Mixed Method Research on Football Coaches’ Competitive Behavior

Abstract

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to present the reliability of three validated measures, namely the System of Analysis of Instruction in Competition, the Questionnaire on Coach Instructional Behavior Expectations, and the Questionnaire on Coach Instructional Behavior Perception that could be used in a mix-method approach.MethodsThree instruments underwent a robust process of construct and reliability analysis. Inter− and intra-observer reliability was tested for the observational instrument using Cohen’s k-agreement measure. Reliability values above 0.85 were considered as a good agreement between and within observers. To verify the internal consistency of the questionnaires, the correlation coefficients were considered.ResultsThe results related to intra-observer and inter-observer reliability showed that intra-observer reliability k-agreement values ranged between 0.912 and 1 for observer 1, and 0.82 and 1 for observer 2. For inter-observer reliability, k-agreement values ranged between 0.885 and 1 between observers. Thus, values for reliability are above acceptable. The correlation coefficient values recorded for the questionnaires on instruction expectations in the competitive moment were above 0.82 and significant (p < 0.05), and for the questionnaire on instruction perception in competition above 0.88 and significant (p < 0.05). The pilot study showed some divergent results across expectations, behavior during competition, and perception about the instruction behavior.ConclusionThe observational system and the expectations and perceptions questionnaires, used in a complementary way, can be considered as a mix-method approach for studies aiming to examine coaches’ competitive behavior.

Effects of Pitch Size and Goalkeeper Participation on Physical Load Measures during Small-Sided Games in Sub-Elite Professional Soccer Players

“…Thirdly, our results recommend that smaller formats seem to promote higher exercise intensity but may be a limitation for the occurrence of higher running speeds, so it would be recommended to increase pitch size if coaches want to design tasks with greater focus on speed. These conclusions may contribute for soccer coaches' knowledge regarding the physical load measures during SSGs in sub-elite professional soccer players, which can result in the improvement of daily training workouts and, therefore, in players' and team's performance enhancement, since coaches play a key role in designing training sessions [44]. Finally, soccer coaches should consider that training monitorization as of crucial importance to understand the different internal and external load imposed in SSGs in sub-elite soccer players, which during periods of higher training and competitive load should be individually balanced.…”

The Relationship between Preseason Common Screening Tests to Identify Inter-Limb Asymmetries in High-Level Senior and Professional Soccer Players

“…As injuries have an unfavorable impact on physical performance, a well-established preseason protocol associated to detailed analysis of the performed tests, would offer soccer teams and practitioners with more concrete information concerning their importance for soccer players performance enhancement and injury prevention. In our opinion this is pivotal not only for soccer, but for sport coaches as they play a key role in designing training sessions [64]. Some limitations should be considered when interpreting the findings of this study: (a) participants were high-level senior and professional soccer players, which is related to the possibility that the results cannot be directly applied to other age categories and soccer players of other levels; (b) the research was conducted in the beginning of the season (preseason, August), consequently, the commons screening tests protocols and results should not be applicable in other moments such as competitive moments.…”

T-pattern analysis of offensive and defensive actions of youth football goalkeepers

“…Nonetheless, in performance analysis, it is extremely important to observe and analyze (Martin et al, 2018) in order to collect key information for the development of players and teams through the training process, preparing them for the requirements of a competition (Sampaio and Macas, 2012), based on the training sessions designed to address the needs of the players and teams, the task where sports coaches play a key role (Rodrigues et al, 2021). Recently, López-Gajardo et al (2020) verified that in GKs, the defensive fitting action is the one that has more occurrences in the different levels of competition analyzed, being a technique referred to as relevant, since it avoids second finalizations of the opponents and allows ball possession.…”