Technical and social cue utilization in expert football coaches

Although the research concerning the problem-solving and decision-making strategies of expert coaches is well-established, few studies have sought to identify the specific characteristics that enable coaches to effectively solve problems and make decisions. This study provided a novel investigation as to whether the ability to utilize technical and social cues is associated with markers of expertise in national football (i.e., soccer) coaches. A total of 70 nationally qualified football coaches in Australia participated. A series of simple linear regression analyses and a multinomial logistic regression indicated that both technical and social cue utilization are associated with self-ratings of capability and qualification levels, controlling for one another, although the capacity to utilize technical cues exhibited a relatively stronger relationship with qualification. The findings have implications for the training and development of football coaches, and for the literature focusing on expert-novice differences.