You can pre-order "The Language of Coaching: The Art & Science of Teaching Movement" on Amazon.com now (book ships in April) This presentation was delivered in 2019 at the Perform Better Summits. This talk focused on the impact coaching language (instructions, cues, and feedback) has on the way people learn to move. Profiling many of the topics covered in my forthcoming book, "The Language of Coaching," this presentation will help anyone who teaches movement elevate HOW they coach to the same level as WHAT they coach.

1. The language of coaching / Nick Winkelman, PhD

2. The coaching communication loop…
-00:02:00
DESCRIBE
-00:00:30
CUE
-00:00:00
DO
+00:00:30
DEBRIEF
-00:00:60
DEMONSTRATE
Extended
description of
the activity
Physical
demonstration
of the activity
Brief phrase used
to bring focus to
the activity
Player focuses
and performs
activity
Player & coach
feedback is
considered

3. ATTENTION
LANGUAGECUEING

4. To understand the impact of coaching cues on skill
learning, we must first understand the role of attention

5. WE CAN ONLY LEARN FROM THE EXPERIENCES WE PAY ATTENTION TO,
THUS A COACH’S CHIEF RESPONSIBILITY IS TO FIRST…
CAPTURE KEEP DIRECT

6. ATTENTION IS A LIMITED CAPACITY RESOURCE
COACHES, LIKE BANKERS, GUIDE ATHLETES’ ATTENTIONAL INVESTMENTS
WE CAN ONLY ‘PAY ATTENTION’ TO #1 THING AT A TIME

7. Say the most with the least, provide
athletes with ONE CUE, one major
focus point at a time

8. Now that we know how much to say, the next
question we need to address is what to say.

9. Narrow | Internal
Broad | Internal
Close | External
Far | External
The continuum of coaching cues…
ANALOGY

10. Narrow | Internal
Broad | Internal
Close | External
Far | External
The continuum of coaching cues…
ANALOGY
No evidence to support its effectiveness
Possible benefit compared to narrow Internal
Conclusive evidence confirming effectiveness
Conclusive evidence confirming effectiveness
Conclusive evidence confirming effectiveness

11. Yeah…Yeah…Where’s the proof?

12. WHAT IS THE STANDARD COMMUNICATION PRACTICE?
67%INT
22%EXT
11%
85%INT
15%EXT

13. NEUROMUSCULAR

14. Halperin et al., 2016
STRENGTH – FORCE PRODUCTION
CON: “go as hard & fast as you can”
INT: “contract your legs as hard & fast
as you can”
EXT: “push the ground as hard & fast
as you can”
Force: EXT (9i% | 3c%) > CON (5i%) > INT
“Research consistently shows that
external cues improve muscular force,
endurance, speed, and efficiency”

15. Porter et al., 2010
POWER – EXPLOSIVE FORCE PRODUCTION
INT: “Extend your knees as rapidly as possible”
EXT: “Jump as far past the start line as possible”
DISTANCE:
EXT (187.37 +/- 42.66 cm)
INT (177.33 +/- 40.97 cm)
“Research consistently shows that
external cues improve vertical and
horizontal jump performance”

16. MOVEMENT SKILL

17. SOCCER…

18. INJURY & TECHNIQUE

19. L
R
WHAT DO INJURED ATHLETES FOCUS ON?

20. L
WHAT DO INJURED ATHLETES FOCUS ON?
L
R

21. INT: ‘‘Jump as far as you can. I want you to think about extending your knees as rapidly as possible’’
EXT: ‘‘Jump as far as you can. I want you to think about pushing yourself off as hard as possible from the floor.’’
WHAT ABOUT TECHNIQUE?

22. PRESSURE & CHOKING

23. Experiment 1 | Streak
Gray, R. (2004 & 2006)
Hitting Streak ↑ Errors
Hitting Slump ↓ Errors

24. Experiment 2 | Pressure
Gray, R. (2004 & 2006)
No Pressure 39% Error
Pressure 18% Error

25. THE FUTURE OF INTERNAL

26. EMG & ACTIVATION…

27. The last idea we put in our athlete’s
head before they move should be
an EXTERNAL CUE

28. APPLICATION

29. Cue Anatomy
Distance
Proximal
(Close)
Distal
(Far)
Direction
Toward/
Away
Up/
Down
Description
Action Word
(Verb)
Analogy
(Metaphor)
Winkelman, 2016 (Dissertation)

30. The anatomy of a cue…
Focus on being quick
off the ground
Descriptor “HOW”
Direction “AWAY”
Distance “CLOSE”
Focus on driving hard
toward the finish
Descriptor “HOW”
Direction “TOWARD”
Distance “FAR”

31. DISTANCE
"Push the ground back with
as much force as possible"
"Explode through the finish with
as much speed as possible"

32. DIRECTION
"Drive the (GREEN) tape away from
the start line as fast as you can"
"Drive the (GREEN) tape toward
the finish as fast as you can"

33. DESCRIPTION
"Explode out like a cheetah is
two steps behind you"
"Explode out and up like a jet taking
off from an aircraft carrier"

34. SUMMARY

35. The coaching communication loop…
-00:02:00
DESCRIBE
-00:00:30
CUE
-00:00:00
DO
+00:00:30
DEBRIEF
-00:00:60
DEMONSTRATE
Ext + Int
language
(WHAT)
External Cues +
Analogies
(HOW)
Question
Comment
Collaborate