Acta Universitatis Carolinae Kinanthropologica (AUC Kinanthropologica) is an international peer reviewed journal for the publication of research outcomes in the humanities, the social sciences and the natural sciences, as applied to kinathropology. It is a multidisciplinary journal accepting only original unpublished articles in English in the various sub-disciplines and related fields of kinanthropology, such as Anthropology, Anthropomotorics, Sports Pedagogy, Sociology of Sport, Philosophy of Sport, History of Sport, Physiology of Sport And Exercise, Physical Education, Applied Physical Education, Physiotherapy, Human Biomechanics, Psychology of Sport, Sports Training and Coaching, Sport Management, etc. The journal also welcomes interdisciplinary articles. The journal also includes reports of relevant activities and reviews of relevant publications.
The journal is abstracted and indexed by CNKI, DOAJ, EBSCO, ERIH PLUS, SPOLIT, SPORTDiscus, and Ulrichsweb.
AUC KINANTHROPOLOGICA, Vol 57 No 1 (2021), 11–25
A hot mess: basketball coaches’ perceptions of ability versus actual performances of their athletes
Timothy Baghurst, Jeremy Lackman, Staci Drewson, Paige Spittler, Ryan Turcott, Matthew Smith, Gilberto Illescas-Marquez, Ali Boolani
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/23366052.2021.3
published online: 16. 06. 2021
abstract
Data analytics are an increasingly popular method for talent identification, and are used for a variety of decision making purposes, such as rotations and playing time. However, coaches often rely on their perceptions and experiences to identify talent and player attributes that are important to success. Therefore, the purposes of this study were to evaluate differences between coach perceptions of player ability against actual performances as well as to determine whether these perceptions differed as a head or assistant coach. Participants were six (two head; four assistant) college coaches who were asked to collectively identify the five most important attributes when evaluating a basketball player. Then, before the season began, all coaches were asked to independently score each of their athletes on these attributes using a 100mm Visual Analog Scale. These scores were compared to player performances during the season. Results were mixed, and while there were correlations between some player performance variables and coach perceptions, they varied wildly, and coaches’ perceptions of their athletes had little consistent correlation to their performances. Furthermore, there were few agreements between head coaches and their assistants or between assistants. Findings suggest that while coach perceptions and talent identification have their place, the use of data analytics in sports may provide additional support when making coaching decisions such as playing time. Therefore, coaches should recognize their own limitations of player talent and balance these “feelings” with statistical evidence.
keywords: data analytics; sport analytics; coaching; coach; Visual Analog Scale
references (43)
1. Bartholomew, D. J., Martin, K., & Irini, M. (2011). Latent variable models and factor analysis: a unified approach Vol. 904. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. CrossRef
2. Bloom, G., Stevens, D., & Wickwire, T. (2003). Expert coachesʼ perceptions of team building. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 15(2), 129-143. CrossRef
3. Boolani, A., Lindheimer, J. B., Loy, B. D., Crozier, S., & O'Connor, P. J. (2017). Acute effects of brewed cocoa consumption on attention, motivation to perform cognitive work and feelings of anxiety, energy and fatigue: A randomized, placebo-controlled crossover experiment. BMC Nutrition, 3(8), 1-118. CrossRef
4. Chase, M. A., Feltz, D. L., Hyashi, S. W., & Hepler, T. J. (2005). Sources of coaching efficacy: The coaches' perspective. International Journal of sport and Exercise Psychology, 3(1), 27-40. CrossRef
5. Cook, B. (2015, March 3). Perception or Reality? Speedendurance.com. Retrieved from http://speedendurance.com/2015/03/03/perception-or-reality/.
6. Das, S., & Phookun, H. R. (2013). Knowledge, attitude, perception and belief of patientʼs relatives towards mental illness: association with clinical and sociodemographic characteristics. Delhi Psychiatry Journal, 16(1), 99-106. Retrieved from http://medind.nic.in/daa/t13/i1/daat13i1p98.pdf.
7. Dreher, G. F., & Cox, T. H., Jr. (1996). Race, gender, and opportunity: A study of compensation attainment and the establishment of mentoring relationships. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81(3), 297-308. CrossRef
8. Ewing, T. K. (2019). Rethinking head coach credentials: Playing experience, tertiary qualifications and coaching apprenticeships. International Sport Coaching Journal, 6(2), 244-249. CrossRef
9. Fry, M. J., & Ohlmann, J. W. (2012). Introduction to the special issue on analytics in sports, part I: General sports applications. Interfaces, 42(2), 105-108. CrossRef
10. Goldman, M., & Rao, J. M. (2011, March). Allocative and dynamic efficiency in NBA decision making. Paper presented at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, Boston, MA. Abstract retrieved from http://www.justinmrao.com/goldman_rao_sloan.pdf.
11. Howard, C. L. (2015). Collegiate female assistant coaches: A qualitative examination of their experiences and intentions. Master thesis. Sonoma State University.
12. Hwang, D. (2012, March). Forecasting NBA layer performance using a Weibull-Gamma statistical timing model. Paper presented at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, Boston, MA. Abstract retrieved from http://www.sloansportsconference. com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/46-Forecasting-NBA-Player-Performance_DouglasHwang.pdf.
13. Jacobson, B. H., Boolani, A., Dunklee, G., Shepardson, A., & Acharya, H. (2010). Effect of prescribed sleep surfaces on back pain and sleep quality in patients diagnosed with low back and shoulder pain. Applied Ergonomics, 42(1), 91-97. CrossRef
14. John, O. P. (1994). Accuracy and bias in self-perception: Individual differences in self-enhancement and the role of narcissism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66(1), 206-219. CrossRef
15. Kaiser, H. (1974). An index of factor simplicity. Psychometrika, 39(1), 31-36. CrossRef
16. Klusemann, M. J., Pyne, D. B., Hopkins, W. G., & Drinkwater, E. J. (2013). Activity profiles and demands of seasonal and tournament basketball competition. International Journal of Sports Physiology & Performance, 8(6), 623-629. CrossRef
17. Lanning, W. (1979). Coach and athlete personality interaction: A critical variable in athletic success. Journal of Sport Psychology, 1(4), 262-267. CrossRef
18. Marty, R., & Lucey, S. (2017). A data-driven method for understanding and increasing 3-point shooting percentage. Paper presented at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics, Boston, MA. Abstract retrieved from http://www.sloansportsconference.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/1505.pdf.
19. McFarland, D., & Cacace, A. (1999). Defining perception and cognition. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 22(3), 385-385. CrossRef
20. Oliver, J., & Robins, R. (1994). Accuracy and bias in self-perception: Individual differences in self-enhancement and the role of narcissism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66(1), 206-219. CrossRef
21. Palmer, M. E. (2013). The direct impact of team cohesiveness and athletesʼ perception of coaching leadership functions on team success in NCAA Division I Womenʼs basketball. Doctoral Dissertation. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11274/766.
22. Pearlman, L., & Turner, B. (2020). Sunderland "Til I Die" [Television series]. Los Gatos, CA: Netflix.
23. Pickens, J. (2005). Attitudes and perceptions. In: N. Borkowski (Ed.), Organizational Behavior in Health Care (pp. 43-76). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc.
24. Rathwell, S., Bloom, G. A., & Loughead, T. M. (2014). Head coaches' perceptions on roles, selection, and development of the assistant coach. International Sport Coaching Journal, 1(1), 5-16. CrossRef
25. Rickertsen, C. (2012, March 15). How Your Perception of Reality Affects Sports Performance. Stack. Retrieved from http://www.stack.com/a/how-your-perception-of-reality-affects-sports-performance.
26. Roberts, A. H., Greenwood, D. A., Stanley, M., Humberstone, C., Iredale, F., & Raynor, A. (2019). Coach knowledge in talent identification: A systematic review and meta-synthesis. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 22(10), 1163-1172. CrossRef
27. Rosenthal, J. (2013, March 17). The Rosenthal fit: A statistical ranking of NCAA men's basketball teams. Retrieved from http://probability.ca/jeff/writing/RosenthalFitReport.pdf.
28. Sampaio, J., Janeira, M., Llbanez, S., & Lorenzo, A. (2006). Discriminant analysis of game related statistics between basketball guards, forwards and centres in three professional leagues. European Journal of Sport Science, 6(3), 173-178. CrossRef
29. Sampaio, J., McGarry, T., Calleja-González, J., Sáiz, S. J., Alcázar, X. S., & Balciunas, M. (2015). Exploring game performance in the National Basketball Association using player tracking data. Plos One, 10(7). CrossRef
30. Sarlis, V., & Tjortjis, C. (2020). Sports analytics - Evaluation of basketball players and team performance. Information Systems, 93, November. CrossRef
31. Skinner, B., & Guy, S. J. (2015). A method for using player tracking data in basketball to learn player skills and predict team performance. Plos One, 10(9). CrossRef
32. Smoll, F. L., & Smith, R. E. (1989). Leadership behaviors in sport: A theoretical model and research paradigm. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 19(18, Pt 2), 1522-1551. CrossRef
33. Solieman, O. K. (2006). Data mining in sports: A research overview. A Technical Report. MIS Masters Project, August 2006. Web Site: http://ai.arizona.edu/hchen/chencourse/Osama-DM_in_Sports.pdf.
34. Steinber, L. (2015, August). Changing the game: The rise of sports analytics. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/leighsteinberg/2015/08/18/changing-the-game-the-rise-of-sports-analytics/#7c7faff14c1f.
35. Turcott, R. & Pifer, N. D. (2019). The preferred players: A theoretical and comparative analysis of menʼs basketball recruits at the NCAAʼs mid major level (2004-2014). Journal of Contemporary Athletics, 12(3), 528-548.
36. Turman, P. D. (2006). Athletesʼ perception of coach power use and the association between playing status and sport satisfaction. Communication Research Reports, 23(4), 273-282. CrossRef
37. Vazire, S., & Mehl, M. R. (2008). Knowing me, knowing you: The accuracy and unique predictive validity of self-ratings and other-ratings of daily behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(5), 1202-1216. CrossRef
38. Weinberg, R., Butt, J., Knight, B., & Perritt, N. (2001). Collegiate coachesʼ perceptions of their goal-setting practices: A qualitative investigation. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 13(4), 374-398. CrossRef
39. Wiseman, A., Bracken, N., Horton, S., & Weir, P. (2014). The difficulty of talent identification: Inconsistency among coaches through skill-based assessment of youth hockey players. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 9(3), 447-456. CrossRef
40. Wittwer, A., Krummenacher, P., La Marca, R., Ehlert, U., & Folkers, G. (2016). Salivary alpha-amylase correlates with subjective heat pain perception. Pain Medicine, 17(6), 1131-1137. CrossRef
41. Young, S. (2020, March 11). The painful reality of being an NBA coach. https://medium.com/the-basketball-university-blog/the-painful-reality-of-being-an-nba-coach-5c6ef6a1824d.
42. Zakrajsek, R., Raabe, J., Readdy, T., Erdner, S. & Bass, A (2020). Collegiate assistant coaches' perceptions of basic psychological need satisfaction and thwarting from head coaches: A qualitative investigation. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 32(1), 28-47. CrossRef
43. Zhang, T., Chen, J., & Zhao, X. (2011). Modeling and analysis of player efficiency rating for different positions: Case study with NBA. In: Advances in Computer Science and Education Applications (pp. 234-242). Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg. CrossRef
A hot mess: basketball coaches’ perceptions of ability versus actual performances of their athletes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
157 x 230 mm
periodicity: 2 x per year
print price: 190 czk
ISSN: 1212-1428
E-ISSN: 2336-6052
