{"id":660,"date":"2020-09-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-28T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/reports\/pantomime-or-paramount-how-important-is-a-coachs-touchline-demeanour\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:12:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:12:11","slug":"pantomime-or-paramount-how-important-is-a-coachs-touchline-demeanour","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/pantomime-or-paramount-how-important-is-a-coachs-touchline-demeanour\/","title":{"rendered":"Pantomime or Paramount: How Important Is a Coach\u2019s Touchline Demeanour?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n\t
\n\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n \n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n Sep 28, 2020 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Pantomime or Paramount: How Important Is a Coach\u2019s Touchline Demeanour?<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
Category<\/div>\n Leadership & Culture<\/a> <\/div>\n
\n
Share<\/div>\n Facebook<\/a>\n Twitter<\/a>\n Email<\/a>\n Copy Link<\/a>\n
https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/pantomime-or-paramount-how-important-is-a-coachs-touchline-demeanour\/<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Views from England Rugby, the Atlanta Falcons and the Anaheim Ducks.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think the coach’s touchline behaviour adds much,\u201d says Michael Caulfield, \u201cit\u2019s become pantomime.\u201d<\/h4>\n
\n

By John Portch<\/h6>\n

He is sharing his observation of British football with the England men\u2019s rugby union Head Coach Eddie Jones<\/u><\/a>, an April guest on the At Home With Leaders<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a> podcast series. As a renowned sports psychologist Caulfield has worked with athletes across a series of sports and has been able to compare and contrast the touchline demeanour of various playing environments.<\/p>\n

He notes that football coaches can stand in the pitchside technical area, whereas rugby coaches tend to be away from the action. \u201cThe technical area and the dugout has become a crazy place [in football], whereas in rugby you sit calmly in the stands in your box, which is screened off and you can look calm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caulfield then asks Jones: \u201cDo you find that detaching yourself from pitchside makes you calmer and able to make better decisions tactically during a game?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think so but I also think players acknowledge that you can add energy,\u201d replies Jones. \u201cI\u2019ve watched [J\u00fcrgen] Klopp coach and he definitely adds something to his team; and also when he\u2019s coaching at Liverpool\u2019s home ground: they want someone out there who\u2019s energetic; he understands the psyche of that team perfectly.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think what you\u2019re saying is right. But there\u2019s opportunities to add energy to the environment and sometimes add energy to the crowd is just as important is adding energy to the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several months later at July\u2019s Virtual Leaders Meet: Total High Performance<\/u><\/a>, moderator Steve Gera poses a similar question to the Atlanta Falcons Head Coach Dan Quinn and the Anaheim Ducks Head Coach Dallas Eakins. Both are routinely situated closer to the action than Jones and his rugby counterparts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt totally factors in and I think it\u2019s an awesome question,\u201d says Quinn<\/u><\/a>, a constant touchline presence at Falcons games. \u201cYou are providing the vibe for the team and they are definitely looking at you, especially in those pressure moments on the touchline when it\u2019s heating up. Seeing you being clear, being decisive, and enjoying the moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things I\u2019ve learned about my life is that I like doing hard things with a group of people. Those moments on the side line, I enjoy standing there on the edge when there\u2019s a minute and 15 seconds left in the game. If they see you tight then they\u2019re going to be tight.\u201d<\/p>\n

He takes it further: \u201cThat goes with anything leading up to a big game. Your mindset of heading up to the field or in the locker room that\u2019s a big factor. They\u2019re going to take your vibe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eakins<\/u><\/a>, who sits behind the Anaheim players\u2019 bench, concurs. \u201cIt\u2019s the same in hockey, if I\u2019m fired up on the bench they\u2019re going to follow, if I\u2019m calm on the bench they\u2019re going to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n

He too links it back to the body language a coach exudes in practice. \u201cI\u2019ll take another step: when I walk into the practice facility on a practice day, or if I walk into a meeting room or a meal room, whatever vibe I\u2019ve got they\u2019re going to pick up on it right away. Those players in that dressing room, they\u2019re the smartest guys in the room that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eakins believes that his coaches need to be mindful of their body language at all times. \u201cWe talk about that with our coaches as well,\u201d he explains. \u201cWe\u2019ll say \u2018hey, you\u2019ve had a bad day with your family or you\u2019ve got something going on away from the rink, you\u2019d better dust it off before you walk in there because we need to be upbeat and ready to go\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s not only just on the side lines for me or behind the bench during a game, it\u2019s every day that you\u2019re interacting with these guys. They\u2019re going to pick up on what kind of energy is coming out of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones wishes it could be different in rugby when Caulfield asks if he\u2019d like to be able to add something from the touchline – to some extent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to. I think the last 10 or 15 minutes when you make changes you can add something to the game, but early in the game I think you\u2019re much better sitting above and being detached because in the last 15 minutes it\u2019s genuinely not tactics that win the game – it\u2019s the cohesive energy of your team that wins the game. Your tactical situation is almost sorted by then.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps the coach has a limited tactical impact from the touchline – even in empty arenas and stadia – but a coach can send desired messages through their demeanour.<\/p>\n

\n

Download the latest Performance Special Report<\/strong>,\u00a0The New Now: Navigating High Performance During an Ongoing Pandemic<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 featuring a selection of insights collected from practitioners around the globe as we all continue through these unprecedented times.<\/p>\n