Understanding the role of gaze behaviour and coaching experience in the assessment of youth soccer teams

Jade O'Brien-Smith; Mitchell R Smith; Pieter Vansteenkiste; Job Fransen; Linus Zeuwts; Kyle J M Bennett; Matthieu Lenoir

doi:10.1080/24733938.2024.2325135

Understanding the role of gaze behaviour and coaching experience in the assessment of youth soccer teams

Sci Med Footb. 2024 Mar 21:1-9. doi: 10.1080/24733938.2024.2325135. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Jade O'Brien-Smith^{1

2

3}, Mitchell R Smith¹, Pieter Vansteenkiste², Job Fransen⁴, Linus Zeuwts², Kyle J M Bennett⁵, Matthieu Lenoir²

Affiliations

¹ School of Environmental and Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, Australia.
² Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
³ School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
⁴ School of Allied Health, Exercise and Sports Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Port Macquarie, Australia.
⁵ Physical Activity, Sport and Exercise Research Theme, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour, Australia.

PMID: 38512014
DOI: 10.1080/24733938.2024.2325135

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the perceptual-cognitive characteristics of coaches as they assessed team performance in youth soccer. The primary focus was to investigate the alignment between coaches' subjective analyses of team behaviour and objective analyses, while also examining the relationship between coaches' gaze behaviour and their levels of coaching experience, particularly considering the potential differences that may exist among coaches with varying levels of experience. Sixty-five male and female adults with various soccer coaching experience (experienced, novice, other team sport experience, and non-team sport experience) watched five 4-minute videos and assessed team behaviour. These subjective evaluations were compared to objective data obtained from video analysis and GPS, which included measures of completed skills, spatiotemporal characteristics, and passing networks. The participants' fixation duration and frequency were measured for each video clip, and the area around the ball specifically. The study found no significant differences between groups regarding the number of times participants' subjective analysis aligned with the objective data (p = 0.059, ɳ² = 0.07). However, coaches with soccer coaching experience demonstrated a higher fixation frequency and more revisits to the ball area when compared to participants without soccer experience (p = <.001, ɳ² = 0.09). The current study offers a unique approach to uncovering soccer coaching expertise by combining objective and subjective evaluations of team performance. In summary, the study reveals that coaching experience did not impact how often coaches subjective analyses matched objective data. However, soccer coaches had distinctive gaze behaviour patterns where they revisited the area around the ball more often.

Keywords: Expertise; gaze behaviour; performance analysis; skill; small-sided games.

Plain language summary

Coaches’ perceptions of collective behaviour in soccer teams do not align with objective data, regardless of their level of coaching experience.Gaze behaviour differs between coaches with varying expertise levels.Both experienced and novice coaches visually revisit the area around the ball more often than non-coaches when assessing team performance.Quantitative data may provide an additional level of team analysis than subjective coach assessment alone.