac.uk/sports-science/astem/wips/); a three-way partnership between Sport Wales, Wales’ leading academic sport scientists and relevant industry partners to support multi-disciplinary, world-leading, applied performance science projects that enhance the performance of Welsh athletes and businesses.

As a UKCC Level 4 basketball coach, Vicky has extensive experience applying skill acquisition related theoretical concepts in practice and has coached across various stages of the Basketball Wales National Team Programmes. 

School of Psychology and Sport Science, Institute for the Psychology of Elite Performance (IPEP)

Location: George Building (Room 302)

Email: v.m.gottwald@bangor.ac.uk

Tel: +44(0)1248 382824

Twitter: @GottwaldVicky

Research Group: http://ipep.bangor.ac.uk/ 

Vicky is a researcher in skill acquisition with particular interest in coaching instruction. She is a UKCC Level 4 Coach and the Talent Identification and Transfer Lead for the Welsh Institute of Performance Science (WIPS). She has experience working with a number of high performance sporting organisations, including UK Sport, Weigthlifting Wales, Welsh Rowing, England Athletics and UK Deaf Sport.

  • Postgraduate Diploma in Elite Coaching Practice
    University of Central Lancashire, 2019
  • Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)
    Higher Education Academy, 2016
  • PhD Skill Acquisition
    Bangor University, 2011
  • M-Level Postgraduate Certificate of Education (Secondary Physical Education)
    University of Southampton, 2007
  • BSc Sports Science
    University of Wales, Bangor, 2006

I currently teach on the following modules:

  • Level 2 Skill Acquisition
  • Level 2 Sports Psychology Theory and Practice
  • Level 3 Planning your Coaching System

I am willing to supervise PhD candidates on projects within areas of expertise e.g. coaching instruction (attentional focus), practice structure and talent identification and development.

Self-funded (inc.agency-funded) projects: I welcome informal enquiries from prospective PhD students interested in projects related to the above topic areas. Please submit a draft research proposal to v.m.gottwald@bangor.ac.uk. 

Funded projects: Studentship opportunities within the School can be found at: https://www.bangor.ac.uk/studentfinance/postgraduate/funding#psychology

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  • BU-IIA Funded Project: Life’s a beach: Anthropometric and psychological profiles of the World’s best Beach Sprint Rowers to determine future talent identification and selection protocols

    Anthropometric and psychological profiles of the World’s best Beach Sprint Rowers to determine future talent identification and selection protocols - research carried out by BU at 2022 World Coastal Rowing Championships.

    Rees et al.’s (2017) review of current knowledge on the development of the World’s best sporting talent, recommends practitioners adopt anthropometric profiling for talent selection protocols and psychological profiling for talent development purposes. Of note, Hardy et al. (2017) state anthropometric and psychological profiles are almost certainly sport specific. This also builds on Gottwald et al. 2022 work with Weightlifting Wales (KESS II funded).

    Project outcomes will be fourfold: (1) inform the development of talent selection and development protocols within British Rowing and globally; (2) contribute to research excellence via two high calibre REF returnable manuscripts and contribution to an impact case study (REF 2028); (3) strengthen industry partnerships via fostering relationships with Welsh, British, and World Rowing; and (4) enhance the student experience by providing skill development and employability opportunities for BU students. (1)Aligned with BU’s economic, social and civic impact, data will be used to inform talent identification, selection, and development protocols. Beach sprint rowing remains in its infancy and researchers and practitioners are yet to determine the optimal anthropometric and psychological profile for successful performance at the highest level of this sport. Having this unique data set will allow us to have genuine impact and raise the profile of the sport by enhancing the calibre of athletes competing within it. Similarly, data will contribute to enhanced inclusivity in rowing. Where traditionally, rowing has relied upon selection protocols biased towards ‘tall and talented’, the different physical demands of beach sprints will likely suit a smaller stature retaining a broader range of athletes within the sport. However, this shift is unlikely to happen without the proposed data to support it. (2)Aligned with research excellence, this work will contribute to a likely 4* rated REF impact case study (ICS) surrounding talent identification and development, continuing the School’s successful track record of this type of activity (1 x 3.5* and 1 x 4* REF 2020 ICS). It is well aligned with other talent related projects culminating within the current REF 2028 period, so would contribute to create some critical mass in this area (e.g., work with Weightlifting Wales / UK Sport Pathway to Podium / ECB). As testament to the potential calibre of this applied project, it has been supported in principle by the Welsh Institute of Performance Sciences; a three-way partnership between Sport Wales, Wales’ leading academic sport scientists, and relevant industry partners to support multi-disciplinary, world-leading, applied science projects that enhance the performance of Welsh athletes and businesses. The project will aim to culminate in one strong REF returnable output investigating the anthropometric and psychological determinants of expertise in beach sprinting; based largely on this being the first dataset of its kind and the unique nature of the elite sample. Data will also contribute to a second talent transfer oriented dataset (funded by Welsh Rowing) investigating differences in anthropometric and psychological profiles of beach sprinters transferring from traditional flat-water backgrounds to coastal rowing (the most common pathway rowers currently progress to elite levels within the sport). This will likely be another strong output due to talent transfer being a relatively novel aspect of the talent literature and the cutting-edge analytic techniques (i.e., pattern recognition analysis) we will utilise. Outputs produced by all the authors were entered in REF 2021 and were of at least 3* quality. (3)Our involvement in this event will support the primary research team to strengthen existing research collaborations with Welsh Rowing whilst developing new collaborations with British Rowing and the World federation, increasing the scale and scope of our research partnerships. This is consistent with the BU research strategy to increase visibility and impact of its world-leading research by fostering relationships with industry partners. We anticipate that this will help set the scene for future impact related work; one initiative World Rowing have already shown a keen interest in is the development of a new contemporary GPS-based timing system for the sport, which would have global impact and potential enterprise opportunities.

    Funding awarded through the Bangor University Innovation and Impact Award (Research Wales Innovation Funding). Value = £8,783

    4 May 2022 – 30 Apr 2023

    Activity: Other (Contributor)

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Basketball, Coaching, Sea Swimming, Meditation