Elite Coaches’ Pressure Training Practices Fall Short of Guidelines, QUT Study Reveals
A groundbreaking new study from members of Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) SPRING Group has found that while elite Australian sport coaches value pressure training to prepare athletes for high-stakes competition, few are applying the practice in line with current best-practice guidelines.
Published in the International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, the study — led by Dana Ortez with co-authors Associate Professor Adam Gorman and Dr Tristan Coulter — compared the real-world practices of nine elite Australian coaches against the widely recognised multi-phased pressure training framework developed by Fletcher and Arnold (2021). The results show that although coaches understand the concept of pressure training and believe in its benefits, none fully implement the framework’s three key stages: design, implementation, and review.
“Pressure training helps simulate the psychological stress of elite competition,” Ortez explained. “But despite recognising its value, coaches often lacked the resources, knowledge, or support to deliver it in a structured and evidence-based way.”
The study involved in-depth interviews with coaches from a range of sports, including AFL, basketball, netball, surfing, and volleyball. Each had experience coaching athletes at national, international, or Olympic levels.
Key Findings
- Coaches Use Pressure, But Not Systematically: Coaches often relied on intuition, trial-and-error, and informal feedback rather than structured planning. Many attempted to simulate competition scenarios but lacked clear strategies or support from sport psychologists.
- Emotional Consequences Drive Performance: Coaches frequently used emotional triggers such as embarrassment or guilt to mimic the pressure of competition — sometimes even preferring them over physical punishments. While effective, the ethical implications of such methods warrant further attention.
- Individualisation, But No Monitoring: Coaches reported adapting pressure tasks based on athlete personality, experience, and role. However, few monitored psychological responses or performance metrics over time — a critical gap in the implementation phase of the recommended framework.
- Review Phase Largely Missing: Although coaches debriefed with athletes, these were typically informal conversations. Most admitted they lacked clear methods to assess whether pressure training was improving performance or needed adjustment.
A Call for Better Support
The study highlights the disparity between recommended best practices and what is feasible for coaches to implement in the real world. It calls for greater collaboration between researchers, coaches, and sport support teams to co-develop tools, training, and resources that make evidence-based pressure training more accessible.
“Elite coaches are already doing a lot right,” said Ortez. “But we need to bridge the gap between theory and practice — and that means giving coaches the support they need to integrate pressure training in meaningful, athlete-centred ways.”
The researchers suggest that clearer guidelines, increased access to sport psychologists, and tailored professional development could enhance how pressure training is applied in elite sport settings — helping athletes not only survive pressure, but thrive in it.
For more information or to request an interview with the research team, please contact:
Dr Dana Ortez
School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences
Queensland University of Technology
Email: d.ortez@qut.edu.au