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Journal of Sports Sciences Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rjsp20
Training coaches to observe and remember a
Ian M. Franks & Gary Miller
a
a
School of Physical Education and Recreation , University of British Columbia , 6081 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1W5, Canada Published online: 14 Nov 2007.
To cite this article: Ian M. Franks & Gary Miller (1991) Training coaches to observe and remember, Journal of Sports Sciences, 9:3, 285-297, DOI: 10.1080/02640419108729890 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02640419108729890
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sublicensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http:// www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
Journal of Sports Sciences, 1991, 9, 285-297
Training coaches to observe and remember IAN M. FRANKS* and GARY MILLER School of Physical Education and Recreation, University of British Columbia, 6081 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC V6T 1W5, Canada
Downloaded by [Oregon State University] at 22:12 19 December 2014
Accepted 23 August 1990
Abstract
This study tested a video training method that was intended to improve the observational skills of soccer coaches. Three groups of soccer coaches were tested prior to and following a training period. The experimental group was exposed to a video training programme that was designed to highlight certain key elements of soccer team performance. Although both control groups were exposed to the same video excerpts as the experimental group, they were given different orienting activities. The subjects in control group 2 were asked to discuss these excerpts with a colleague and then write a report on what they had seen, while control group 1 members repeated prior test conditions that required them to remember certain events that preceded the scoring of goals. The results indicate that, although all coaches were incapable of remembering more than 40% of pertinent information, the subjects in the experimental group improved their ability to recall all events that surrounded the 'taking of shots'. Keywords: Behaviour observation, video training, remembering, coaching, quantitative analysis.
Introduction The human perceptual and memory system can effectively and elegantly create organized meaningful structure out of physical experience. This same system has also been shown to be both unreliable and deceptively inaccurate when recalling complex, sequentially dependent events in a natural setting. As early as 1904, William Stern (translated by Neisser, 1982) reported that his students, who had unknowingly been part of a small study on eyewitness testimony, were extremely inaccurate when they attempted to recall the sequential events that had transpired during a previous seminar. Since then, a considerable amount of research has documented sources of unreliability as well as the possible psychological processes that are responsible for this distortion of factual evidence (see Wells and Loftus, 1984, for a detailed review of eyewitness testimony). For example, Buckhout (1974, p. 23) stated:
The person who sees an accident or witnesses a crime and is then asked to describe what he saw cannot call up an 'instant replay'. He must depend on his memory, with all its limitations. The limitations may be unimportant in ordinary daily activities. If someone is a little unreliable, if he trims the truth a bit in describing what he has seen, it ordinarily does not matter too much. When he is a witness, the inaccuracy escalates in importance. *To whom all correspondence should be addressed. 0264-0414/91 $03.00 + .12 © 1991 E. & F.N. Spon
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Comparisons between eyewitness testimony to criminal events and eyewitness testimony to sporting events have been made in an earlier paper (Franks and Miller, 1986) and it is generally accepted that the accurate recall of salient facts that relate to successful athletic performance is considered to be an integral component of the coaching process (Franks and Nagelkerke, 1988). There are, however, two important differences that may invalidate such a comparison. One is that the coach is prepared to observe an expected event, whereas the eyewitness to a crime is often confronted with a violent and unexpected situation. Secondly, the coach is considered to be an expert observer of sporting competition. The eyewitness to a crime does not practise observing criminal situations prior to the critical event. Despite these apparent differences, we (Franks et al., 1985; Franks and Miller, 1986; Miller, 1989) have found that without the aid of an external memory device (e.g. tape-recorder, videotaperecorder, event recording sheet, computer, etc.), coaches are generally unreliable and inaccurate in their ability to recall pertinent, sequential facts from a sporting environment. There appear to be two possible solutions that may aid the coach who is confronted with this problem. The first involves developing fast, efficient and portable external memory devices that can condense game-related information and also retrieve qualitatively acceptable data (preferably video images). Several computer-video interactive sport analysis systems have been developed that can record, store, analyse and retrieve game information accurately and reliably (Franks and Goodman, 1986; Franks et al., 1987). Because these systems are at present relatively expensive and require a trained operator to record the information, a second solution to this problem is proposed. This solution is to train the observational skills of coaches. In a brief survey of coaching education programmes throughout Canadian sport, the training of coaches, to observe accurately and reliably, was conspicuous by its absence. This study, therefore, was designed to develop and test a training method that would improve the skills of observation and recall of coaches in the sport of Association Football (soccer).
A model of behaviour observation
If observers are to recall accurately selective events that occur over a prolonged period of time, then they should develop a systematic framework that primes the observation process and directs their perceptions objectively (see Wickelgren, 1979, p. 185; Neisser and Becklen, 1975). In an attempt to develop such a framework, Newtson's (1976) model of the process of behaviour perception was adapted to help coaches organize their perceptions of gamerelated information. The basic premise of this model was that changes in ongoing behaviour should be the unit of analysis, and observation of continuous events that included distinctive and well-defined intervals within the sequence of actions, would be recalled more accurately than a stream of behaviours that had ill-defined and inconsistent intervals. The implication of Newtson's work is that behaviour perception must impose a short-term memory load on the observer. Thus feature selection is imperative and a skilled observer is one who selects the least redundant set of critical features for the perceptual organization of the event. Furthermore, veteran (skilled) observers develop a specialized set of predictive features for use in observation. Newtson and Engquist (1976) found that subjects who used break-points as an observational aid were significantly more accurate in their descriptions of action sequences, rated the sequence as more intelligible, and more accurately judged the sequence of events. These results suggest that the break-points imposed upon the stimulus
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array by an observer are the basis for the formation of perceptual units of behaviour. Training coaches to observe the game of soccer would require an operational definition of both consistent break-points and specialized predictive features of game action. In order to define a break-point in the game of soccer, a simple two-state model of invasive team sports was used (Franks et al., 1982). Briefly, this model considers that 'ball possession' is at the apex of a hierarchy defining all possible actions within the game. When a team has possession of the ball, its objective is to score goals using various tactics and strategies. Each possession then becomes a possible chance to fulfil this objective. A natural and important event within a game is, then, a change in ball possession, and this should serve as the breakpoint for the observed stimulus array. After defining the break-point, the next problem is to decide upon a set of predictive features that emanate from this change in ball possession. A considerable amount of data has been collected on the game of soccer over the past 40 years (Reep and Benjamin, 1968; Franks et al., 1983; Partridge and Franks, 1989). An analysis of these data has made it possible to propose several key predictive features of team play that lead to the scoring of goals in soccer (Franks, 1988). Figure 1 illustrates the flow of team play beginning at a breakpoint (change in ball possession) and moving through several possible alternative sequences of action to the 'shooting opportunity'. These opportunities are created from the key predictive features of team play which have been shown to produce goals, and therefore emphasize the expectation of shots being taken and goals being scored. IOPALS SCORED|
SHOTS ON GOAL I [ALL SHOTS TAKEN (ON TARGET. OFF TARGET. BLOCKED) |
[ALL REPOSSESSIONS (PERCEPTUAL BREAK-POINT)
Fig. 1. The predictive feature of team play for the sport of soccer.
Training programme
Having constructed a framework to direct the observations of soccer coaches through a game, a training programme was developed to help them use this framework. A series of
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seven videotapes was constructed that highlighted the flow of action beginning with a change in ball possession and moving towards an opportunity to shoot on goal. The content of these tapes is shown in the flow diagram in Fig. 2. The tapes were designed in a
YES OPPOSING PLAYERS ARE IN THE AREA OF THE BALL YES THE BALL HAS CHANGED TEAMS
IS THERE A CHANCE OF A REPOSSESSION?
NO OPPOSING PLAYERS ARE NOT IN THE AREA OF THE BALL
W S IT A REPOSSESSION?
NO THE BALL HAS NOT CHANGED TEAMS
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FIRST VIDEOTAPE
WHERE ON THE FIELD VMS THE REPOSSESSION?
YES VIOLATIONS OF THE RULES OF THE GAME CORNER KICK
FREE KICK
V * 3 THE REPOSSESSION AT A 8ET PLAY?
THROW-IN
SECOND VI0EO1APE YE8 SFUCE AND PLAYERS ARE AVAILABLE IN SHOOTING AREA
YES PLAYER IS WITHIN THE SHOOTING ANGLE ANO OPPOSING PLAYERS DO NOT BLOCK THE PATH TO GOAL
NO TAOKLE. INTERCEPTION REBOUND
CROSS
PENETRATING PASS DRIBBLE
THIRD » FOURTH VIDEOTAPE
IS THERE A HIGH PROBABILITY THAT THE BALL WILL BE PLAYED TO A 8HOOTINQ POSITION?
IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHOOT ?
NO SPACE AND PLAYERS ARE NOT AVAILABLE IN SHOOTING AREA
NO PLAYER IS NOT WITHIN SHOOTING ANGLE OR AN OPPOSING PLAYER HAS BLOCKED THE PATH TO GOAL
FIFTH VIDEOTAPE
I YES I
[YESj*-
\NtS THE SHOT TAKEN?
WAS THE 3HOT ON TARGET?
SIXTH VIDEOTAPE
|YE3f«—
•|V*3 A GOAL SOORED? |
-HNOI
NO THE SHOT MAS BLOCKED. HIGH, WIDE OR HIGH AND WIDE NO THE BALL MAS SAVED BY THE GOALKEEPFR
SEVENTH VIDEOTAPE
Fig. 2. A flow chart describing the training programme given to the experimental group.
progressive manner such that each sequence always began with a change in ball possession and moved through the same actions as were previously viewed, but the emphasis was placed on the final outcome of that particular videotape. Therefore, the seventh and final tape included all previous information but finished with a goal being scored. In order to emphasize each predictive feature, a series of orienting activities was developed and acted as a
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mediator through which new information was presented to the observer. These are exemplified as questions and answers in the flow chart depicted in Fig. 2. The content and emphasis of each videotape are also indicated.
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Test conditions and groups
An important aspect of this study was deciding upon the information that coaches would consider important when recalling game-related action. Several international soccer coaches in addition to nationally certified coaches (Coaching Association of Canada Level IV) were surveyed. In their opinion, three aspects of a soccer game were considered to be of priority importance and hence should be recalled accurately. In order, these were (1) how goals were scored and conceded, (2) what events preceded the taking of shots that were not goals, and (3) what events preceded an opportunity to shoot that was not taken. In addition, the information that should be recalled would require that the position of the event occurrence also be remembered. This information was then required of coaches in this study, both prior to and following training. While the coaches in the experimental group underwent the training programme, two control groups were also exposed to the same videotapes for the same length of time. However, these two groups were given very different orienting activities. Control group 1 was asked to answer questions that were identical to the test conditions. If an improvement in recall was just a function of practising the recall task conditions, then this group should perform equally as well as, if not better than, the experimental group. Control group 2 was asked to discuss each tape with a colleague and then write out a coaching practice plan for one of the teams. This plan was to emphasize correcting what the coaches believed were major problems in team play. It was felt that the activities performed by this group most closely resembled what could be considered a natural task for these coaches.
Method
Subjects The subjects were 28 male and 8 female soccer coaches ranging in age from 20 to 55 years. All had attained their Level 3 or 'C License coaching certification within the National Coaching Certification Programme and their coaching experience ranged between 2 and 20 years. They had no formal training in observation analysis and were randomly chosen from the Ontario Soccer Association's group of Level 3 and ' C License coaches of which there are over 200. The subjects were randomly assigned to three operational groups that included one experimental group and two control groups consisting of 12 subjects per group. Each one of the three groups was tested and trained together in a classroom. The three groups were trained and tested on separate days. Design
The design used in this study was a three-factor mixed design with repeated measures on two factors (Edwards, 1972). Three groups of subjects (experimental group, control group 1 and
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control group 2) were questioned on their ability to recall game actions that preceded the three critical game events (goals, shots that did not result in goals and missed shooting opportunities) prior to and following a training period (pre- and post-test). This allowed a comparison of the three groups' performances and the evaluation of the variations in their ability to recall game actions that focused upon the critical events of match play during both the pre- and post-test sessions. A description of the training regimen that all three groups were exposed to is given in Table 1. Table 1. Experimental design
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Groups
Pre-test
Training
Post-test
Experimental
View videotape and answer questionnaire
View training programme of seven sequentially dependent , videotapes plus orienting activities
View videotape and answer questionnaire
Control 1
View videotape and answer questionnaire
View seven videotapes and answer a questionnaire after each tape
View videotape and answer questionnaire
Control 2
View videotape and answer questionnaire
View seven videotapes and engage in a group discussion and complete a personal analysis
View videotape and answer questionnaire
The pre- and post-test comprised of a series of questions that were designed to assess the observational accuracy of the coaches after they had watched a videotaped soccer game for 30 min. The questions focused upon three critical areas of tactical concern: goals, shots and missed shooting opportunities. The subjects were required to recall game actions and the position at which that action took place in the correct serial order, prior to one of the three critical events (goal, shot or a missed shooting opportunity). The dependent variable was the percentage of correct responses that each subject displayed when answering questions about these three critical events, a correct response being one that took account of the correct action in the correct sequential order. The questionnaire required the subjects to write down the correct game event (technique used) and the correct position (one of nine possible locations on the field) in the sequence that led to the three critical events listed above. An example of a sequence leading to a goal would be: Team A: a long pass from area Defending 1/3, right to Attacking 1/3, right; a cross to Attacking 1/3, central; a shot on target; resulting in a goal. A list of the possible events and the names of the field positions were displayed at the front of the classroom during all training and testing sessions. Prior to the test, each one of the
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video sequences was analysed in order to compile the correct answers for each of the questions.
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Videotape editing 1. Pre-test. This was a 30-min segment of a 1986 World Cup game played between Belgium and the Soviet Union. The videotape included a total of three goals, three shots that were not goals and three missed shooting opportunities. A total of 190 game actions led up to these nine critical events. 2. Training. The seven videotapes that made up the training segment of this study consisted of 15 min of game action and included the nine critical features of three goals, three shots and three missed shooting opportunities. The first videotape was a game between Rapid Vienna (Austria) and Everton (England) in a European Cup game, and was used to examine what happened after a team regained possession of the ball. The second videotape was a game between Manchester United (England) and Everton (England), and this tape was used to examine what happened before and after a team had a 'set play' (corner kick, free kick and throw-in). The third videotape was a game between Scotland and Spain, which was used to examine what happened before and after the ball was 'crossed' into the penalty area. The fourth videotape was a game between Sheffield Wednesday (England) and Coventry City (England), and was used to examine what happened before and after a 'penetrating pass' was made. The fifth videotape was a game between Luton Town (England) and Everton (England), and was used to examine the game actions that led up to and followed the missed shooting opportunity. The sixth videotape was a game between Grimsby Town (England) and Arsenal (England), which was used to examine the actions that led up to and followed the taking of a shot that was not a goal. Finally, the seventh videotape, a game between Watford (England) and Walsall (England), was used to prime the observer to remember the game actions that led up to and followed the scoring of goals. 3. Post-test. The 30-min videotape used in the post-test was a segment of a 1986 World Cup game played between West Germany and Scotland. The videotape included three goals, three shots that were not goals and three missed shooting opportunities from both of the teams. As with the pre-test, a total of 190 game actions preceded these nine critical events. Procedure
1. Pre- and post-test. All of the subjects completed the same pre- and post-test in which they viewed (on a 20-inch TV screen) a 30-min segment of a soccer game. This excerpt from an international game did not have any 'replays' or commentary. The following instructions were given to the coaches from all three groups prior to viewing: You are the coach of Team A (designated on the screen). At the end of the viewing period, you will be asked questions relating to three categories: (1) the scoring of goals, (2) the taking of shots and (3) the missed opportunities to shoot. The code for each possible event is posted at the front of the classroom and the code for each area of the field is also shown. An example of a correct answer is given at the top of your question. Please do not talk during the test. Are there any questions?
The subjects were asked not to write anything down on the questionnaire until the videotaped game segment was finished. Once the videotape had finished, the subjects answered the questionnaire. No time limit was imposed.
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2. Training programme. The training programme consisted of all three groups watching the seven videotapes that were described earlier. The experimental group was trained in a progressive manner to increase awareness of (1) changes in ball possession, (2) set plays, (3) crosses, (4) penetrating passes, (5) missed shooting opportunities, (6) shots taken that were not goals and (7) goals scored. Each session was built upon the previous training (e.g. while observing 'crosses', the subjects were still being asked to observe 'changes of ball possession'). After viewing each videotape, the subjects were asked questions about these predictive features and then shown an edited videotape to clarify the answers to these questions. The experimental group watched each videotape and the experimenter stopped the tape to identify the predictive feature that pertained to that particular topic. The flow chart for the programme of training of the experimental group is shown in Fig. 2. Each videotape was built on the previous videotape until the change in ball possession (break-point) resulted in a goal. At the end of the seventh videotape, the subjects were shown three examples of where ball possession was won on the field, what techniques were used to play the ball and where on the field the ball was played towards (this was intended to prime the subjects into recalling how goals were scored, how shots were taken that did not result in goals and how missed shooting opportunities occurred). Control group 1 watched the same seven videotapes as the experimental group and completed the questionnaire that had been received on the pre-test. The environment was identical to the pre-test and after each 15-min videotape the subjects answered questions on missed shooting opportunities, shots and goals. This group was also given feedback as to the results of this questionnaire. If the skills of recollecting missed shooting opportunities, shots and goals was just a function of repetition and experience (seeing shooting opportunities, shots and goals over seven videotapes and being asked to recall them) and not directed observation (being given the progressive training programme), then this group should be as good, if not better, at recalling game actions that led to the critical events than the experimental group on the post-test. After viewing the 15-min videotaped excerpts, the subjects in control group 2 discussed among themselves their thoughts on each of the games. They were then asked to do what they would normally do after observing a game, i.e. write down their analysis and formulate a training plan for the following week. After each 15-min game, the training plans were collected. They included practice sessions of shooting, passing, defending and set plays. The pre-test, post-test and seven video training sessions all took place on separate days, and the entire experiment was spread over a 3-week period. Results Overall, the pre-test results yielded a recall accuracy of 16.8%, while the ability of subjects to remember game events during the post-test was 21 %, with standard deviations of 4.4 and 6.1 respectively. This relatively poor performance was not surprising, as earlier research (Franks and Miller, 1986; Miller 1989) had shown that coaches are no better than chance when trying to remember critical events that occurred during a soccer game. On average, coaches with this level of expertise would appear to be incapable of remembering more than 40% of information that pertains to how goals are scored. Given the fact that the coaches' memory for the game actions that led to goals was poor, it was not surprising that their recall of game
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actions that led to shots that were not goals and missed shooting opportunities was no better than 20% correct. The results of the analysis of variance revealed no significant main effect for groups (F2 33 = 2.06, P>0.05). There was, however, a significant difference ( F 1 3 3 = 147.3, P33 = 49.6, P
Journal of Sports Sciences Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rjsp20
Training coaches to observe and remember a
Ian M. Franks & Gary Miller
a
a
School of Physical Education and Recreation , University of British Columbia , 6081 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1W5, Canada Published online: 14 Nov 2007.
To cite this article: Ian M. Franks & Gary Miller (1991) Training coaches to observe and remember, Journal of Sports Sciences, 9:3, 285-297, DOI: 10.1080/02640419108729890 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02640419108729890
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sublicensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http:// www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
Journal of Sports Sciences, 1991, 9, 285-297
Training coaches to observe and remember IAN M. FRANKS* and GARY MILLER School of Physical Education and Recreation, University of British Columbia, 6081 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC V6T 1W5, Canada
Downloaded by [Oregon State University] at 22:12 19 December 2014
Accepted 23 August 1990
Abstract
This study tested a video training method that was intended to improve the observational skills of soccer coaches. Three groups of soccer coaches were tested prior to and following a training period. The experimental group was exposed to a video training programme that was designed to highlight certain key elements of soccer team performance. Although both control groups were exposed to the same video excerpts as the experimental group, they were given different orienting activities. The subjects in control group 2 were asked to discuss these excerpts with a colleague and then write a report on what they had seen, while control group 1 members repeated prior test conditions that required them to remember certain events that preceded the scoring of goals. The results indicate that, although all coaches were incapable of remembering more than 40% of pertinent information, the subjects in the experimental group improved their ability to recall all events that surrounded the 'taking of shots'. Keywords: Behaviour observation, video training, remembering, coaching, quantitative analysis.
Introduction The human perceptual and memory system can effectively and elegantly create organized meaningful structure out of physical experience. This same system has also been shown to be both unreliable and deceptively inaccurate when recalling complex, sequentially dependent events in a natural setting. As early as 1904, William Stern (translated by Neisser, 1982) reported that his students, who had unknowingly been part of a small study on eyewitness testimony, were extremely inaccurate when they attempted to recall the sequential events that had transpired during a previous seminar. Since then, a considerable amount of research has documented sources of unreliability as well as the possible psychological processes that are responsible for this distortion of factual evidence (see Wells and Loftus, 1984, for a detailed review of eyewitness testimony). For example, Buckhout (1974, p. 23) stated:
The person who sees an accident or witnesses a crime and is then asked to describe what he saw cannot call up an 'instant replay'. He must depend on his memory, with all its limitations. The limitations may be unimportant in ordinary daily activities. If someone is a little unreliable, if he trims the truth a bit in describing what he has seen, it ordinarily does not matter too much. When he is a witness, the inaccuracy escalates in importance. *To whom all correspondence should be addressed. 0264-0414/91 $03.00 + .12 © 1991 E. & F.N. Spon
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Comparisons between eyewitness testimony to criminal events and eyewitness testimony to sporting events have been made in an earlier paper (Franks and Miller, 1986) and it is generally accepted that the accurate recall of salient facts that relate to successful athletic performance is considered to be an integral component of the coaching process (Franks and Nagelkerke, 1988). There are, however, two important differences that may invalidate such a comparison. One is that the coach is prepared to observe an expected event, whereas the eyewitness to a crime is often confronted with a violent and unexpected situation. Secondly, the coach is considered to be an expert observer of sporting competition. The eyewitness to a crime does not practise observing criminal situations prior to the critical event. Despite these apparent differences, we (Franks et al., 1985; Franks and Miller, 1986; Miller, 1989) have found that without the aid of an external memory device (e.g. tape-recorder, videotaperecorder, event recording sheet, computer, etc.), coaches are generally unreliable and inaccurate in their ability to recall pertinent, sequential facts from a sporting environment. There appear to be two possible solutions that may aid the coach who is confronted with this problem. The first involves developing fast, efficient and portable external memory devices that can condense game-related information and also retrieve qualitatively acceptable data (preferably video images). Several computer-video interactive sport analysis systems have been developed that can record, store, analyse and retrieve game information accurately and reliably (Franks and Goodman, 1986; Franks et al., 1987). Because these systems are at present relatively expensive and require a trained operator to record the information, a second solution to this problem is proposed. This solution is to train the observational skills of coaches. In a brief survey of coaching education programmes throughout Canadian sport, the training of coaches, to observe accurately and reliably, was conspicuous by its absence. This study, therefore, was designed to develop and test a training method that would improve the skills of observation and recall of coaches in the sport of Association Football (soccer).
A model of behaviour observation
If observers are to recall accurately selective events that occur over a prolonged period of time, then they should develop a systematic framework that primes the observation process and directs their perceptions objectively (see Wickelgren, 1979, p. 185; Neisser and Becklen, 1975). In an attempt to develop such a framework, Newtson's (1976) model of the process of behaviour perception was adapted to help coaches organize their perceptions of gamerelated information. The basic premise of this model was that changes in ongoing behaviour should be the unit of analysis, and observation of continuous events that included distinctive and well-defined intervals within the sequence of actions, would be recalled more accurately than a stream of behaviours that had ill-defined and inconsistent intervals. The implication of Newtson's work is that behaviour perception must impose a short-term memory load on the observer. Thus feature selection is imperative and a skilled observer is one who selects the least redundant set of critical features for the perceptual organization of the event. Furthermore, veteran (skilled) observers develop a specialized set of predictive features for use in observation. Newtson and Engquist (1976) found that subjects who used break-points as an observational aid were significantly more accurate in their descriptions of action sequences, rated the sequence as more intelligible, and more accurately judged the sequence of events. These results suggest that the break-points imposed upon the stimulus
Downloaded by [Oregon State University] at 22:12 19 December 2014
Training observers
287
array by an observer are the basis for the formation of perceptual units of behaviour. Training coaches to observe the game of soccer would require an operational definition of both consistent break-points and specialized predictive features of game action. In order to define a break-point in the game of soccer, a simple two-state model of invasive team sports was used (Franks et al., 1982). Briefly, this model considers that 'ball possession' is at the apex of a hierarchy defining all possible actions within the game. When a team has possession of the ball, its objective is to score goals using various tactics and strategies. Each possession then becomes a possible chance to fulfil this objective. A natural and important event within a game is, then, a change in ball possession, and this should serve as the breakpoint for the observed stimulus array. After defining the break-point, the next problem is to decide upon a set of predictive features that emanate from this change in ball possession. A considerable amount of data has been collected on the game of soccer over the past 40 years (Reep and Benjamin, 1968; Franks et al., 1983; Partridge and Franks, 1989). An analysis of these data has made it possible to propose several key predictive features of team play that lead to the scoring of goals in soccer (Franks, 1988). Figure 1 illustrates the flow of team play beginning at a breakpoint (change in ball possession) and moving through several possible alternative sequences of action to the 'shooting opportunity'. These opportunities are created from the key predictive features of team play which have been shown to produce goals, and therefore emphasize the expectation of shots being taken and goals being scored. IOPALS SCORED|
SHOTS ON GOAL I [ALL SHOTS TAKEN (ON TARGET. OFF TARGET. BLOCKED) |
[ALL REPOSSESSIONS (PERCEPTUAL BREAK-POINT)
Fig. 1. The predictive feature of team play for the sport of soccer.
Training programme
Having constructed a framework to direct the observations of soccer coaches through a game, a training programme was developed to help them use this framework. A series of
288
Franks and Miller
seven videotapes was constructed that highlighted the flow of action beginning with a change in ball possession and moving towards an opportunity to shoot on goal. The content of these tapes is shown in the flow diagram in Fig. 2. The tapes were designed in a
YES OPPOSING PLAYERS ARE IN THE AREA OF THE BALL YES THE BALL HAS CHANGED TEAMS
IS THERE A CHANCE OF A REPOSSESSION?
NO OPPOSING PLAYERS ARE NOT IN THE AREA OF THE BALL
W S IT A REPOSSESSION?
NO THE BALL HAS NOT CHANGED TEAMS
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FIRST VIDEOTAPE
WHERE ON THE FIELD VMS THE REPOSSESSION?
YES VIOLATIONS OF THE RULES OF THE GAME CORNER KICK
FREE KICK
V * 3 THE REPOSSESSION AT A 8ET PLAY?
THROW-IN
SECOND VI0EO1APE YE8 SFUCE AND PLAYERS ARE AVAILABLE IN SHOOTING AREA
YES PLAYER IS WITHIN THE SHOOTING ANGLE ANO OPPOSING PLAYERS DO NOT BLOCK THE PATH TO GOAL
NO TAOKLE. INTERCEPTION REBOUND
CROSS
PENETRATING PASS DRIBBLE
THIRD » FOURTH VIDEOTAPE
IS THERE A HIGH PROBABILITY THAT THE BALL WILL BE PLAYED TO A 8HOOTINQ POSITION?
IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHOOT ?
NO SPACE AND PLAYERS ARE NOT AVAILABLE IN SHOOTING AREA
NO PLAYER IS NOT WITHIN SHOOTING ANGLE OR AN OPPOSING PLAYER HAS BLOCKED THE PATH TO GOAL
FIFTH VIDEOTAPE
I YES I
[YESj*-
\NtS THE SHOT TAKEN?
WAS THE 3HOT ON TARGET?
SIXTH VIDEOTAPE
|YE3f«—
•|V*3 A GOAL SOORED? |
-HNOI
NO THE SHOT MAS BLOCKED. HIGH, WIDE OR HIGH AND WIDE NO THE BALL MAS SAVED BY THE GOALKEEPFR
SEVENTH VIDEOTAPE
Fig. 2. A flow chart describing the training programme given to the experimental group.
progressive manner such that each sequence always began with a change in ball possession and moved through the same actions as were previously viewed, but the emphasis was placed on the final outcome of that particular videotape. Therefore, the seventh and final tape included all previous information but finished with a goal being scored. In order to emphasize each predictive feature, a series of orienting activities was developed and acted as a
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mediator through which new information was presented to the observer. These are exemplified as questions and answers in the flow chart depicted in Fig. 2. The content and emphasis of each videotape are also indicated.
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Test conditions and groups
An important aspect of this study was deciding upon the information that coaches would consider important when recalling game-related action. Several international soccer coaches in addition to nationally certified coaches (Coaching Association of Canada Level IV) were surveyed. In their opinion, three aspects of a soccer game were considered to be of priority importance and hence should be recalled accurately. In order, these were (1) how goals were scored and conceded, (2) what events preceded the taking of shots that were not goals, and (3) what events preceded an opportunity to shoot that was not taken. In addition, the information that should be recalled would require that the position of the event occurrence also be remembered. This information was then required of coaches in this study, both prior to and following training. While the coaches in the experimental group underwent the training programme, two control groups were also exposed to the same videotapes for the same length of time. However, these two groups were given very different orienting activities. Control group 1 was asked to answer questions that were identical to the test conditions. If an improvement in recall was just a function of practising the recall task conditions, then this group should perform equally as well as, if not better than, the experimental group. Control group 2 was asked to discuss each tape with a colleague and then write out a coaching practice plan for one of the teams. This plan was to emphasize correcting what the coaches believed were major problems in team play. It was felt that the activities performed by this group most closely resembled what could be considered a natural task for these coaches.
Method
Subjects The subjects were 28 male and 8 female soccer coaches ranging in age from 20 to 55 years. All had attained their Level 3 or 'C License coaching certification within the National Coaching Certification Programme and their coaching experience ranged between 2 and 20 years. They had no formal training in observation analysis and were randomly chosen from the Ontario Soccer Association's group of Level 3 and ' C License coaches of which there are over 200. The subjects were randomly assigned to three operational groups that included one experimental group and two control groups consisting of 12 subjects per group. Each one of the three groups was tested and trained together in a classroom. The three groups were trained and tested on separate days. Design
The design used in this study was a three-factor mixed design with repeated measures on two factors (Edwards, 1972). Three groups of subjects (experimental group, control group 1 and
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control group 2) were questioned on their ability to recall game actions that preceded the three critical game events (goals, shots that did not result in goals and missed shooting opportunities) prior to and following a training period (pre- and post-test). This allowed a comparison of the three groups' performances and the evaluation of the variations in their ability to recall game actions that focused upon the critical events of match play during both the pre- and post-test sessions. A description of the training regimen that all three groups were exposed to is given in Table 1. Table 1. Experimental design
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Groups
Pre-test
Training
Post-test
Experimental
View videotape and answer questionnaire
View training programme of seven sequentially dependent , videotapes plus orienting activities
View videotape and answer questionnaire
Control 1
View videotape and answer questionnaire
View seven videotapes and answer a questionnaire after each tape
View videotape and answer questionnaire
Control 2
View videotape and answer questionnaire
View seven videotapes and engage in a group discussion and complete a personal analysis
View videotape and answer questionnaire
The pre- and post-test comprised of a series of questions that were designed to assess the observational accuracy of the coaches after they had watched a videotaped soccer game for 30 min. The questions focused upon three critical areas of tactical concern: goals, shots and missed shooting opportunities. The subjects were required to recall game actions and the position at which that action took place in the correct serial order, prior to one of the three critical events (goal, shot or a missed shooting opportunity). The dependent variable was the percentage of correct responses that each subject displayed when answering questions about these three critical events, a correct response being one that took account of the correct action in the correct sequential order. The questionnaire required the subjects to write down the correct game event (technique used) and the correct position (one of nine possible locations on the field) in the sequence that led to the three critical events listed above. An example of a sequence leading to a goal would be: Team A: a long pass from area Defending 1/3, right to Attacking 1/3, right; a cross to Attacking 1/3, central; a shot on target; resulting in a goal. A list of the possible events and the names of the field positions were displayed at the front of the classroom during all training and testing sessions. Prior to the test, each one of the
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video sequences was analysed in order to compile the correct answers for each of the questions.
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Videotape editing 1. Pre-test. This was a 30-min segment of a 1986 World Cup game played between Belgium and the Soviet Union. The videotape included a total of three goals, three shots that were not goals and three missed shooting opportunities. A total of 190 game actions led up to these nine critical events. 2. Training. The seven videotapes that made up the training segment of this study consisted of 15 min of game action and included the nine critical features of three goals, three shots and three missed shooting opportunities. The first videotape was a game between Rapid Vienna (Austria) and Everton (England) in a European Cup game, and was used to examine what happened after a team regained possession of the ball. The second videotape was a game between Manchester United (England) and Everton (England), and this tape was used to examine what happened before and after a team had a 'set play' (corner kick, free kick and throw-in). The third videotape was a game between Scotland and Spain, which was used to examine what happened before and after the ball was 'crossed' into the penalty area. The fourth videotape was a game between Sheffield Wednesday (England) and Coventry City (England), and was used to examine what happened before and after a 'penetrating pass' was made. The fifth videotape was a game between Luton Town (England) and Everton (England), and was used to examine the game actions that led up to and followed the missed shooting opportunity. The sixth videotape was a game between Grimsby Town (England) and Arsenal (England), which was used to examine the actions that led up to and followed the taking of a shot that was not a goal. Finally, the seventh videotape, a game between Watford (England) and Walsall (England), was used to prime the observer to remember the game actions that led up to and followed the scoring of goals. 3. Post-test. The 30-min videotape used in the post-test was a segment of a 1986 World Cup game played between West Germany and Scotland. The videotape included three goals, three shots that were not goals and three missed shooting opportunities from both of the teams. As with the pre-test, a total of 190 game actions preceded these nine critical events. Procedure
1. Pre- and post-test. All of the subjects completed the same pre- and post-test in which they viewed (on a 20-inch TV screen) a 30-min segment of a soccer game. This excerpt from an international game did not have any 'replays' or commentary. The following instructions were given to the coaches from all three groups prior to viewing: You are the coach of Team A (designated on the screen). At the end of the viewing period, you will be asked questions relating to three categories: (1) the scoring of goals, (2) the taking of shots and (3) the missed opportunities to shoot. The code for each possible event is posted at the front of the classroom and the code for each area of the field is also shown. An example of a correct answer is given at the top of your question. Please do not talk during the test. Are there any questions?
The subjects were asked not to write anything down on the questionnaire until the videotaped game segment was finished. Once the videotape had finished, the subjects answered the questionnaire. No time limit was imposed.
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2. Training programme. The training programme consisted of all three groups watching the seven videotapes that were described earlier. The experimental group was trained in a progressive manner to increase awareness of (1) changes in ball possession, (2) set plays, (3) crosses, (4) penetrating passes, (5) missed shooting opportunities, (6) shots taken that were not goals and (7) goals scored. Each session was built upon the previous training (e.g. while observing 'crosses', the subjects were still being asked to observe 'changes of ball possession'). After viewing each videotape, the subjects were asked questions about these predictive features and then shown an edited videotape to clarify the answers to these questions. The experimental group watched each videotape and the experimenter stopped the tape to identify the predictive feature that pertained to that particular topic. The flow chart for the programme of training of the experimental group is shown in Fig. 2. Each videotape was built on the previous videotape until the change in ball possession (break-point) resulted in a goal. At the end of the seventh videotape, the subjects were shown three examples of where ball possession was won on the field, what techniques were used to play the ball and where on the field the ball was played towards (this was intended to prime the subjects into recalling how goals were scored, how shots were taken that did not result in goals and how missed shooting opportunities occurred). Control group 1 watched the same seven videotapes as the experimental group and completed the questionnaire that had been received on the pre-test. The environment was identical to the pre-test and after each 15-min videotape the subjects answered questions on missed shooting opportunities, shots and goals. This group was also given feedback as to the results of this questionnaire. If the skills of recollecting missed shooting opportunities, shots and goals was just a function of repetition and experience (seeing shooting opportunities, shots and goals over seven videotapes and being asked to recall them) and not directed observation (being given the progressive training programme), then this group should be as good, if not better, at recalling game actions that led to the critical events than the experimental group on the post-test. After viewing the 15-min videotaped excerpts, the subjects in control group 2 discussed among themselves their thoughts on each of the games. They were then asked to do what they would normally do after observing a game, i.e. write down their analysis and formulate a training plan for the following week. After each 15-min game, the training plans were collected. They included practice sessions of shooting, passing, defending and set plays. The pre-test, post-test and seven video training sessions all took place on separate days, and the entire experiment was spread over a 3-week period. Results Overall, the pre-test results yielded a recall accuracy of 16.8%, while the ability of subjects to remember game events during the post-test was 21 %, with standard deviations of 4.4 and 6.1 respectively. This relatively poor performance was not surprising, as earlier research (Franks and Miller, 1986; Miller 1989) had shown that coaches are no better than chance when trying to remember critical events that occurred during a soccer game. On average, coaches with this level of expertise would appear to be incapable of remembering more than 40% of information that pertains to how goals are scored. Given the fact that the coaches' memory for the game actions that led to goals was poor, it was not surprising that their recall of game
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actions that led to shots that were not goals and missed shooting opportunities was no better than 20% correct. The results of the analysis of variance revealed no significant main effect for groups (F2 33 = 2.06, P>0.05). There was, however, a significant difference ( F 1 3 3 = 147.3, P33 = 49.6, P
