Coaching - Is It Art or Science - Player Development Project PDF

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James Vaughan
James Vaughan is a Co-founder of Player
Development Project and currently based in
Barcelona where he is working towards... more ()
n-
Are you a scientist or

more of an artist? Is
coaching an art or a
science? These were
questions asked of UQ’s
coaching and sports
psychology research
group last week and this
post explores the

UPGRADE (/UPGRADE/)
possibility that science 
and accounting are

 (http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?
hijacking football is-it/&via=PlayerDP)and
slowly killing the art of
 (https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?
coaching. u=https://playerdevelopmentproject.com/coaching-is-it/)
The simple answer to the art vs. science question

is that coaching is an ever-changing mixture of
both, but after a little digging some additional and
pretty fundamental questions emerge. Precisely,
what is the art of coaching and what is the
science?
n-
Without going all ‘existential’ on the topic, I will

attempt a brief interpretation of each and most
importantly explore the type of thinking they
promote and the consequences for our coaching
and, crucially, our players’ development.
The Science of Coaching
The science of coaching is, in my mind, the use of

methods, tools and technologies in an attempt to
predict and control sports training and
performance, for instance GPS, video analysis,
notational analysis, stats, physical testing, bio-
feedback etc.(https://playerdevelopmentproject.com)
These are the tools we use to

simplify sports, the methods designed to reduce
the complexity of human movement and the
UPGRADE (/UPGRADE/)

technologies that turn complex decisions into key
performance indicators.  (http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?
is-it/&via=PlayerDP)
The take home message is that the ‘science of
coaching’ more often than not deals in numbers,
stats and tangible measures. In fact, the ‘science
of coaching’ has done a great job of turning
athletes into well-oiled, optimal performance
machines.
However, understanding humans like machines,

simplifying sporting performance and aiming for
order, prediction and control are the goals of ‘old
school’ Newtonian science. I’ve used this quote
n-
before but it’s super relevant here:
“The Newtonian/Cartesian worldview, central to the

industrial age and at the heart of modernity, saw the
Universe, society, and human beings, as machines and
mechanical processes” (Montuori, 2012 p.65).
Unfortunately, the scientific method, applied in

this way, can decontextualise sport, suggesting
black and white answers to the multi-coloured
spectrum of sporting performance. The
Newtonian interpretation of ‘science’, in over
zealous hands, can lead to ‘swimming on the side
of the pool’. We loose sight of the context, we

disregard the creativity of(/UPGRADE/)
UPGRADE people, in short – we

forget that players and coaches are human.
A classic example of over-simplification and an
extremist reliance on numbers is the emergence
of the long ball game in the UK. A statistical study
suggested that most goals are scored in under x
number of passes. This led the UK to simplify the
game and adopt the long ball, while other areas of
the world pioneered the beautiful game.
I’m not saying that Newtonian science is bad, far

from it – what I’m hoping to point out is that its
success created a mindset that revolves around
order, prediction and control. This mindset has
n-
led to the disregard of coach’s and players
creativity among many other crucial intangibles.
As Bocchi et al. (2014) put it:
“With the Enlightenment,

creativity did not fit into the
orderly, predictable,
controllable world scientists
were studying so successfully”
(p.348).
The Art of Coaching

The art of coaching is not about order, prediction
or control. It recognises the complexity of sport
UPGRADE (/UPGRADE/)

and the need for creativity. The art of coaching
interprets people as imaginative, evolving, living
organisms – not machines. Therefore, the focus is
placed on players – relationships and group
dynamics – and constructing a deep, sincere
understanding of each individual.
The art of coaching embraces the intangibles that

Newtonian science struggles to explain. It
recognises the importance of:
Relationships
Feedback at key moments

n-
Cultural upbringing and varied meanings
Complex contexts
Team culture and shared understandings
Learning environments
Motivational climates
In summary, the art of coaching is more about co-

constructing a team’s story, and less about their
stats. This being said, I believe the art can
integrate the science, aiming to create better
learning environments by providing a greater
variety and clarity
 of feedback. The use of video
analysis, applied in the right way with learning as

the goal, may be a great
UPGRADEexample.
(/UPGRADE/)

A Newtonian hangover – AWorld (http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?

Hijacked by
Numbers is-it/&via=PlayerDP)
While the art of coaching is suppressed by the
need for tangibles, the science of coaching is
continually hijacked by the need for numbers. The
development of language and numbers were
milestones in human evolution, however they
have literally changed the way we think. In his
book Sapiens – A brief history of humankind (a must
read), author Yuval Noah Harari explains:
n-
“The most important impact of
script (writing & numbers) on
human history is precisely this:
it has gradually changed the
way humans think and view the
world. Free association and
holistic thought have given way
to compartmentalisation and
bureaucracy…”
As everybody from ancient times till today knows,
clerks and accountants
 think in a non-human fashion.
They think like filing cabinets. This is not their fault.

If they don’t think that way(/UPGRADE/)
UPGRADE their draws will get all

mixed up and they wont be able to provide the services
their government, company ororganisation
(http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?
requires.” (p.146)
This is the problemu=https://playerdevelopmentproject.com/coaching-is-it/)
with modern sport, the people
who ‘hold the purse strings’ – chairmen, CEOs,
managing directors, accountants – often control
the hiring and firing and therefore define
success.
These are people whose minds either:
a) Cannot comprehend the intangibles associated

with the art of coaching,
n-
Or…
b) Do not value these intangibles as much as they

value numbers, tangibles and stats.
This point was illustrated by Graeme Rose, a

former high performance manager for multiple
sports (both team and individual) and the very
person who posed the question to UQ’s coaching
group – is coaching an art or a science? Talking
about his career as a high performance manager,
Graeme suggested that his ‘point of difference’
and what – in his words – has allowed him to
undertake countless
 high-performance
management roles is a master’s degree in

accounting. UPGRADE (/UPGRADE/)

The Hypothesis / Conspiracy Theory
Is it strange then, that the managing directors and
CEOs in charge of u=https://playerdevelopmentproject.com/coaching-is-it/)
the purse strings would want to
employ a high performance manager with an
intimate knowledge of holding the purse strings?
And that these High Performance managers, hired
for their accounting knowledge, would want to
employ coaches who can account for their budget
and utilise stats to demonstrate their
effectiveness as a coach?
Equally so, is it strange that the people counting

n-
the money would loosen the purse strings to
invest in methods, tools and technologies that can
predict, control and reduce sporting performance
and coach effectiveness to numbers?
Considering all this focus on numbers and the

willingness to invest in them, is it in turn strange
that, in a desperate attempt to satisfy funding
requirements and be evaluated on something
more than the score line or tournament placing
(which is still the key criteria in high performance
sport down under), coaches look to statistics?
Taken together, it’s not surprising that the
‘science of coaching’
 – more valued and therefore
funded by the accountants – is becoming a multi-

billion dollar industry while
UPGRADE the ‘art of coaching’ is
(/UPGRADE/)

often undervalued – which in our world means
underfunded.  (http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?
The majority of football development programs
are reliant on ‘the u=https://playerdevelopmentproject.com/coaching-is-it/)
budget’ and as such they often
become controlled by the bureaucratic and
reductionist thinking it inspires. This thinking can
infiltrate the whole system and permeate the
player development environment, creating a
controlling motivational climate and stifling the
more holistic and creative thinking that
characterises the art of coaching.
In programs/systems infiltrated by
n-
compartmentalised bureaucratic thinking, success
is more likely to be tied to numbers and tangible
stats, creating a vicious cycle in which the art of
coaching and creativity are continually
marginalised.
Our goal must be to coach up, re-defining success

first for ourselves, then our players and finally our
clubs and governing bodies. We do this by
focusing on the development of people, and
not the colour of the bottom line.
The aim of this post is to generate discussion in
the hope of creating
 better conditions for us to
coach. Please get in touch and spread the word.

Find me on TwitterUPGRADE@JimiVaughan
(/UPGRADE/) and via

@PlayerDP.
Key Intangibles is-it/&via=PlayerDP)
The use of art and science in our coaching
should be like yin and yang, but with the
world’s emphasis on numbers and stats we
need to shift our focus towards the intangibles
of our art.
The art of coaching is developed though

mentorship and inspiration, we need to look
for these in our coach development.
n-
Just as we aim to create development
environments for our players, we must coach
up and demand that the people in charge of
our clubs and governing bodies do the same
for us – if they don’t, we must be brave enough
to walk away with our integrity intact.
Photo Credits: Asia Joanna

(https://www.flickr.com/photos/asiajoanna/)
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James Vaughan
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(www.playerdevelopmentproject.com)
About the Author:

James Vaughan is a Co-founder of Player
Development Project and currently based in
Barcelona where he is working towards his PhD
in Creativity & Motivation in Football.
Comments Community  Ava
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Join the discussion…
Jona • 4 years ago
I love what you UPGRADE
guys tend(/UPGRADE/)
to be up too. This type of clever
work and reporting! 
Keep up the superb works guys I've included you guys to
my personal blogroll.  (http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?
△ ▽ • Reply • Share ›
Dave Wright > Jona • 4 years ago
Thanks Jona!
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Reply • Share ›
Paul S • 4 years ago

I think science helps define the art. For example,
developing the motivational climate (of the team and
individual) in the future needs to start with learning about
the climate that is in place now. Science gives us the tools
to quickly get a gage of where individuals are placed.
Mike Pros • 4 years ago

We coaches are artists using people/players to display
their talents in what we see as the most
n- productive/scientific/beautiful way to play a game. It's (fun)
work to accomplish an end.
Mark O • 4 years ago

Debate it is then. My 2p =
Science is the testing of a hypothesis against observation.

Can't seem to fit coaching into that one, so no coaching is
not science. Art is the process of creating something that
does not exist in nature. So broadly speaking coaching is
an art. But then broadly speaking so is science.
Should coaching be led by science or should it be more

intuitive?
I think Churchill said "Science should be on tap not on

top." So use data but don't let it become your goal. To not
use science for you goals would be foolish.
Coaching is a skill. So coaches are artisans. The best

ti b ti t O th h t d th
artisans can become artists. Once they have mastered the
basic tools they re-design them or re-combine them to
create previously un-imagined things.

"Creativity is when someone looks at something everyone
else has lookedUPGRADE
at and sees something no-one else has
(/UPGRADE/)
seen." Dave Trott (Advertising guru) 
would
One form of artistic coaching (http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?
be the creative use
sports science.
△ ▽ • Reply • Share › is-it/&via=PlayerDP)
James Vaughan > Mark O • 4 years ago
What a conclusion, I think you've nailed it Mark!
Mark O > James Vaughan • 4 years ago

Very kind.
zibuse • 4 years ago

can i get any news trough my email pls
Adam Wright > zibuse • 4 years ago

Sure, just add your email address to the field on
n- the top right side of the page and we will send you
updates. Thanks!
Antonio • 4 years ago

Enjoyed reading that. The Art Of Coaching still very much
alive at the grassroots - Good and Bad!!
Praveen PK • 4 years ago

Great clarity in your work James.
Can you name any club/academy in any part of the world
where Art of Coaching is preferred more than Art of
Science and the CEO/Director's understand these
intangibles?
James > Praveen PK • 4 years ago

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'd really like to
inspire a bit of discussion and get a feel for
coaches ideas in the Art vs. Sceince debate.

Jack Williams • 4 years ago
A th ll UPGRADE
t t J (/UPGRADE/)t i l!
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Are you a scientist or

post explores the

possibility that science 

and accounting are

The simple answer to the art vs. science question

Without going all ‘existential’ on the topic, I will

The Science of Coaching

The science of coaching is, in my mind, the use of

However, understanding humans like machines,

“The Newtonian/Cartesian worldview, central to the

Unfortunately, the scientific method, applied in

of the pool’. We loose sight of the context, we

I’m not saying that Newtonian science is bad, far

“With the Enlightenment,

The art of coaching embraces the intangibles that

Feedback at key moments

Team culture and shared understandings

In summary, the art of coaching is more about co-

analysis, applied in the right way with learning as

A Newtonian hangover – AWorld (http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?

They think like filing cabinets. This is not their fault.

These are people whose minds either:

a) Cannot comprehend the intangibles associated

b) Do not value these intangibles as much as they

This point was illustrated by Graeme Rose, a

management roles is a master’s degree in

Equally so, is it strange that the people counting

Considering all this focus on numbers and the

funded by the accountants – is becoming a multi-

Our goal must be to coach up, re-defining success

coach. Please get in touch and spread the word.

The art of coaching is developed though

Photo Credits: Asia Joanna

Enjoyed the Article?

About the Author:

Comments Community  Ava

 Recommend t Tweet f Share Sort by Best

Paul S • 4 years ago

Mike Pros • 4 years ago

Mark O • 4 years ago

Science is the testing of a hypothesis against observation.

Should coaching be led by science or should it be more

I think Churchill said "Science should be on tap not on

Coaching is a skill. So coaches are artisans. The best

Mark O > James Vaughan • 4 years ago

zibuse • 4 years ago

Adam Wright > zibuse • 4 years ago

Antonio • 4 years ago

Praveen PK • 4 years ago

James > Praveen PK • 4 years ago

Explore Topics Get Started

The Blog Psychology Upgrade

Clubs and Q&A Videos My

Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Terms of Service

PlayerDevelopmentProject.com (http://PlayerDevelopmentProject.com) © Copyright 2019 by Play

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