Coaches and Guidance.

AS and A Level Physical Education (Sport & Coaching)

Coaches and Guidance.

Coaches of all sports use many different guidance methods. The two methods that are relevant to this investigation are visual guidance and verbal guidance although there are also other methods used by coaches. Within these two categories are also many different ways of using each method to teach skills to performers.

This topic of the effectiveness of different guidance methods is particularly relevant to me as an under 13s Hockey coach and I am interested in how I might be able to teach skills more effectively.

To provide a focus for the study the following null hypothesis will be tested:

There will be no significant difference between the performance of a reverse stick hit dependent on whether the performers received visual and verbal guidance or just verbal guidance.

To evaluate the skills and whether they have been learnt/improved upon, qualitative analysis will be used. This will include observing the performance of the skill before the guidance methods are used, then identifying any discrepancies between the expected and actual performance. The skills will then be observed after coaching has taken place and the discrepancies noted again.

To carry out the investigation the following steps will be used:

gather a group of U13 Hockey players of similar ability
randomly divide them into two even groups
observe the chosen skill being performed by each participant before any guidance is given and note any discrepancies in the skill
separate groups for coaching on the skill
group A will be taught the skill by using a visual demonstration and verbal guidance
group B will be taught the skill by using verbal guidance only and no visual demonstration
after an equal and sufficient time for practising the skills observe the participants performing them again and note any discrepancies
compare the average number of discrepancies per group to see if there is a significant difference between them
record any further observations e.g. performance of the skill in a competitive situation

To research this area I will look at texts regarding skill acquisition and guidance as well as coaching manuals and previous research in this area.

Literature Review

“The learned ability to bring about pre-determined results with maximum certainty and minimum outlay of time, energy or both.”

This is a definition of skill as stated by Knapp (1963). In this definition he states “The learned ability” which means that in order for the learner to be able to perform the skill they must first be taught it by a coach and then practise it individually.

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To research this area I will look at texts regarding skill acquisition and guidance as well as coaching manuals and previous research in this area.

Literature Review

“The learned ability to bring about pre-determined results with maximum certainty and minimum outlay of time, energy or both.”

There are many different guidance methods that can be used. These different methods can be categorised into which senses are used to retrieve the information. However, a mixture of senses is normally used by performers to receive and process information e.g. vision and audition, but they can also be used individually.

Visual guidance is one of these categories. Harrison and Blakemore (1989) reference estimated that around 83% of all learning occurs from being shown what to do. Although this is only an estimated figure it supports the belief that visual sense is the most dominant way in which we communicate, and therefore it is one of the most common techniques used in teaching and coaching.

Shedden (1986) also supports this view: “One of the most important forms of information is visual information”. Shedden also outlines a number of different visual guidance methods, which can be put into three categories: Demonstrations, use of visual material and re-structuring of the display. reference

Using demonstrations to teach a skill has a number of advantages. Firstly, they use the learning by imitation principle that has been proven to be very effective in learning.

Demonstrations are also very time efficient and provide an immediate picture of the skill, saving the coach from expressing the task in words.

Also, for a beginner, using a visual demonstration can be a good motivator for them. For more elite performers, demonstrations can be used to highlight specific aspects of a skill being performed incorrectly.

Another advantage is that another person other than the coach can perform the demonstration. This allows the coach to point out specific areas of the skill that are important. Demonstrations by learners with weaknesses can also be useful to highlight the differences between good and bad technique.

On the other hand, demonstrations also have their disadvantages. Social Learning Theory reference suggests that observational learning only occurs if the learner:

pays attention to the demonstration
remembers the information displayed
posses the ability to carry out the movement
has the motivation to practise

When these points are considered, it can be seen that demonstrations do not cause automatic learning. The performer still has to physically produce the movement observed which is not an automatic reaction.

Visual materials can also be used to help teach a skill. Examples of these are wallcharts, diagrams, videos, three-dimensional models etc. however, these have been found to be of limited value when teaching a skill due to their static displays.

Videos are a form of visual guidance that are used increasingly by coaches both for demonstrations and feedback. However, this has only been found to be a useful method if a number of requirements are fulfilled. The learner must be verbally guided through the video to ensure that learning takes place. The learner must also be able to practise the skill immediately afterwards before their memory of the main points made in the video fades. Reference Thirdly, the performer must posses the ability to perform the skill being demonstrated. They must also be motivated enough to practise the action.

Another visual guidance method is display changes. This includes changing the equipment used so that it can be seen more clearly.

Although visual guidance is important, a great deal of teaching and coaching is done using verbal guidance. A good coach is able to set the task and describe the actions, highlighting important points verbally.

With advanced performers, these cues are detailed and technical whereas with beginners it would be more appropriate to express the cues in a way that may not be completely accurate but that will convey the feeling of the movement to the learner.

Using verbal guidance has advantages that it is immediate and needs no preparation and it is also directly relevant to the problems and capabilities of the individual learner.

However, verbal guidance also has its disadvantages. It is harder for the learner to understand the instructions and it is also harder for them to remember what has been said about specific aspects of the skill. The learner also has to translate the spoken word to a physical movement, which, without the visual aids may prove to be quite difficult for a beginner.

In relation to this investigation into Hockey skills and the effects of different types of guidance on their performance, more specific research has previously been conducted in this area.

An independent study by Adrian Metcalf (North of England U16 Hockey coach) investigated the differences between using demonstrations and visual materials to teach a skill. The visual materials were a video of the skill being performed in an international game and a flow diagram of the processes involved in the skill.

The demonstration was performed by one of the learners so that the coach could verbally describe the skill and highlight important points. He then compared the rate of learning and the quality of the skill when performed after sufficient practise, and found that the rate of learning was the same for both groups, but that the final performance of the skill was better for the group who had seen a visual demonstration than those who had used the video and the flow chart.

Simon Mason (England Women’s Hockey Coach and Ex-England Men’s Goalkeeper) conducted another study between visual and a combination of manual guidance and mental rehearsal.

The group who were exposed to the visual guidance were shown the skills both on videos and by personal demonstrations by the coach. The other group were told to visualise and imagine the feelings of the movement before being able to physically practise the skills.

The results of this study showed that the group who practised mental rehearsal first and were then aided by manual guidance performed skills consistently better than the group that were only given visual guidance. However, this study can be criticised for its lack of controls on the groups, as there was nothing to prevent the visually guided groups from using mental rehearsal.

Dr. T. Irving (North of England Goalkeeper Coach) has also suggested that visual guidance is the best method to use when teaching skills for any sport, but he has not supported his statement with evidence.

Overall, there seems to be a large amount of evidence that supports the view that visual guidance is more affective than any other form but the null hypothesis of this investigation can still be disproved by conducting the experiment by the method previously stated.