DESCRIPTIVE Feedback indicates to the player what it was that the coach saw them do. The player receives information regarding how their movements looked (what their technique looked like) and how this contributed to the outcome of the attempt.

 

To provide DESCRIPTIVE Feedback, the coach can simply tell the player what they observed, or they can demonstrate to the player what they observed so the player gains an understanding of what their attempt looked like.

 

This helps the player to match the movements they see the coach perform with what they felt when they performed the movement.

 

In my experience however, DESCRIPTIVE Feedback is the only feedback most coaches provide to their player/s.

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DESCRIPTIVE Feedback can be either positive or negative! However, I find that with most coaches, the ‘description’ tends to focus on the negative or unwanted aspects of the performance, for example:

 

• "You lifted your head"

• "You closed the bat face"

• "You dropped your elbow"

 

There is usually very little in the feedback ‘description’ that is positive or indicated to the player any desirable parts of the performance.

 

DESCRIPTIVE Feedback has some use in a coaching sense by providing players with information regarding what has just taken place. However, by itself, this feedback is NOT useful in helping the player to make changes or improvements to their performance.

 

For feedback to be effective, we need to combine DESCRIPTIVE Feedback with, what is called PRESCRIPTIVE Feedback.