Week 9 — Feedback That Produces Action

Outcome

Deliver precise, proportionate feedback that helps an athlete act and learn without becoming dependent on the coach or app.

Required preparation

Bring one rslts workout or training summary, an APOPT form observation, or the Week 8 practice measurement for at least three assigned athletes.

Part 1 — 5–7 minute instructional script

Feedback is often treated as any information a coach gives after an attempt. Useful feedback is narrower: it helps the athlete understand what happened, decide what to do, and prepare for another attempt. More feedback is not always better. Constant correction can create mental clutter, reduce ownership, and teach athletes to wait for the coach before evaluating themselves.

Begin with two types. Descriptive feedback says what happened: “Your first three laps were even and the fourth slowed.” Prescriptive feedback says what to do next: “Reduce the opening pace slightly and hold the same effort through the fourth lap.” Athletes need both at different times. Description builds awareness; prescription directs action. If the athlete already recognizes the problem and knows the correction, the coach may only need a question or silence.

Precision matters. “Good job” provides encouragement but little information. “Keep your first two steps low and connected like the final repetition” names a behavior. “Your form is bad” is vague and personal. “On the last two contacts your hips dropped as fatigue increased; next attempt shorten the set and hold the posture cue” describes an observation and a manageable response.

Timing matters. Immediate feedback is useful when safety or a misunderstood movement must be corrected. A short delay can help athletes process their own experience. Summary feedback after several attempts can reveal patterns without interrupting every repetition. Choose timing based on the learning objective, the athlete’s experience, and whether another attempt is available.

Frequency should change as skill develops. A beginner may need more frequent guidance to understand the task. As recognition improves, reduce the prompts and ask the athlete to evaluate first. The goal is not permanent silence; it is an athlete who can detect important errors, select a useful correction, and know when to seek help.

Data can increase precision. rslts summaries can show pacing, laps, elevation, moving time, intensity, and weekly context. APOPT form analysis can make a movement visible. But the coach should not read the dashboard aloud. Translate it into the smallest useful message. The app may offer many findings; the athlete usually needs one priority.

Use the structure keep / change / watch. Keep names a successful behavior worth repeating. Change names one controllable adjustment. Watch names the observation that will tell coach and athlete whether the change helped. For example: “Keep the controlled first mile. Change the recovery jog so it is genuinely easy. Watch whether the final repetition stays within the planned range without higher strain.”

This structure protects against feedback that is only negative. It also creates a reassessment point. Coaching advice is a hypothesis: if the athlete makes the change, what should improve? If the expected response does not appear, the coach reconsiders the explanation. Data-driven feedback remains accountable to the next observation.

Invite athlete interpretation before giving the full answer. Ask, “Where did the effort change?” “Which repetition felt most like the target?” or “What do you notice in this clip?” The athlete may reveal context the numbers cannot: a shoe problem, confusion about the cue, a tactical choice, or unexpected discomfort. Listening can change the prescription.

There are times to say nothing. If an experienced athlete recognizes the error and immediately corrects it, additional feedback may interrupt learning. If the variation is normal and irrelevant to the objective, correction may direct attention to the wrong place. If the data quality is weak, silence plus another observation is better than false certainty.

Today you will prepare feedback for at least three athletes. Use one summary or observation, ask the athlete first, and deliver one keep, one change, and one watch. Then record the response. Did the athlete understand? Did they agree with the interpretation? What will you observe next? The quality of feedback is not measured by how intelligent the coach sounds. It is measured by whether the athlete knows what to repeat, what to adjust, and how both of you will learn from the next attempt.

Your challenge is one sentence. If you had only one sentence of feedback, what would make the next attempt more useful? Then ask whether silence or a question would be even better.

Three takeaways

• Match descriptive and prescriptive feedback to what the athlete already understands.

• Translate many data points into one actionable priority.

• Close the loop with keep / change / watch and an explicit next observation.

Part 2 — 30–45 minute application lab

1. Review the goal — 5 minutes: Confirm the intended purpose of each workout, practice, or movement.

2. Select evidence — 8 minutes: Choose the one or two observations most relevant to that purpose.

3. Ask first — 5 minutes: Draft a question that invites athlete perception.

4. Write feedback — 10 minutes: Prepare keep / change / watch for at least three athletes.

5. Role-play — 7 minutes: Deliver one message in a single sentence, then in a short conversation.

6. Follow-up plan — 5 minutes: Define when and how the change will be observed again.

Data-driven participation assignment

Deliver keep / change / watch feedback to at least three athletes. Record the evidence used, athlete response, next observation point, and one revision you made after listening.

Literature + Generative-AI discussion preparation

Search feedback timing, feedback frequency, athlete dependence, autonomy-supportive feedback, or external attentional focus. Use and verify the standard AI summary. Bring one sentence of feedback for a hypothetical form issue and an example of when the coach should say nothing.

Multi-sport adaptation

Use the performance evidence that matches the objective: splits, positioning, timing, shot preparation, decision quality, movement video, or repeat consistency. Keep / change / watch remains the same.

Protect athlete data and interpret cautiously

Discuss feedback privately and proportionately. Do not display individual rankings or clips to the group unless that use is authorized and instructionally necessary. Never turn an app estimate into a public label.

Resources and next week

• rslts AI Summaries: https://rslts.run/docs/performance/data-analysis/ai-summaries/

• APOPT Form Analysis: https://apopt.com/

• Next: Week 10 — Stress, Emotion, Arousal, and Athlete Signals