leadership

Performance Profiling

If a 1500 metre runner appeared to lack speed towards the end of a race, an effective coach would observe this and design a training program to address this situation. Similarly, if psychological factors require attention, the intervention must be tailored to specific needs. However, where as speed, or lack of it, can be directly observed, psychological factors are often hidden.

A key problem for coaches seeking to address such issues is how to work out what the problem is when they cannot observe what is going on in their athlete's mind. A direct question does not always provide the full facts since athletes can be reluctant, at least initially, to discuss such things. An approach that is becoming popular in sport is Performance Profiling.

Objectives

Over the past few years, Performance Profiling has become a new tool in the athlete & coach's armoury. Performance Profiling has three major purposes:

To aid in identifying an appropriate intervention

To maximise the athlete's motivation and adherence to the program

To monitor any changes over time

Process

Performance Profiling comprises of four steps:

Step 1 - Coach outlines the Performance Profiling process

Step 2 - Athlete identifies the characteristics of an elite athlete for his/her sport/event

Step 3 - Athlete rates each in terms of level of importance and self assessment

Step 4 - Athlete and Coach analyse the results and agree a way forward

Step 1

The first step is for the coach to introduce to the athlete the idea of Performance Profiling and how it can help to direct training to areas of specific need. This process can be aided by a sense of mutual trust, and it should be made clear that any information gained about the athlete will remain strictly confidential. Coaches should stress that there are no right or wrong answers involved in the process but that honest appraisal will facilitate a more productive outcome. The coach needs to explain that the process will focus on the athlete's current feelings regarding their preparation for competition.

Step 2

The athlete becomes actively involved in this step of the process, and the following question should be directed to the athlete:

What in your opinion are the fundamental qualities or characteristics of an elite athlete in your sport/event?

Spend five to ten minutes listing the qualities or characteristics that the athlete feels are important. If an athlete finds this difficult, the coach can use prompts, but it is for the athlete to decide on what characteristics are chosen. The coach should try to get the athlete to list the key psychological factors, but the same process can be applied to technical skills or physical attributes, such as strength, speed, agility, balance etc. In this step, the athlete should try to identify 15 to 20 characteristics.

Step 3

The next step is for the athlete to rate each of the identified characteristics.

On a scale of zero (not at all important) to 10 (extremely important), the athlete rates the perceived importance of each characteristic for an elite performer in their particular sport/event.

The athlete uses the same zero to 10 scale to rate their current perception of themselves in relation to an ideal state of 10.

A calculation is then carried out to determine the 'Discrepancy' value. The higher discrepancies indicate areas that may need to be addressed through training or other intervention.