| dc.description.abstract | Background: Research on player’s nonverbal behaviour (NVB) is slowly emerging in sports (Furley, 2021). Nonverbal behaviour is an interesting research area that recently has gotten increased attention in sports psychology (Furley et al., 2015). However, in football, there is a lack of understanding of how nonverbal behaviours are displayed during a match. This lack of knowledge may lead to players' NVB being ignored, misjudged, or based on subjective opinions.
Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate and describe the nonverbal behaviours displayed by elite football players during a match using close-up video.
Method: A non-participatory observational study where four international players were filmed in close-up view, and their nonverbal behaviour was coded descriptively with Hudl Sportscode using a self-developed coding window.
Results: The players in this study had a total of 1060 behaviours and a mean frequency of 3.76 behaviours per minute (SD=0.829). The results revealed that players most frequently display NVB through tactical arm movements (57,3%). It was found that elite players express tactical and emotional behaviour through various nonverbal behaviours, including facial expressions, head movements, finger movements, hand movements and verbal communication. Verbal, facial and head movements, resulted in a total of 220 behaviours (20 %). While additional behaviours to arm movements (verbal, head, hand and finger movements) were frequent in 603 (73.3%) of all arm movements. Indicating that players most often display more than one informational sign.
Summary: This was the first study using close-up video in football investigating NVB. The results reveal a varied range of behaviours displayed by the players. Research should further investigate how players communicate and act in a football match. Close-up video is a suitable method for investigating these behaviours. | en_US |
