Verbal instructions in teaching sport performance: a case study

In the last years, sports science has been focused on theoretical and teaching models for maximizing training results and building sport-specific performance models which include cognitive aspects of action (i.e. attention, memory). Recent studies underline that cortical motor areas are involved not only in the movement execution but also in the elaboration of words and phrases related. Moreover, it has been shown that cortical areas typically involved in production and decoding of language, linked by functional circuits with the motor and premotor areas, are directly involved in motor learning. Particularly, Broca’s area contributes to observation, planning, understanding and imitation of the actions. In this direction, several studies have looked at how verbal instructions (language) can fit as a cognitive element in sport performance models where, consistent with the more recent neurophysiological knowledge, the production and understanding of language might fit into the complex coach/athlete relations. Preliminary results of a case study, pointed in this direction, will be presented.