Communicating during a match

sports coach UK Research Summary 6

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Communicating with Players during a Match

What can we learn from how elite level coaches communicate with their players during competitive matches? The answer: well, quite a lot, as a team of academics from France, the UK and Australia found out in new research published in 2013.

sports coach UK Research Summary 6 – Communicating with Players during a Match

The Theory The researchers identified that the majority of coaching research considers coach behaviour during training sessions. They found coach behaviour during matches is often overlooked, hence the need for this new study.

The academics worked with six elite level French rugby union coaches (five male, one female) from the national under-21, France A women’s and France amateur teams. The coaches’ in-match behaviour was monitored during world championship or European championship matches.

The researchers recognised that coach behaviour is influenced by things that take place at a wider level than simply the competitive match itself. So, to ensure they could fully understand why the coaches communicated in the ways they did, they monitored their behaviour in a number of different ways.

These included: An in-depth interview one week before the match where the coaches talked about their typical in-match communications and behaviour

A five-minute interview just before kick-off to get their intended game strategy

Video recording the coaches on the touchline and recording their in-match communications using microphones worn during the match

Video recording the game from the stands so changes in teams’ performance could be identified and linked to the coaches’ behaviour at that time

A 45-minute interview one day after the match where coaches reflected on the moments of communication that they felt were most important

The researchers analysed the number of times the coaches communicated and at what stage of the match, how they communicated, what they said, their intentions, and the result of their communications on the players.

What they found out is in one sense not surprising, but it does provide us with some interesting tips that coaches in any sport may use when communicating with players during a match.

sports coach UK Research Summary 6 – Communicating with Players during a Match

What Influences Your Touchline Behaviour? When reflecting on the match the day afterwards, the researchers found a number of things were influencing the coaches’ behaviour. The coaches attributed their coaching style to their personal characteristics, their own experiences of rugby and their understanding of their players. However, they suggested the commonalities identified were shaped by the culture of French rugby. For example, there is a strong culture of providing mainly positive feedback to players. What can we learn from this? Coaches’ behaviour is likely to be influenced by the surroundings in which they find themselves, but they are also likely to behave in ways that reflect their individual personalities.

As we probably could have predicted, there were commonalities in the coaches’ touchline behaviour, as well as differences based on their individual coaching styles. Things the coaches had in common included communicating more during the most important points of the match (eg when there was a change in the scoreline), communicating mostly by shouting or calling to the players, and providing players with mostly positive feedback. Their individual coaching styles were also evident, with some preferring to communicate while the ball was in play, others preferring to communicate when the game had stopped, and a third group communicating at all times.

sports coach UK Research Summary 6 – Communicating with Players during a Match

Adapting to the Situation

In one match, a coach noticed the opponents were employing aggressive tactics in order to provoke the French players. The video showed a fight, three penalties and five entrances by the physio during this period. The coach immediately passed messages to the physio and a player, telling them not to react to the provocation, to remain focused on the game and to stay in the contest.

This communication was effective as, just minutes later, the video captured another penalty. The French players controlled their emotions and walked away from the verbal and physical provocations of their opponents.

In another match, after seeing an opponent forward sin binned, another coach immediately told the physio to tell the players to pressure the opposition’s remaining forwards to tire them out. The coach repeated this message twice with a player to reinforce the importance of the change in strategy. The video recording showed the French team having significant success in the four minutes immediately after this communication. What’s really interesting about this example is that the coach behaved in a way that even he did not expect. In the interview a week earlier, this coach said his in-match role would be very limited in terms of communication. Yet the recording showed him adapting his communications almost instantly as a specific event unfolded during the match.

The researchers also proved that coaches adapted their communications to specific events that unfolded during the match. They made very quick decisions that changed the match strategy and resulted in effective periods for their team.

sports coach UK Research Summary 6 – Communicating with Players during a Match

Learning from the Research

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Don’t stick to a rigid, predefined in-match strategy – adapt your communications to specific situations and events that occur during a match, particularly when these present opportunities for your team.

Reflect on your in-match communications the day after a game (or as soon as possible). This will help you understand what you did, why you did it and what impact it had on your players. Ultimately, this can help you prepare for similar situations in future matches.

The research showed that some coaches’ in-match behaviour is influenced by the culture of their sport. If coaches in your sport are influenced in the same way, would changing your behaviour to differentiate yourself from the opposition give you a competitive advantage?

The study also recommended actions that could help improve these elite level coaches’ in-match communications. No matter what your sport or level, you may also wish to consider using these recommendations in your coaching:

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Use gestures to communicate with your players during the match, rather than shouting or calling.

Nominate individual players to receive instructions during specific points of the match (eg in rugby union, the hooker may take all messages that relate to the line-out from the coach).

Give players feedback that reflects their performance (although the coaches in this study gave mainly positive feedback, when negative feedback was provided on technical errors they had made, players’ performances subsequently improved).

Further Reading If you are interested in finding out more about this area, this summary is based on the article below: Mouchet, A., Harvey, S. and Light, R. (2013) ‘A study on in-match rugby coaches’ communications with players: A holistic approach’, Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy. Other more general reading includes: Bloom, G. A., Crumpton, R. and Anderson, J.E. (1999) ‘A systematic observation study of the teaching behaviours of an expert basketball coach’, The Sport Psychologist, 13 (2): 157–170. Cassidy, T., Jones, R.L. and Potrac, P. (2008) Understanding Sports Coaching: The Social, Cultural and Pedagogical Foundations of Coaching Practice. 2nd edition. New York: Routledge. ISBN: 978-0-415442-72-5. Côté, J., Salmela, J.H. and Russell, S. (1995) ‘The knowledge of high-performance gymnastic coaches: Competition and training considerations’, The Sport Psychologist, 9 (1): 76–95. Côté, J. and Sedgwick, W.A. (2003) ‘Effective behaviours of expert rowing coaches: A qualitative investigation of Canadian athletes and coaches’, International Sports Journal, 7 (1): 62–77. Gilbert, W. and Trudel, P. (2001) ‘Learning to coach through experience: Reflection in model youth sport coaches’, Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 21 (1): 16–34.

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This research with elite level coaches can provide coaches at any level in any sport with helpful tips for communicating with players during competitive matches. You may wish to consider the following points:

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