Introduction
Observation of behaviors occupies a significant space in the coaching practice because a substantial part of a successful coach career is dedicated to observing the athletes’ tactics. Thus, peer observation can be an efficient technique to learn to analyze the behaviors and evaluate the performance of the coach. Different tools can assist in observation, and the Arizona State University Observation Instrument (ASUOI) represents one of them. The ASUOI consists of various behavioral categories, seven of which have a direct relation to the instructions, and aims “to collect information on the behaviors of coaches in the practice environment” (Potrac et al., 2006:36). The ASUOI was the chosen instrument for the peer observation discussed in this paper. The purpose of this paper is to summarise the coach behavior observation, critically evaluate its strengths and identify possible improvements.
Main body
The ASUOI includes fourteen categories that help to identify the patterns in the coaching behaviors. The observation has revealed that, throughout the practice, the most common coaching actions included the use of the athletes’ first names, while talking to them, the use of concurrent instructions, and the praise. Besides, the observed coach portrays the pre-instruction activities, where they were consulting the athletes on how to execute specific skills and which game tactics to deploy. The observed group also showed the incline to ask the players questions concerning sports techniques and to maintain silent observation of the athletes throughout their stretching exercises. The observations showed that coaches rarely use verbal statements that are related to organizational details, and focus mostly on the instructions connected to sports fundamentals. Above all that, throughout the observation periods, the group did not present physical assistant efforts or verbal statements that would intensify the game. The observation has also recorded that the coaches sometimes expressed their dissatisfaction through behavioral patterns, like scowling or throwing a clipboard.
Therefore, the ASUOI helped to identify the most common coaching behaviors to understand the practices that are mostly related to the coaches’ activities throughout the training. It is essential to consider the observation’s results to identify the patterns in successful coaching and which behaviours might deter the performance and lead to poorer game outcomes. The ASUOI was chosen as an observation tool because it provides a detailed picture of the coaching practice, including such activities as maintaining silence, presenting negative modelling, or the frequency of using players’ first names. The ASUOI is a beneficial tool as it allows to gather “valid descriptive-analytic” data concerning coaching behaviors, which offers useful insight for the coaching practice, career, and future performance of the team (Potrac et al., 2006:37). Thus, the ASUOI revealed the coaching strategies and behaviors, providing the representation of useful patterns and the ones that should be eliminated.
As the paragraph above mentions, the ASUOI generates valid data that has both descriptive and analytic character, which represents one of the primary tool’s strengths. The most significant strong sides of the conducted observation include frequent positive modeling from the coach, the integration of pre-instructions and concurrent guidelines, and the praise of the players. The reflection has shown that those coaching behaviors lead to higher productivity and more excellent performance of the team. The essential area for improvement for the observed group is the use of post-instructions. Providing comments and feedback related to the executed exercises or techniques can be advantageous for the players and can positively influence the outcomes of future games.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the ASUOI serves as an efficient instrument for the coaching behavior observations and helps to identify the areas of significance and success and the aspects that require more precise attention. It is critical to maintaining objective and unbiased during conducting the observation, and the categories that the ASUOI includes help to record all the details of the presented behavioral patterns. The conducted reflection identified the significance of such coaching trends as using the first names, portraying positive modeling, and others. Still, the ASUOI also emphasizes the necessity of focusing on the areas, in which the observed group presented a few or no examples, as physical assistance or post-instructions.
Reference List
Potrac, P., Jones, R. and Cushion, C. (2007) ‘Understanding power and the coach’s role in professional English soccer: A preliminary investigation of coach behaviour.’ Soccer & Society, 8(1) pp.33-49.