Three different techniques that are used by coaches to improve performance of athletes

Observation analysis

Direct observation
I have been watching our centre midfielder for the past few weeks. I take a notepad out with me and write down the factors of his poor performance. I also take in what he does well, for example he is a good tackler and reads the game well. However, on the ball he doesn’t see the correct passes early enough and lacks in quality on his final ball.

Indirect observation
I have also watched tape’s back in my office of the different games which show evidence of how the player lacks in confidence on the ball. When approaching the final third he rushes his pass and spoils the chance of a scoring opportunity for the team.

Strengths and weaknesses
The strengths of observation analysis is that the coach will have a full knowledge of how the player is both on and off the pitch, his job is just to monitor how the player is doing and what he’s doing right and what he’s doing wrong.
The weaknesses of observation analysis is that the player will know you are watching him specifically and this will just be adding more pressure to the situation and this may also knock the players confidence and then he won’t be able to play to his full ability.


Fitness assessment

The fitness assessment will normally take place during the course of pre-season. The fitness coach will get the players to do a test as soon as they get back from there break to find out how much fitness they have lost. They will do two tests one is called the bleep test and the other the yo-yo test.
They will then have a re-test at the end of the pre-season schedule and the whole team will have a target they have to get too otherwise they will have to stay behind after training and do extra.

Strengths and weaknesses

The strengths of a fitness assessment are that the coach will be able to see clearly how the players have got in during the pre-season period. He will also be able to see the improvement of the players and who has worked hard and the ones that may have slacked during this course of the season.

The weaknesses are that the players that are doing extra may feel they are hard done by because they probably feel they have tried as hard as possible. Also they may feel one out of the crowd because if everyone else has passed the test and they have failed they could feel like they have let the team down and even not wanted.

Goal setting

The manager and player will agree on a goal setting which they both feel is achievable throughout maybe a short, medium or even long term goal. A short term goal maybe is for him to get a percentage of 90% pass rate in his next match, a medium goal could maybe be to score 3 out of his next 8 games and a long term goal could be to help the team get promotion at the end of the season.
Both player and manager will maybe have a one to one meeting to make sure they both agree on the task ahead.

Strengths and weaknesses

The strengths of a goal setting is that the player has got something to work for and this could maybe give him that extra boost he needed to get that extra 10% out of him in every game. Also the manager will have a reason to be mad at the player if he doesn’t reach these goals that will have been set.

The weaknesses of goal setting are that the player may feel the goal he has been set are unrealistic but daren’t say anything to the manager just in case he disagrees. Having a goal setting could put added pressure on the player which may lead him to underperforming when needed.