On the shooting line the coach communicates with the archer more through gestures than words

The summary today

There is a single paper, an analysis of the video of the women's individual final at Tokyo 2020 between South Korea's An San and Elena Osipova. The author codes ten moments of communication between the Korean archer and her coach: two purely verbal, four purely non-verbal and four mixed. Both purely verbal moments come off the line, at the start, while on the line there are signs of concentration, instructions combining words and gestures, and a self-correction; at the end come physical contact, applause and hugs again. The result is a three-stage sequence, words before, gestures during shooting and reinforcement at the end. But it is one pair, one match and ten frames chosen by the author and read from the pictures alone; some labels describe the archer's state more than an exchange, and the paper measures no effect on performance. Nor does it say whether talking so little is a choice or a consequence of distance and the rules of the field.

Also phrased as: "the coach says little in competition"; "non-verbal communication between coach and archer"; "coach signals behind the line"; "how to stand beside an archer in competition"

Evidence

• 2023
  For Archers Published later

  Video of the women's individual final at Tokyo 2020, the South Korean archer and her coach, ten signs coded: 2 purely verbal, 4 purely non-verbal, 4 verbal and non-verbal together. Both purely verbal signs (talking) come off the shooting line, at the start; on the line there are concentration (twice, non-verbal), instructions (verbal and non-verbal) and self-correction (non-verbal).

  Archer and Coach Communication at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics · Teguh Dwi Putranto

• 2023
  Context Archers Published later

  The sequence has three stages: off the line at the start talking, talking, a high five and shouting; on the line concentration, concentration, instructions, self-correction; off the line at the end confidence, applause and praise, hugs and praise. The gesture read as a high five is a fist bump in the table, and, read from still frames with no sound, some labels remain the author's interpretation.

  Archer and Coach Communication at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics · Teguh Dwi Putranto

Status history

1. 2023 Reported The only paper on the question arrives: an analysis of the video of an Olympic women's individual final codes ten communicative signs between archer and coach, two purely verbal, four purely non-verbal and four mixed. Both purely verbal signs come off the line, at the start, and the match falls into three moments: words and physical contact before, non-verbal or mixed signs during shooting, gestures of reinforcement and contact at the end. One case, one pair, one match: the evidence is there and it is limited.

Related

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• The archery coach: how much they matter and what they do on the shooting lineWhat the studies say about archer and coach, and how they communicate in competition: when to step in, when to keep quiet and how much gestures count.

Research lines

• 16 studiesCoach and athlete: communication, relationship and the shooting line

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