Guidance and Feedback in Sport

Guidance: How Coaches Communicate a Skill

Before a performer can improve, they need to understand what the skill looks like and how to produce it. Guidance is the process by which a coach communicates the nature of a skill to the learner. The four types of guidance — visual, verbal, manual and mechanical — differ in the channel through which the information is delivered, and each has specific advantages and disadvantages that make it more or less appropriate for different learners, skill types and stages of learning.

Visual Guidance

Visual guidance shows the performer what the correct movement looks like. A coach demonstrating a tennis backhand, a video of Adam Peaty’s breaststroke technique or a slow-motion replay of a gymnastic routine are all examples of visual guidance. Visual guidance is highly effective for beginners who do not yet have a clear mental image of the skill — seeing the movement creates a cognitive model for the performer to try to replicate. It is also effective for observational learners and for skills where timing and spatial awareness are critical.

However, visual guidance has limits. A demonstration by the coach or an elite performer may be too fast or too technically advanced for a beginner to process fully. If the demonstration is inaccurate, the learner will attempt to replicate the error. Video footage helps overcome the speed problem (slow motion replay) but requires technology that may not always be available. Cognitive overload can occur if too much visual information is presented at once — showing a beginner a full complex gymnastics routine before breaking it down can be counter-productive.

Verbal Guidance

Verbal guidance uses spoken language to describe or cue the skill. A coach saying “keep your elbow high on the follow-through” or “bend your knees as you receive the pass” is providing verbal guidance. Verbal guidance is quick, flexible and requires no equipment. It is especially valuable when a correction needs to be made mid-session, or when a specific part of a technique needs to be highlighted after a demonstration.

The main disadvantage of verbal guidance is that it relies entirely on the performer’s ability to translate spoken words into physical movement. For beginners, complex verbal instructions can overload working memory. The effectiveness of verbal guidance also depends on the coach’s clarity and the learner’s listening skills. Key phrases — cue words — are a refined form of verbal guidance that reduce cognitive load: “hips first,” “eyes on the target,” “tight core” distil a complex instruction into a single memorable trigger.

Manual Guidance

Manual guidance involves the coach physically guiding the performer through the correct movement. A gymnastics coach supporting a young child through a forward roll, a swimming teacher holding a beginner’s hips to help them feel horizontal body position, or a tennis coach physically moving a player’s arm through the correct backhand motion are all examples of manual guidance. Manual guidance is particularly useful for beginners learning dangerous movements (where the physical support prevents injury) and for helping a performer feel the kinaesthetic sensation of the correct technique.

The main disadvantage is that the performer may become dependent on the physical support and be unable to replicate the movement without it. There is also a safeguarding consideration — physical contact requires appropriate consent and must be handled carefully. Manual guidance is most effective when it is used to establish an initial feel for the movement and then progressively withdrawn as the performer begins to internalise the skill.

Mechanical Guidance

Mechanical guidance uses equipment to physically support or constrain the learner’s movement. A swimming lane float that supports the legs, a trampoline harness that keeps a gymnast safe during aerial work or a batting tee that positions the ball for a beginner cricketer are all mechanical guidance. Like manual guidance, mechanical guidance helps the performer feel the correct movement and removes fear from dangerous or unfamiliar skills.

The disadvantage is that the supported movement is not always identical to the natural, unsupported movement. A swimmer who relies on a float is not using the same body position they will use in competition. Mechanical guidance is most effective as a stepping stone — it builds confidence and the initial motor pattern, but must be phased out as the performer progresses.

Feedback: Information After Performance

Feedback is information received about the quality of a performance. Without feedback, learning is slow or impossible — a performer who practises with errors repeatedly simply automates those errors. Edexcel identifies four types of feedback: intrinsic, extrinsic, concurrent and terminal.

Intrinsic feedback comes from the performer’s own sensory systems. A gymnast who feels that their landing was heavy and unbalanced, or a bowler who feels that the release of the ball was too early, is receiving intrinsic feedback. It is immediate and constant — available during every movement — but requires experience and developed kinaesthetic awareness to interpret accurately. Beginners often cannot distinguish between correct and incorrect “feel” because they have no established reference point.

Extrinsic feedback comes from an external source outside the performer. A coach calling “push through the hips” from the sideline, a video replay showing a fault in the golf swing, or the sound of the crowd’s reaction to a goal are all extrinsic feedback. Extrinsic feedback is particularly valuable for beginners who cannot yet accurately interpret their own intrinsic sensations, because the external source provides an objective reference point.

Concurrent and Terminal Feedback

Concurrent feedback is delivered during the execution of the skill. A coach walking alongside a swimmer calling “higher elbow, higher elbow” during a training length, or a dance teacher calling corrections as students move through a routine, is providing concurrent feedback. It is very immediate and can prevent errors from continuing, but it can also distract the performer or interfere with their focus during a complex skill.

Terminal feedback is delivered after the performance has finished. A coach who reviews video footage with an athlete after a training session, or who gives a critique at the end of a drill, is providing terminal feedback. It allows a more considered analysis and is less disruptive to the performance itself, but there is a delay between the movement and the information, which can make it harder for the performer to connect the feedback to what they did.