Ed Cope

Dr. Ed Cope is a Senior Lecturer in Sports Coaching at Loughborough University, a position he assumed in January 2024 following his appointment as Lecturer in 2019. Previously, he held academic roles at Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Hull, and worked at the English Football Association (FA), where he contributed to designing and developing FA education courses. He earned a BSc in Sport Coaching from Leeds Beckett University (2009), an MSc in Sports Coaching Science from the University of Worcester (2011), and a PhD from the University of Bedfordshire (2014), focusing on children’s sports coaching pedagogical practices under Professors Stephen Harvey and David Kirk.

His research interests center on sports coaching pedagogy, coach education systems, youth sports development, anti-doping policies, and qualitative methodologies in coaching studies. He has pioneered frameworks like the Coach Educator Pedagogy Analysis System (CEPAS) and contributed to projects such as the Anti-Doping Values in Coach Education (ADVICE) mobile application. His work often explores the intersection of policy, practice, and ethical considerations in sports coaching.

Dr. Cope’s recent publications highlight trends in coach education effectiveness, athlete-coach dialogue analysis, and the sociocultural dimensions of sports participation. His research also addresses critical issues like nicotine use in professional football and bullying dynamics in youth sports. He is affiliated with Loughborough’s Sport Performance research group and actively engages with national governing bodies to shape evidence-based coaching frameworks.