The Importance of Shared Understanding within Football Teams. Issue 3 (2nd July 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Malone, Michael K.; Lorimer, Ross
• Is Part Of: Journal of sport psychology in action. Volume 11:Issue 3(2020)
• Page Start: 196
• Page End: 210
• Publication Date: 2020-07-02
• Subjects: Athlete-athlete dyads -- coordination -- football -- shared understanding -- sports psychology; Sports -- Psychological aspects -- Periodicals; 796.019
• DOI: 10.1080/21520704.2020.1760982
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2152-0704

Abstract

Abstract: Within a football team, it is vital for coaches to acknowledge the importance of their players having the knowledge of what is required in specific roles in the team and what their other team members are likely to do in certain situations. This mutual knowledge can be defined as shared understanding – the ability for two or more people to have similar thoughts in specific situations based on their experience together. This paper considers what shared understanding is, its importance within team sports like football and the positive implications for teams who have players with accurate shared understanding. This paper provides practical suggestions for how coaches can develop shared understanding within their team.