Developing the art of noticing
- Ceri Bowley
- 07 March 2019
Ceri Bowley asks coaches to consider what they are looking for when they watch a practice session or game.
The coaching process is an ongoing cycle of performance and practice, within which a coach is required to evaluate, intervene, and feedback information to players with the aim of promoting learning and improving performance.
In order for a coach to effectively evaluate, intervene, and feedback, they must first be able to competently observe in order to understand what is happening in training or a match. Accurate observation informs the decision-making process leading to the selection of the appropriate action or intervention. In other words, what you see dictates how you act.
Research suggests that experienced football coaches have been shown to be able to recall just 59.2% of the critical events occurring during 45 minutes of football performance (Laird and Waters, 2008). This lack of recall accuracy will no doubt reduce the accuracy of coaching feedback and decision-making and inhibit player learning and development.
In addition, the complex nature of coaching demands that each player’s differentiated learning style is addressed. This means that coaches need to be able to observe what ignites a player’s interest and maintains their engagement with the task.
It would seem then that developing observation skills are of paramount importance to a coach, so how can they be developed?
Noticing can be seen as a natural act, something we do automatically everyday through using all of the five senses. As coaches we are exposed to a vast amount of stimuli and it would be impossible to notice all of it.
Instead we get drawn towards certain stimuli that we think have the most relevance and these become what we notice. Although we feel sensitive to what is going on around us, there will be much more that we have failed to give attention to. Therefore, how can we be sure that we notice the right things to inform our action?
Developing observation and noticing
One of the main challenges with observation is knowing what to look for. The danger is that we try and see everything in a session or match and we end up seeing nothing. What you see depends upon what you look for. Therefore, it is important that a coach’s observation is purposeful to ensure that what they see will ultimately inform feedback that will enhance their players learning. This can be achieved through looking for specific actions to observe.
To do so, decide what are the three most important actions that your players require feedback about. In another Boot Room article titled Matchday for Players I offered some guidance on setting team and player challenges. These challenges can be a good start point for coaches for making their observation more purposeful. That is, when observing training or matches look for moments that directly relate to your players’ challenges. More specific observation will lead to more specific and relevant feedback.
Noticing is made easier when coaches are able to draw upon past experience and knowledge. For example, having previous experience of doing or observing successful application of a skill generates a frame of reference for the coach. This will help the coach to identify similarities/differences to determine how best to feedback and support the player.
Reflective practice can enhance the process of drawing upon past experience and knowledge. Making notes of what you notice during a session or match is a form of ‘marking’ which demonstrates the importance of what we noticed, and makes it available for further reflection, which can draw attention to not only what the coach noticed but significant moments that were missed, leading to a greater awareness of these things when observing again.
According to Mason (2002) ‘marking’ is different to ‘ordinary noticing’ because it gives more significance to what we see and initiates mention of it. Marking or note taking allows the coach to make sense of what they have noticed before discussing it with others (e.g. when giving feedback to players).
Making sense of what you notice and ensuring that you see it accurately is very important as misconceptions will likely lead to giving inaccurate feedback to players and/or less effective intervention selection. Whilst ‘marking’ will aid understanding, the following are also advised:
Adopting a variety of coaching positions
Observing the practice from different positions will give you a more thorough insight into the whole session and enhance the opportunity to ‘notice’ key happenings as you will see a range of views. Taking up a position behind the play can be valuable as it allows you to see the same picture(s) as the players and will allow more specific feedback to be given, increasing the chances of players being able to relate to and thus understand the information you provide.
Seeking multiple perspectives
Take the opportunity to discuss what you notice with others that are present (such as other coaches). This will validate what you notice through observation. Seeking another perspective may also expose other things that you hadn’t noticed. This may serve to draw your attention to these things in the future. Be careful not to allow your discussions to divert your attention completely away from what you have noticed but use it to add value to your observations.
Prior to intervening or giving feedback, clarify the situation with the players. You can do this through asking questions (e.g. How did that pass feel? What led you to make that pass?) to provoke thought. The players’ responses will allow you to assess the situation more accurately and better understand the reason behind their actions. For example, a certain pass may have been attempted because that was the only one that the player saw.
This detail is crucial to how a coach provides feedback as there would be little value in telling the player that he/she should have played a different pass. A better approach in this case would be to help the player see the different available passing options.
Ceri Bowley is a football lecturer at the University of South Wales. This article was first published in The Boot Room magazine in December 2015.
