Abstract
One of the major criticisms of applied sport psychology research is that the actual research on elite high performance athletes is limited or more often, retrospective. Working in the COPSIN network, an essential component of research at the elite level is that it needs to directly impact performance. There are opportunities for researchers and practitioners to conduct meaningful research however the questions need to be driven by the coach and IST. Do not be discouraged, understanding the environment will allow greater chance for research proposals to be accepted. Areas that will be described are: (1) topics and/or questions that are of interest to sports and funding organizations, (2) funding pathways, (3) cross discipline research projects, and (4) monitoring and performance interventions validation. A consideration for all researchers is the necessity for a clear understanding of the daily training and competitive environments when planning any type of intervention and controls.
