Progress. That is our ultimate goal. How do we elicit progression?
For the athlete, we focus on improving technique, sport-specific athletic qualities (speed, strength, endurance, power, etc.), and overall health. As we master these components, we see an overall performance progression.
Order of operations
It may sound simple enough, but in reality, the process of progression is a complex scientific experiment run by your coach. First, your coach must decide where to start with each individual athlete. Each person requires a different order of operations. For example, one athlete may require more strength in order to perform a specific technical change. A different athlete may need to make a positional adjustment. If the wrong cue is given, the athlete may not make the expected progress.
Once the order of operations is determined, the coach must learn to speak the athlete’s language.
Speak the language
Here’s a non-sport example. I don’t have a great sense of direction. A few months ago, my husband tried to explain how to get from one place to another via phone call. I zoned out after the first right turn. He got frustrated and I got lost. At a later date, he pulled out a map and we traced the route. I had no problems making it from A to B.
Everybody, including athletes, learn and process differently. It often takes trial and error to figure out the best way to communicate change.
Timeline of emphasis
After the cue has been processed, the coach must determine the timeline of emphasis. Can this particular athlete process two major cues at once? Has this athlete mastered the initial cue? Do I need to remind this athlete of the cue before each set?
Athletes often have a mind of their own and forget about the main cue. The coach must determine if the athlete’s focus has shifted and then bring them back to the cue. Once the athlete has repeatedly shown understanding of the cue in practice repetitions, it becomes time to test them in a competition. If the athlete can still execute the cue in a high-demand environment, it may be time to move forward to the next cue.
The athlete’s role
So far it seems like cueing is purely the coach’s responsibility. Not true. An athlete must be accountable to each cue. A coach can give directions all day, but if the athlete is not receptive, no progress will be made. Likewise, if the athlete is not intentional to execute the cue, the process is useless. Finally, if the athlete does not understand the cue, they must speak up.
What exactly is a cue?
When you cue somebody, you are giving them specific directions. My last coach used the term “KPI” instead of “cue”. KPI stands for Key Performance Indicators. These are specific components that either add or subtract from the overall goal. For example, a KPI for maximum velocity sprinting may be faster ground contact time.
A cue can be internal or external. Internal cueing focuses on the movement of a particular body part. External cueing focuses on the environment and the outcome of the movement.
For javelin, we would use internal cues like “roll the armpit up” or “vault the ulna faster”. An external cue would be “imagine you are doing a tennis serve”. Both the internal and external cues are attempting to get the athlete to do the same thing.
Here’s a more common example. For a squat, a coach may externally cue “sit back into a chair” or internally cue “push your butt back and keep your chest up”.
Plenty of research has been done on which type of cueing is better. In my opinion, it depends on the athlete and the situation. When I’m learning or overthinking, I find external cues to be far more beneficial. I prefer internal cues when my technique has stabilized but needs some very specific tweaks.
The secret to successful cueing
Communication. Cueing will only work if the coach is able to communicate the intended message and the athlete is able to receive it. As I said earlier, progression will be stalled if the coach gives the wrong message. If the athlete receives the wrong message or refuses the message, it’s a hopeless attempt.
The coach and the athlete must work hard to understand each other in order to develop the most effective cueing system. The coach must figure out how the athlete best learns. The athlete must develop a deep trust in their coach. Both must experiment with trial and error.
Below are some lessons I’ve learned as both an athlete and a coach.
Real life advice
1. Be prepared for environmental factors
My college coach had a lot of experience. He knew that when the big meets rolled around, he wouldn’t be able to communicate with his athletes like a normal practice. Oftentimes, big meets meant big stadiums and lots of crowds. He wouldn’t be able to yell through the roaring noise. Because of this, he had developed a form of sign language to speak with his athletes.
We learned the signs for our main cues while in practice. I could tell if he was saying “move 1 foot back” or “grab the curve” or “push harder” from his hand signals. I’m thankful that he had a system in place. You don’t want to be stuck guessing what your coach is trying to tell you when you’re on the big stage.
2. Experiment with all types of cues
As a professional, my coach held me highly accountable for executing the focal cue. When he cued me, it was expected that I try it out on the next attempt. This gave him feedback. If the result was no different, he tried a different cue or a different way of saying the same cue.
Early on in our time together, I found myself trying to translate all his cues into more familiar cues. Instead of totally buying into his system, I subconsciously tried to mesh multiple systems together.
When he would give a cue, I would categorize it with an effective cue from the past. While it’s difficult to separate the past and the present, try to focus on the task at hand without bringing in prior experiences. Coaches aren’t mind-readers so they don’t know when you are actually thinking about something else when given a specific cue.
A lot of times this happened when I was given an internal cue. I would hear the internal cue and relate it to an external cue from the past. When I stepped up for the next attempt, I was thinking about the external cue. If that’s what your doing, your not giving your coach the best opportunity to teach you.
3. Ask questions
Sometimes we just don’t understand a particular cue. For whatever reason, it just doesn’t process right. Don’t fake understanding in order to avoid looking stupid. Ask your coach to elaborate or rephrase what he’s saying. You may need more context or a visual.
Both of you will appreciate the clarity rather than wasting time and energy trying to make sense of the cue via improper execution.
4. Talk face to face whenever possible
In this day and age, we are tempted to send text messages or emails as our primary form of communication. One time I sent my coach an email review of day 1 of the heptathlon. He wrote back “just keep carrying water and chopping wood”. Apparently, this is an expression meaning keep doing what you’ve been doing. I didn’t catch on to that.
For explainable reasons, I overanalyzed “carry water” and “chop water” to be postural and technical cues. The whole next day I was focusing on executing two non-existent cues.
I’d like to think that I would have caught on to his language had we spoken directly. It’s easy to misinterpret things via text message and email. Don’t make cueing more complicated than it needs to be.
5. Start simple and throw out the trash
While coaching my high school athletes, I found simple cues to be most effective. As a coach, you can’t expect perfection. You are simply looking for a way to make the biggest change with the simplest suggestion.
One of my high school runners had an incredible amount of back-side mechanics. This meant that her legs spent more time behind her body than in front of it. I tried cue after cue to get her to adjust, but nothing was sticking. Eventually, I threw out all the technical mechanical cues I’ve heard throughout my career and simply had her do one drill.
She started every run with in-place high-knees. All I did was told her to get from A to B as fast as possible while continuing to do high-knees. There it was. A beautiful change!
The cue that I used wouldn’t work for most athletes. It may even slow down most athletes, but it was what she needed. She knew what I wanted her to do, she just couldn’t execute it with the prior cues I was giving. One practice I told her we are just going to try one thing after another until we figure this out. After every rep, I had to tell her to throw away that cue. Eventually, we found the one that worked.
In Summary
Cueing is an experiment that requires a wise scientist and a willing subject. Every athlete is different. They learn and respond uniquely and the coach must figure out how to best relay a directive.
When the coach and athlete are willing to put in the time and energy to conduct the experiment, improvement gains can be made. Successful cueing is the path to progression.
