The Cheers and the Tears offers parents and coaches sensible advice and healthy alternative approaches to the competitive and stressful world of youth sports.

"Full of practical and helpful ideas for parents who want their child's youth sports experience to be a success. . . . Refreshing, honest, and down to earth."
--Joan Ryan, author, Little Girls in Pretty Boxes; columnist, San Francisco Chronicle

"Shane Murphy understands parents and helps them help their children. His guidance is immensely practical. This book is essential reading for anyone who works with children in sports."
--Christy Ness, Olympic figure skating coach, coached Kristi Yamaguchi to the 1992 Olympic Gold Medal in Women's Figure Skating

"The Cheer and the Tears is terrific! Shane Murphy provides excellent solutions to tough issues. If your child is involved in organized sports at any level, read this book!"
--Sean McCann, sport psychologist, United States Olympic Committee

The Oxford Handbook of Sport and Performance Psychology includes the latest research and applied perspectives from leaders in the field of performance psychology. Current and comprehensive, this foundational volume presents sport and performance psychology from myriad perspectives, including: - individual psychological processes in performance such as attention, imagery, superior performance intelligence, motivation, anxiety, confidence, cognition and emotion - the social psychological processes in performance including leadership, teamwork, coaching, relationships, moral behavior, and gender and cultural issues - human development issues in performance, such as the development of talent and expertise, positive youth development, the role of the family, end of involvement transitions, and both youth and masters-level sport and physical activity programs - interventions in sport and performance psychology and counseling of performers in distress including such important issues for all performers as: appearance- and performance-enhancing drug use, injuries, managing pain, eating and weight issues, burnout, and the role of physical activity in maintaining health. The chapters collected here also cover the history of sport and performance psychology; the scope and nature of the field; ethical issues in sport and performance psychology; performance psychology in the performing arts and other non-sporting fields; perfectionism and performance; the role of the performance coach and of the sport psychologist with a coach and team; supervision; and a look ahead to the future of the field.