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Dr David Piggott

Senior Lecturer

David is currently course leader for the MSc in Sport Coaching. He received his PhD from Loughborough University in 2008 and spent 2018-2020 as Research Lead in the Performance Insights Department at the English FA.

David's first job in HE was at the University of Lincoln, where he spent 7 years leading the undergraduate programme in Sport Development and Coaching. He moved to Leeds Beckett in 2013 and spent the next 5 years teaching across the degree and leading the MSc in Sport Coaching. In 2018 he moved to the FA to become Research Lead in the Performance Insights Department, where he led and commissioned research projects on Talent ID and Development working with the English national teams. He returned to Leeds Beckett in 2020.

David’s main research focus is effective coach development. He has delivered several funded research projects for diverse sporting bodies, including the ECB, UEFA, The FA, Premier League and UK Sport, whilst also publishing widely in this field. Most recently, David was part of the team that devised and delivered the first postgraduate course in Coach Development for the FA’s Professional Game Team. David has also been a practicing coach developer and coach educator (for Basketball England) and has consulted widely in the UK, for NGBs such as England Handball, The FA, The Premier League, GB Sailing, Cycling and Taekwondo.

David’s other research interests lie in curriculum development in sport, understanding peak experiences and flow states, and talent ID and development (stemming from his work at the FA). He also has a side interest in the philosophy of science and sociology of knowledge leading to the co-authoring of a recent book entitled ‘Rethinking Sport and Exercise Psychology Research’ (Palgrave Macmillan).

Current Teaching

MSc Course Leader
MSc Understanding and Analysing Sport Performance
BSc Model-Based Coaching (Level 6)

Research Interests

David's current research focusses on understanding coach learners (with Gary Hodgson) coach development strategies (with Bob Muir) and athlete to coach transitions (with Alex Blackett). This research informs the ongoing delivery of our work with the FA's Professional Game Team, who support coaches working across 92 professional football clubs. This work also informs programmes and consultancy work conducted with UK Sport and the EIS.

David is also part of an international research group that is trying to understand the nature of flow states (and other optimal states) in sport. Specifically, he is interested in how coaches can help to promote, or create the conditions for, flow states in their sports.