The strategic delivery of video-based coaching: A season-long investigation in one English youth soccer academy

Abstract

This article presents the findings of a season-long investigation of video-based coaching (VBC) practices in an English youth soccer academy. During the period of fieldwork, the lead author immersed themselves within the academy setting, in which they observed 22 VBC sessions and also day-to-day interactions between coaching staff relating to these activities. In addition, 18 interviews were conducted with 5 coaching staff, totalling 8 h of in-depth interview data. The fieldnotes and interview transcripts were iteratively analysed, utilising Goffman's dramaturgical writings and Groom et al.'s grounded theory of VBC. Our analysis produced two overarching themes. These were (a) how the coaching staff concealed that VBC sessions were principally designed to develop ‘high priority’ players and (b) how the coaching staff purposefully withheld critical thoughts and feelings about their player's performances, preferring instead to strategically focus on the provision of positive messages during VBC sessions. These findings contribute to the limited investigation of this aspect of coaching and demonstrate the importance of educating coaches to acknowledge how VBC can be influenced by and used to respond to workplace demands and expectations.