An exploratory investigation of junior-elite football coaches´’ behaviours during video-based feedback sessions

Despite the growing qualitative research examining the complexities underlying the delivery of video-feedback, no study has yet explored coaches’ actual behaviours within this environment. Thus, this study aimed to explore junior coaches´ behaviours and their underlying rationales during team-based video-feedback. Twenty-two in-season sessions delivered by four junior-elite coaches were filmed and analysed. Following previous studies and advised by a panel of experts, the tool employed was adapted from the Coach Analysis and Intervention System and the Arizona State University Observation Instrument, to represent the study context. Subsequently, semi-structured stimulated recall interviews were conducted to elucidate coaches´ thinking, understanding, and rationalising of their behaviours. Data indicated a prescriptive approach to coaching within the video-feedback environment. Feedback was the most employed behaviour of all coaches, followed by silence, player participation, convergent, and divergent questioning. One coach had player participation as their second most utilised behaviour. Findings demonstrated varied levels of understanding for each coach and evidenced three different types of cognitive dissonance or epistemological gap between coaches´ behaviours and understanding. Therefore, future coach development programmes, specific to video-based feedback, would need to consider each individual coach baseline behaviour and cognitions before intervening.