The use of reflective conversations as a professional development tool – a narrative exploring the experiences of a performance analyst working in semi-elite football

ABSTRACT

Previous research into the use of reflective techniques, in applied sports environments, has tended to focus on the experiences of coaches. However, with the increasing professionalization of sports, coaches no longer stand alone as the focus for research into the professional development experiences of individuals. Yet, there is only limited research into the professional development of performance analysts. Consequently, this research sought to understand how a performance analyst could use reflective conversations with coaches, players, and expert analysts as a tool for professional development. The research adopted an autoethnographic approach to investigate the use of reflective conversations as a tool for professional development for a performance analyst. The data collection and analysis process followed three stages for Martin, the performance analyst the heart of the research: living the story, telling the story, and retelling the story. Through this process, two vignettes were written about Martin’s experience engaging in reflective conversations; ‘Delving Deeper’ and ‘A mirror conversation’. These vignettes highlighted the importance of Martin engaging in reflective conversations in order to develop strategies to manage professional issues as well as being beneficial in helping him to understand the opportunities for professional growth available within his role.

KEYWORDS:

• Reflective practice
• performance analysis
• reflective conversations
• professional development
• reflection

Introduction

Over the past decade, there has been an exponential increase in the amount of Performance Analysis (henceforth PA) being utilized within sports (Martin et al., 2018; Nicholls et al., 2018). The role of the analyst has been identified as revolving around the facilitation and dissemination of video and statistics (Wright et al., 2014). Frequently, such distribution takes place in the form of reports and presentations used by players and coaches across the pre-match, match-day, and post-match phases of competition in football (Groom & Nelson, 2013; Mackenzie & Cushion, 2013). Consequently, the performance analyst has been recognized as being a ‘hired hand’ (Bampouras et al., 2012, p. 479) who enables the different political and societal motivations of a coach to be met through the provision of various statistics and videos (Booroff et al., 2016). As such the role of the analyst is complex and relies on a range of skills, behaviours, and expertise including technical knowledge, professional behaviours, sport-specific prowess, contextual awareness, and the ability to build/maintain relationships (Martin et al., 2021). Balancing the different pedagogical, societal, cultural, and personal factors at play is a reality for a performance analyst working in football (Bampouras et al., 2012; Reeves & Roberts, 2013). Additionally, given the rapid professional growth that can be required to establish relationships and role clarity by analysts (Butterworth & Turner, 2014; McKenna et al., 2018) pertinent questions arise beyond the forms of PA an analyst carries out and the types of reports/presentations they provide to coaches/players. As such, it can be argued that research is needed into the professional development activities of performance analysts, to understand not only what the analyst does and how they interact with players and coaches, but also to investigate such areas as how analysts can reflect on and subsequently refine their behaviours, actions, and attitudes.

The performance analyst and professional development

There is only limited research into the professional development of performance analysts and such research has tended to focus on the formal qualifications held by analysts (Martin et al., 2018). However, research focused on developing expertise among sports coaches may offer some insight into the likely professional development activities of analysts. Such research has identified factors such as professional experience, access to a mentor, previous participation as an athlete, and self-reflection/formal education as factors (Lynch & Mallett, 2006; Mallet, 2010). While formal education and qualifications are frequently seen as a necessity to gain employment, mentoring, reflection, and prior experience as an athlete/player have been identified as more effective learning mechanisms for individuals working in elite sports. Self-reflection is frequently a preferred method of professional development with experienced coaches (Gilbert & Trudel, 2005) and offers a practitioner the chance to understand their professional practice in the light of whether it is meaningful, focused, and pleasurable (Cassidy et al., 2009). Consequently, reflection offers performance analysts the opportunity to begin to understand their professional behaviours, practices, and interactions considering any successes/failures and allowing an individual to draw meaning from their experiences (T. Ghaye, 2001; Mallett, 2004). Research on performance analysts’ reflective activities is limited to only a handful of studies that have utilized reflection as a tool for individuals to review their roles and professional development journey. Butterworth and Turner (2014) investigated the professional development of a performance analyst working in elite sport and his journey to expertise; meanwhile, the experiences of neophyte football match analysts were explored by McKenna et al. (2018). However, reflection as a tool to aid an individual’s professional development can take place in several ways, with reflective practice able to be captured in the form of reflective conservations, notes, mind maps, communities of practice, and photos/drawings (Knowles et al., 2001).

Reflective practice and reflective conversations

Moon (1999, 2004) developed a framework that can be applied to adult learning through its representation of two metaphors: the ‘network’ and ‘building a brick wall’. The network represents ‘what is known by the learner at a particular time’ (Moon, 1999, p. 17) and guides what an individual will choose to pay attention to and therefore what the learner chooses to learn. In contrast, the ‘building a brick wall’ metaphor relates to a teacher providing the ‘bricks of learning’ to the learner in the knowledge of how the bricks should fit together in order to build a ‘wall’ (knowledge) (Moon, 1999). It has been argued that it is difficult to not view the ‘building a brick wall’ metaphor of learner as anything other than learning from instruction as if the instruction from the teacher does not occur learning does not take place (Werthner & Trudel, 2006). In contrast in the network metaphor learning is seen as taking place in conjunction with a range of individuals and groups in everyday situations that result in the development of a range of knowledge, and emotions. As such learning is viewed as more than the accumulation of knowledge through instruction but instead the important role of cognitive structure in learning is recognised as guiding what an individual chooses to learn (Moon, 1999).

Moon (1999) developed a map of learning and reflection, which highlighted that individuals can move through five stages of learning (from surface to deep learning), with each stage of learning mapped to a representation of learning (from memorizing to reflection and restructuring). In the work, which was based on Schon’s (1983; 1987) research on reflection in/on action, Moon (1999) discussed that a learner could choose their own path through the five stages depending on their cognitive structure and influenced by the context in which the learning takes place. Moon (1999) suggested an individual can navigate their way through five stages when learning and use reflection throughout this process. In the first two stages of learning Moon stated that surface learning takes place through a process of noticing and making sense before the learner moves on to the deeper levels of learning in stages three to five. During these stages, an individual will identify what might be learnt and can then proceed to the second stage where the learner attempts to categorize and find logic between the new information they have been provided with and their previous knowledge. As the learner moves into the deeper stages of learning new information is incorporated into cognitive structures and new meaning is accommodated by the learner. Finally, if a learner reaches the most sophisticated stage of learning in stage five, they develop a deep understanding which can potentially include a re-structuring of their thinking.

Moon (1999) purported that reflection is an essential part of a deep approach to learning and plays a significant role not just in the augmentation of learning but likewise in professional practice. Within the stages of deep learning Moon discussed that reflection can act as ‘a tool that facilitates personal learning towards the outcome of personal development ⎯ which ultimately leads towards empowerment and emancipation’ (Moon, 1999, p. 88). This can be done through working with others who may ‘ask challenging questions, notice and challenge blocks in emotional barriers in reflection’ (Moon, 1999, p. 172). As such, Moon (1999) highlighted reflection can be prompted by working with others as this may allow an individual to deepen and improve the quality of the reflection they engage in. However, this only occurs if ‘the learners are engaged in the process’ (Moon, 1999, p. 172). Consequently, reflection through cooperation with another has been described as being a ‘transition between listening and talking. When talking to a listener we are in outer dialogue; while listening to someone talk we are in inner dialogue with ourselves, which is the prerequisite for change’ (McLean & Whalley, 2004). Goodfellow (2000) highlighted that this form of reflective conversation could act as a type of cooperative narrative inquiry on professional practice that may lead to new meanings being developed as it allows individuals to explore the previously unspoken and implicit understanding of what they do.

Reflecting through conversations is an expansive process in which an individual can come to understand their professional practice (Ashraf & Rarieya, 2008). At the most basic level a reflective conversation involves a professional discussing, debating, questioning, and rationalizing their professional practice with a critical friend (Goodfellow, 2000). Smyth and Cherry (2005), in their work with teachers, suggested that reflective conversations can allow an individual to consider both problematic and multifaceted dynamics of their practice, before highlighting gaps in their knowledge and considering alternate practices. As such, reflective conversations provide the opportunity for individuals to engage in the deeper levels of learning proposed by Moon (1999). However, for a reflective conversation to be an effective tool for professional development there must be ‘a very high level of openness to the whole range of experience, feelings and thoughts of self and other; to be willing to explore whatever comes up; to lean into the experience together and to learn together’ (Smyth & Cherry, 2005, p. 274). Such conversations should include ‘undertaking an inquiry into their practice through verbally sharing, discussing, questioning and reasoning about their … experiences, either with their peers and/or a reflective coach’ (Ashraf & Rarieya, 2008, p. 270). Within a sports coaching environment, Stodter and Cushion (2017) proposed coaches can actively and deliberately construct and ‘try out’ knowledge within the context of a reflective conversation. As such they emphasized coaches may use reflective conversations as a filtering process where coaches can discuss, debate and even reject coaching concepts which they may then go on to adopt in their coaching practice. Therefore reflective conversations appear to offer an effective method for professional development for performance analysts.

Reflective conversations have been discussed as being a process where real or simulated real world scenarios can be discussed and debated through a cycle of strategy generation, experimentation and evaluation (Gilbert & Trudel, 2001). This is particularly the case given reflective conversations have been identified as having the possibility to allow an individual to understand their biases and blind spots as well as future opportunities to develop and change their professional practice (A. Ghaye & Ghaye, 2001). Crow and Smith (2005) emphasize the significance of an individual engaging in a reflective conversation with a critical colleague and state ‘fruitful mechanism for Continuous Professional Development [due to] the reciprocity that enable[s] empathetic and constructive dialogue about … shared professional experience’ (p. 504). Consequently, performance analysts could engage in reflective conversations with individuals such as coaches, who could act as critical colleagues, and assist the analyst to highlight the various subtleties of their professional practice. Such reflective conversations could aid the analyst to identify gaps in their knowledge/practice and consider alternatives to assist in their current role. As such this research aimed to investigate a performance analyst’s use of reflective conversations as a tool for professional development, with the coaches/players with whom the analyst worked and with performance analysts operating in elite sports environments. Furthermore, the research aimed to highlight how reflective conversations could aid in the identification of strategies to address professional practice issues experienced by the performance analyst.

Method

Overview

A narrative approach is undertaken that presents the experiences of Martin (pseudonym) as a relativist account of his use of reflective conversations as a tool to aid his professional development in the context of the club in which he worked. Such narrative accounts have previously been used to postulate about the use of technology in coaching (Cronin et al., 2019) and coaches experiences of reflective practice (Hall & Gray, 2016). Narrative research is characterized as an interpretive process focused on individuals storied lives, with the research participants lived stories the focus of the research and the written stories appearing in the research as representations of their lived experience (Smith, 2010). Narrative approaches have therefore been argued as being authentic portrayals of research participants experiences offering the opportunity to understand how individuals ‘make sense of the everyday realities of practice’ (Toner et al., 2012, p. 68). Narratives have been used to investigate the development of sports coaches (Douglas & Carless, 2008; Zehntner & McMahon, 2014). The benefit of a practitioner engaging in a critical reflection of a personal narrative is that information that can be garnered on both the social and cultural aspects of their practice (Bolton, 2006). Additionally, the use of a narrative to capture the experiences of a practitioner working in sport was deemed appropriate given Tsang (2000) has utilized narrative methodology to investigate the experiences of individuals in high-performance sports.

The performance analyst

The research focused on the experiences of one football performance analyst using reflective conversations as a professional development tool. The focus of the research was Martin, who was a 22-year-old male analyst who had 4 years of experience working part-time in PA. Martin had completed an MSc in Professional Development, with a specialism in PA, and he had an Undergraduate Degree in Sports Coaching Science. Additionally, Martin has a Football Association (henceforth FA) Level One Coaching Award and FA Level One Talent Identification Award. At the time of the research Martin worked part-time at a club in Step 6 of the English Football Pyramid and had worked at the club for 2 years. This club formed the context for the research that took place and players and coaches (see Table 1) from this club participated in reflective conversations with Martin in addition to performance analysts who worked in elite sports environments (see Table 2). The club was semi-professional and could be classified as a semi-elite club, as their highest level of participation was below the top standard possible in their sport (Swann et al., 2015). Before working at the Step 6 club, Martin worked part-time in an at an English professional football club’s academy and at a professional football club in Sweden as a performance analyst.

Table 1. Participant information stage one.

Name	Role	Time at Club	Playing and Coaching Experience
Coach One	Manager	5 Seasons	24 Years
Coach Two	Assistant Manager	4 Seasons	20 Years
Coach Three	Goalkeeper Coach	3 Seasons	16 Years
Coach Four	First Team Coach	4 Seasons	29 Years
Player One	Captain & Defender	3 Seasons	21 Years
Player Two	Midfielder	3 Seasons	18 Years
Player Three	Striker	1 Season	17 Years

Table 2. Participant information stage two.

Name	Sport	Years of Elite PA
Elite Analyst One	Football	5 Years
Elite Analyst Two	Rugby	13 Years
Elite Analyst Three	Hockey	4 Years

Before the data collection took place institutional ethical approval was gained from the St Mary’s University SAHPS Ethics Committee and informed consent was gathered from all participants.

Data collection and analysis

The data collection and analysis took place through three phases previously used by Casey and Schaefer (2016) and later by Cronin et al. (2019) who explored a coach’s use of a video application through an autoethnographic narrative. The autoethnographic approach taken by Cronin et al. (2019) involved the participant coach ‘Derek’ 1) living the story of his use of a video application and then 2) telling the story through a written narrative. This narrative was then examined, clarified, and retold via two vignettes in the third stage of the process – retelling the story (Casey & Schaefer, 2016). These three stages formed the basis of the data collection and analysis for the vingettes presented below on a performance analyst’s use of reflective conversations as a tool for professional development.

Living the story

The narrative is based on Martin’s lived experience of carrying out several reflective conversations and is a representation of his experiences which were lived within particular interpersonal, contextual, and time-based moments. Consequently, it is important to understand some of the contextual detail in which Martin operated and in which the reflective conversations were carried out. Although Martin had worked as a performance analyst in several different football clubs he had not held a full-time paid role as an analyst. Despite this he aspired to work as a full-time performance analyst, in elite football and was keen to develop his knowledge beyond the formal education he had engaged in. Martin actively engaged in informal professional development with other performance analysts through blogs and social media, additionally he attended seminars and conferences to develop his professional practice as an analyst. This positive approach to professional development and the accompanying eagerness to develop his skills and knowledge led to Martin volunteering to participate in this research project and the reflective conversations which formed the basis of the narrative he later wrote.

Martin participated in one-to-one reflective conversations which were, with coaches and players with whom Martin worked, and with expert analysts working in elite sport. The first reflective conversations to take place were with four coaches and three players from the club Martin worked at (Table 1). The coaches and players were selected to participate as they were classed as critical collogues of Martin and as such had the potential to engage in effective reflective conversations with Martin (Crow & Smith, 2005). This number of participants was chosen due to its similarity to previous research investigating coaching and PA processes in sports (Ferrari et al., 2017; Mesquita et al., 2014). The inclusion criteria for the critical colleagues was a) participants were required to have worked/coached at Martin’s club for a minimum of 12 months, b) the participants were required to have engaged in PA weekly with Martin in the 10 weeks prior to the reflective conversation, and c) the participants were required to be either part of the match-day coaching team or part of the match day squad for the 10 matches before the reflective conversations. Martin provided contact information for the participants in this stage of the study, and the individuals were provided with information on the study and a phone conversation was arranged to discuss the research. Once participants gave their verbal consent, they were provided with a written consent form and information sheet about the study, and reflective conversations were arranged.

The participants in the second stage of the reflective conversations were required to be analysts with high-level experience in PA (Table 2). As such, analysts were required to have over 3 years experience in elite PA in their chosen sport. For this study, elite PA was classified by being an analyst working with an international team at a tournament (e.g. a team that has competed in an international tournament such as the Olympic Games or Commonwealth Games) or working in the highest domestic level of a sport (e.g. Premier League in football). Stage two participants were recruited through purposeful sampling and were invited to participate in the study over email, once participants expressed an interest in the study a follow-up phone conversation about the aims of the study took place before written consent was obtained and the reflective conversations were arranged.

Reflective conversations have been used in recent research as both a professional development and data collection tool to explore how sports coaches develop (Stodter et al., 2021). A framework for reflective conversations was developed by Gilbert and Trudel (2001) which allowed a systematic process of reflection to take place from the identification of a topic for reflection to the identification of potential strategies to address the issue reflected upon. Gilbert and Trudel (2001) noted that such reflective conversations took place through a coach’s role frame (which comprises an individuals personal outlook, attitude and opinion to their practice) and as such the reflective activity was personalized to the individual, their experience, attitude, and opinion. The Gilbert and Trudel (2001) model was selected in order to allow Martin to use real or simulated real world of PA scenarios to, through discussions, cycle through a process strategy generation, experimentation and evaluation. As such the reflective conversations were a form of looking back through conversation or ‘talking back’ (Stodter et al., 2021, p. 3). The reflective conversations therefore had the potential to result in reflection-in-action (Schön, 1983) taking place for Martin during the discussions and a basis for further action could be developed.

Martin used a reflective conversation prompt sheet to guide the conversation in a similar manner that a semi-structured interview guide would be used. The reflective conversation prompt sheet included four main themes; current PA practice (including the player/coach relationship with Martin), professional issues, professional goals, and strategy development for Martin. The prompt sheet was structured around research by Gilbert and Trudel (2001) who found that reflective conversations by coaches were triggered by contextualized coaching issues and shaped by the coach’s role frame and goals. As such the reflective conversations were underpinned by a theoretical structure to encourage reflection and consequently professional development. The reflective conversations took place face-to-face and were audio recorded, they lasted between 37 and 68 minutes (n-43).

Telling the story

The second stage of the data collection/analysis process is highlighted by Casey and Schaefer (2016) who state as an individual ‘We tell stories about ourselves, and again we tell stories about the institutions within which we work and the cultures within which we live’ (p. 118). Following a similar process to Cronin et al. (2019) where their research participant wrote a 3000-word account of his experience, Martin was asked to create a written story about his experience of engaging in reflective conversations. Through this process, Martin wrote a 2500-word narrative account of his experience of the reflective conversations which set the scene for the conversations and developed his thoughts on the value of the reflective conversations to his professional development. Consequently, Martin was engaged in a process of reflection in the form of storytelling which subsequently led to the formation of meaning for Martin on the reflective conversations and his development as a performance analyst as a result of the conversations.

Retelling the story

In the third phase of the data collection/analysis process, the story created by Martin was examined by the authors of this paper acting in the role of a critical friend (Costa & Kallick, 1993). In this role the authors examined and re-examined the narrative from Martin, clarity of any vague details was sought and the account was considered in light of what was said regarding Martin’s experiences with reflective conversations as a tool for professional development. Furthermore, the account was refined for word count and clarity purposes into two vignettes ‘Delving Deeper’ and ‘A mirror conversation’. The two vignettes that were developed by the authors were written to highlight the significant themes present in Martin’s initial story but with some refinement to inspire further discussion on the use of reflective conversations as a tool for professional development for performance analysts. The authors presented then presented Martin with the two vignettes and consequently the retelling of his story for him to consider it as a reflection of his lived experience. Martin made no changes to the vignettes presented below which he accepts to be a fair representation of the experiences he has with using reflective conversations as a tool for professional development.

Results

Delving deeper

For the first time as a performance analyst, I was able to sit down with both players and coaches and engage in a deeper, one-on-one conversation. Of course, I have regular conversations throughout the season about player performance and reviewing matches. Coaches will ask me about how we conceded a goal or how I think we can stop the opposing team from scoring, and I’ll chat to players about the clips I have given them of their performance and the team … but this was different. This allowed me to delve deeper into the opinions of the players and coaches, to start to understand how they used the analysis I did, and to start to think about how the analysis informed their decision-making. I started to understand my place in the support team and the impact that PA may have on both players and coaches.

I gained such value from having those conversations, it allowed the players to open up and talk freely, which is rare in football, but especially at the non-league level there just is not the time with players or coaches. There is so much to do in the time I have with coaches and players that I never had the chance before to chat about what I did and really think about my professional development as well. Those conversations made me realize that my role as an analyst is not only to show reviews of matches to players and coaches but to think about how I can support players in their individual development and how important relationships are with the coaches and players. The conversations helped me to think about what I was doing and be critical, so I do not just keep doing the same thing but drill down into what the coaches and players want and how I can help. Without those conversations, I would never know. Really, without those conversations, I would have just kept doing what I did because if you think about it how would I know if that was right? If the coaches and players found it useful?

As well as figuring out what bits of analysis I did that were useful, the conversations also helped to highlight the gratitude the players and coaches had for the work I had done and how much it had a positive effect on them. That’s good you know, sometimes as an analyst, you do your stuff away from the pitch, you are somehow separate from the players and coaches, you send it over to the coaches and players but you do not get that feedback. Sometimes you do not know what they use, if they use anything, you do not find out if the coaches find it useful, if they even watch what you have done and if it informs them, helps them develop and learn, you do not get to find out if they see the benefit of it. That is why those conversations with players and coaches have been so important that we have decided to set time aside regularly to discuss what is working with the analysis and look at how we could develop. That is important, you know before we always said there was no time, now we find the time to talk. As a result of these conversations, it allowed me to think and consider my ability as an analyst. I’ve realized the importance of reflection and thinking about what I do and why I do it, rather than just doing the same thing over and over again without really thinking about why I do it. The conversations have helped me to learn about my analysis process and what specific aspects players and coaches use and think are the most effective. So, I have become more efficient, and the work I do now after the conversations links to the club I am working at and what they need. I do not do anything that doesn’t get used. Between the coaches, players, and me, we have figured out the most useful analysis system for us, we are not copying anyone, but we have figured out what works for us with the players and facilities we have. So, I guess I have learned from those conversations it is not about doing everything but figuring out what is needed in each club I work in and tailoring my analysis to those players and coaches.

A mirror conversation

There was a real difference between speaking to the players and coaches from the club I work at and speaking to the elite performance analysts. I wanted to use the opportunity of speaking to the analysts to really try to unpick what they know, to find the golden nuggets of information that they have learned from working at the very top end of their sport. But actually, those conversations weren’t just about me finding out what they did but they allowed me to focus on the detail of what I do and understand what I do, even start to think about the values that underpin my analysis. I wasn’t expecting that. I guess I just thought I’d be able to take some best practices from the analysts and then embed that in what I do but it was more detailed, more reflective, more about me and what I do, what I could do, and why I do it. When I spoke with the analysts I thought I’d be asking all the questions but it was not like that, they challenged me by asking what types of analysis I did and why I used these methods. Those questions made me stop and think, I had to really unpick not just the analysis I carried out but me as an analyst, my values, my rationale for doing what I did. I mean I did some stuff, just because, because I thought that is what I should do, that is what an analyst does. But then when they asked why I did certain things I did not know.

The analysts who worked in different sports away from football offered a fresh pair of eyes on what I did. They spoke to me about what they did, the different types of analysis they did, and how they worked with coaches, but then they helped me to try to understand how I might be able to do elements of what they did. We talked about everything from working with coaches to filming angles, live coding, and giving information to players. I wanted to understand, what the analysts did before a game and the information they put in reports and presentations. I asked about their responsibilities on a match day and the ways in which they worked with coaches. I asked them about those things and I did found out that information, but then they asked me things too. They wanted to know what my role was on a match day and what feedback I provided to coaches. We chatted about the methods they used in elite environments and how I might be able to use them because I wanted to know not just about what they did but what would be valuable for me, in my club.

As a result of those conversations, I started to think about what I could do as an analyst and be critical of what I did. The conversations were different from the ones with the coaches and players. They were valuable in a practical way, you know understanding what they watched from the videos I gave them, and how the players wanted information to be presented. But with the expert conversations, they were more critical, it was about me, my role, and my values. Understanding why I had decided to analyze the game in a certain way, then challenging me to consider doing things differently. Without those conversations with the analysts, I wouldn’t have thought about doing things differently. I am not sure I would have considered why I did the analysis in the way I did and I don’t think I’d have understood how I could do analysis in a really nuanced way for the club I am working for. So, not only did I get to tap into the analyst’s expertise, but I got to learn from it, develop because of it and reflect on what I did as an analyst as a result of it.

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to investigate how a performance analyst used reflective conversations with coaches and players, with whom the analyst worked, as well as with elite performance analysts, as a tool for professional development. Moreover, the research aimed to understand how reflective conversations could aid in the identification of strategies to address professional development issues experienced by the performance analyst. The two vignettes display the perceived value of the reflective conversations to the performance analyst’s practice and development within their role. This is significant as professional development activities of analysts have previously been identified as being focus on more formal qualifications (Martin et al., 2018) e.g., coaching qualifications and/or undergraduate degrees. As such this research suggests that reflective conversations with critical friends may be advantageous professional development activities for analysts to engage in, for them to understand and unpick professional issues. This is particularly important given the increasing employment of performance analysts across various different sporting environments (Nicholls et al., 2018). Additionally, the vignettes emphasized the apparent importance that the analyst placed on dedicating time to their professional development through engaging in discussions with individuals with whom they work and individuals who were deemed to be more experienced within their role of a performance analyst. Although this reflects the findings of Smyth and Cherry (2005) and their research on the use of reflective conversations by teachers, it is noteworthy given the current study focused on the use of reflective conversations with several individuals from both within the performance analyst’s context and external to it. Therefore, it could be proposed that reflective conversations can be a useful tool to help an individual develop and may allow feelings and thoughts to come to the surface situations which are not conscious (Hall & Gray, 2016) as long as all participants engaged in the conversation are open and honest.

The reflective conversations helped the performance analyst to identify strategies to address some of the challenges they experienced within their role and as such provided the analyst with effective take-home messages that they could use. Such outcomes were perceived by the analyst to be of high practical value and potentially offered substantial solutions which may not have been apparent to the analyst without the reflective conversation. As such, much like sports coaches (Stodter et al., 2021), performance analysts appear to gain valuable insight into their roles and how they can develop within their roles from reflective conversations, which would therefore seem like a positive form of professional development for analysts to engage in. Given many performance analysts work in isolation, reflective conversations with analysts operating in other environments may offer a nuanced opportunity for analysts like Martin to develop strategies to address professional issues providing unique insight and thoughts (Wright et al., 2014).

The findings from this research emphasize the willingness of an individual in the role of performance analyst to engage in reflective practice and the value that is perceived to be gained through engagement in reflective conversations. Through engaging in reflective conversations, the performance analyst at the centre of this research was able to discuss his professional practice and identify strategies to address issues experienced within their role. However, the use of reflective conversations may not be without issues. Within this study, the reflective conversations took place with coaches and players with whom the performance analyst works as well as with elite analysts. While the coaches and players within this study were keen to aid the performance analyst with their professional development and engaged in open thoughtful conversations, this may not always be the case. This is particularly so given performance analysts have been highlighted as being the ‘hired hand’ of the coach (Bampouras et al., 2012, p. 479) and as such may deem the professional development of the analyst surplus to their responsibilities. Furthermore, reflective conversations rely on trust and openness between participants, elements that require time and effort to establish (Osterman & Kottkamp, 1993). Such elements may not always be present between a performance analyst and the coach/players with whom they work leading to a lack of engagement in the reflective process. The second round of reflective conversations took place with performance analysts who worked in elite sports environments. While these reflective conversations offered insight into innovative practices that could be used and identified strategies to address issues (Smyth & Cherry, 2005), the context in which an analyst works has been labelled as being critical to the types of analysis that could be used. As such, the participant acting in the role of reflective coach/mentor needs to understand the context in which the individual reflecting works for the conversation to be of value to their professional practice.

It is important to recognise this study is not without limitations, although the reflective conversations were recorded they were not analysed as part of the study. As such the nature of the conversations was not analysed and only Martin’s perceptions of the value of the conversations was critiqued through the narrative writing process. It would have been interesting, although beyond the reach of this study, to understand the topics discussed in the reflective conversations, particularly in light of the Gilbert and Trudel (2001) model. Furthermore, it should be noted that the research highlights the experience of one performance analyst using reflective conversations as a tool for professional development and therefore these findings may not be generalized to other roles and sporting contexts.

Conclusion

This paper has demonstrated how reflective conversations can be a useful tool for performance analysts. However, given the complexity of the role of the analyst (Martin et al., 2021) and the time pressures that are often experienced in competitive sports environments with individuals restricted by requirements for them to carry out duties such as paperwork, planning and evaluation duties (O’Gorman et al., 2021) it is unclear if reflective conversations could become a cornerstone of a performance analyst practice. Consequently, it is important to recognize that embedding professional development practices into the everyday processes of individuals such as performance analysts is far from simplistic but must be considered to be of high importance if individuals are to develop as professionals.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Claire Mulvenna

Clair Mulvenna - Claire is currently a senior lecturer in Physical Education and School Sport at Edge Hill University. Claire’s research has predominantly focused on the use of performance analysis by coaches and understanding the role of the performance analyst in football. Claire has previously worked as both a coach and performance analyst in football.

Archie Viner

Archie Viner - Archie is currently a Lead Performance Analyst and U11 Coach at Bloomsbury Football Academy in London. Archie’s research has focused on the use of performance analysis and how it can be most effectively used in both non-league and professional settings. Archie has previously worked in professional football academies in both analysis and coaching roles.