Telestration for coaches: Finding the right balance

Telestration (the practice of adding visual notes and graphics to video) was first developed in the 1950s as a training tool for medical students. It has been a staple of football broadcasts since the seventies, and is now an established part of the coach’s toolkit. In this Research Brief, Dr John Francis of the University of Worcester investigates how telestration could help practitioners bring the best out of their players.

• Research suggests telestration might improve players’ recall and help coaches get their instructions across.

• These benefits seem to apply to whole squads, not just individuals.

• However, telestration needs to be used judiciously and in an appropriate context; otherwise, players can be overwhelmed with detail.

Part 1: What is telestration?
There is a limit to how much the human brain can commit to memory at any one time. In a complex sport like football, that limit can make it difficult for coaches to get their messages across to players. Evidence suggests telestration has the potential to address this problem by making it easier for players to understand what the coach is asking them to do. Reducing the effort needed to understand instructions improves the quantity and, most importantly, the quality of information players can absorb, and makes them more likely to implement the coach’s ideas during matches.

Part 2: The study
The study featured 14 players in the English Football League Championship, divided into two groups. One group was shown video analysis with telestration, while the others were shown the raw video of the same clips. When their recall was tested, the players in the telestration group consistently scored 25–30% higher for tactical recall than those in the non-telestration group. Moreover, the performance gap between the two groups grew as the experiment wore on, suggesting telestration has the potential to improve performance if used regularly throughout a season.

Part 3: Implications
These results raise the question of how to use telestration most effectively. While there seem to be clear benefits to the technology, using it too much can cause cognitive overload and impair performance. Moreover, previous research has highlighted that challenging players to spot relevant details on raw video without visual aids can also boost tactical understanding. The challenge for practitioners is to find ways of using telestration to achieve specific objectives without over-complicating their messages. More research in this area could help them find that balance.