Shane Pill on the spectrum of coaching styles

A coach can have all the football knowledge in the world, but if they cannot impart that knowledge to their players, it counts for nothing. In this Expert Knowledge session, Professor Pill introduces the “spectrum” of coaching styles, and considers how coaches can combine them to make sure they get their message across.

Part 1: The philosophy of the spectrum
Coaches are educators, and coaching in sport constitutes a specialist role in the field of education. Just like educators in other fields, the core of the coach’s job is to improve performance by teaching learners how to adapt their technique and improve their performances (in this case, in football matches). Coaches have a wide variety of methods at their disposal with which to achieve that aim, but blending them to achieve the best outcome can be a challenge. This is where thinking in terms of a spectrum of styles can prove useful. 

Part 2: Reproduction coaching styles
The first half of the spectrum is made up of coaching styles that ask players to reproduce what the coach has planned, as opposed to applying it on their own initiative. The most “reproductive” style (Style A) involves the coach making all the decisions and having players follow all their instructions to the letter, with almost no autonomy. By contrast, in the middle of the spectrum, players assume specific roles in group exercises and set the nature and difficulty of their own practice. 

Part 3: Production coaching styles
The second half of the spectrum is covered by “production” teaching techniques, which challenge players to think about what they have learned and apply it independently. Sessions based on these coaching techniques often present the players with a specific problem, which they are asked to solve with varying degrees of guidance from the coach. By the time we reach the far end of the spectrum (Style K), players are effectively coaching themselves, taking responsibility for all aspects of planning, implementing and reflecting on their training sessions.

Part 4: Implications for coach development
Another potential use of the spectrum is as a tool to align a coach’s philosophy with the way they actually behave on the training ground. Coach developers can use it to identify which style a coach is using at any given moment, and to pinpoint where there is a mismatch between that style and the ideas they are trying to teach their players. Observing coaching styles can also uncover clues as to how comfortable the squad are in applying what they have been taught.

Although the information presented in this Expert Knowledge session is intuitive, it is important that the reader is aware that more empirical evidence is needed to verify the impact these styles have on learning, particularly in a football context.