Getting Them on the Same Page: A Method to Study the Consistency of Coaches’ and Athletes’ Situation Understanding During Training Sessions and Competitions
in The Sport PsychologistClick name to view affiliation
This article presents a method for studying the consistency of coaches’ and athletes’ situation understanding. Three elite athletes and their coach were video recorded during winter training session, international summer competition, and training session following competition. Postperformance self-confrontation interviews were conducted separately with each participant, who was asked to describe his/her activity in relation to the events observed. Interview data were used to characterize compatible (i.e., similar or the same) information between coach and athlete and modes of compatibility. Results showed compatible situation understanding was based on five information categories: (a) technical elements, (b) athlete’s psychological states, (c) organization and safety, (d) performance, and (e) athlete’s experience. Results also showed whether coaches’ and athletes’ information were not compatible, compatible, or mutually compatible. The method used and specific findings are discussed in relation to the analysis of consistency of coaches’ and athletes’ situation understanding from larger samples of participants.
Macquet is with the Dept. of Research, Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance, Paris, France.
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