The Art of Cueing: Key Questions Coaches Ask to Improve Athlete Performance

Introduction

As a coach, you know that the right cue at the right moment can make all the difference in elevating an athlete's performance. But how do you find that magic prompt that resonates with each individual and takes them to the next level?

In this post, we’ll explore the art of cueing by answering key questions coaches ask about the best types of cues, the language to use, learning styles, levels, needs, and more.

Then I’ll share my own POV on cueing and invite you to take inventory of your own favorite cues.

Let’s dive into ways you can fine-tune your cues so your athletes learn faster, stay focused, and gain confidence.

Key Questions

1.  What exactly is the purpose of a cue?

Before an athlete performs a skill, they sense lots going on around them.

A cue is short, meaningful prompt that (a) narrows an athlete’s attention to a specific part of a movement or skill and (b) tells them what action to take to improve performance or correct an error.

The key is to find the cues that work best for each athlete. And when they do work, repeat them so the right movements become stored in the athlete’s long-term memory.

2.  What is the best way to give a cue that will improve technique?

First, know your skills well so you can select cues that target correct technique.

A good cue builds on the athlete’s past experience stored in memory.

Narrow the athlete’s attention to a single, meaningful cue just before they practice a skill.

During the memory process, athletes have a limited capacity and little time to process instructions, so focus on one cue at a time.

Effective cues:

• Use action verbs and descriptive language. For example, "Push through the floor" for pulls in weightlifting or "Drive your knees up" to focus on frontside mechanics in sprinting.

• Are brief. Avoid long, complicated instructions that can confuse or distract the athlete. A short, concise cue keeps their attention on the task.

• Are meaningful. Use terms that athletes understand given their age, level, and background.

• Use analogies and metaphors to make cues more relatable and memorable. For example, “Wave goodbye to the ball” or “Drive the bar through the ceiling”.

3. Are external or internal cues better?

While research shows that external cues are generally more effective, both internal and external cues help athletes improve performance.

Internal cues prompt athletes to focus on specific body parts or movements as they perform the skill. For example, a sprint coach may use the cue “Explode through your hips.”

Internal cues make athletes more aware of their movements. The downside is that focusing on feeling movements or contracting specific muscle groups may disrupt coordination, according to the constrained-action hypothesis.  

External cues direct athletes' attention to the desired outcome of the skill or their surroundings. These cues prompt the athlete to self-organize movements to accomplish a goal.

External cues help athletes perform better in practice and games because they prompt a more automatic execution of skills by reducing overthinking about body movements.

Examples of internal and external cues in the sprint start.

While studies consistently support external cues, research has also shown that 84.6% of track and field athletes who competed at national championships reported that their coaches gave instructions related to body and limb movements. Most athletes (69.2%) focused internally when competing (Wulf, 2013).

One study showed that more than half of the cues recreational distance runners received from coaches were internally focused. When runners were fatigued, only 15% of task-related thoughts were externally focused (Yamada, Diekfuss, & Raisbeck, 2020).

Throwers tend to use a holistic focus on the general feeling of the movement. Elite throws coaches base their cues on their unique style of coaching and the perceived needs of the athlete (Zhuravleva, Aiken, & Partridge, (2022).

Both research and practice show that cueing is not as simple as adopting one focus strategy for all athletes.

4. How can I make my cues more effective for athletes with different learning styles?

While learning styles (e.g., visual, auditory, kinesthetic) are a common concept, there's not much research evidence that they actually work. Check out Perspectives on Learning Styles.

Rather then focusing on learning style preferences, a better model for instructing and cueing athletes is Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Borrowed from educational theory, UDL recognizes individual abilities, differences, backgrounds, and experiences so all athletes can benefit. Here are some examples:

• Present both internal and external cues that encompass multiple styles.

• Create actionable cues based on demonstrations, videos, and performance tracking technology. 

• Extract relevant cues from watching athletes teach skills to other athletes.

• Cue targeted movement patterns with different types of equipment, such as medicine balls or bands.

• Include tactile cues that use touch to teach movement. For example, use a box to signal the correct of the depth of a squat.

• Use kinesthetic cues to alert the athlete to feeling a position or movement. For example, “Keep your knees over your feet when squatting.”

  (Note: While both kinesthetic and tactile cues involve physical interaction, kinesthetic cues focus on whole-body movement and movement patterns, while tactile cues emphasize the sense of touch and physical sensations.)

The box serves as a tactile cue that signals the correct depth of the squat.

5. How do I adjust cues for different levels of athletes (beginner, intermediate, advanced)?

Cues may vary depending on the level of the athlete, as well as the sport.

Internal cues can be effective for beginning athletes, endurance athletes, or highly technical movements. External cues work well for both technical and tactical skills common in team sports.

Early in learning in any sport, internal cues are helpful as athletes are trying to understand the basics and “get the feel” of things—how to place their feet, get into an “athletic position”, dribble a ball, or hold a discus.

For example, for a novice discus thrower, coaches might combine cues like, “Feel your weight over your right foot”, “make it spin clockwise off your first finger” or “bowl the discus straight ahead”.

In tactical sports where game strategies are important, athletes ultimately depend more on external cues for tracking other players and responding to competitive situations. However, they must first learn correct technique, so internal and external cues apply.

For example, when learning to dribbling a basketball, internal cues may include “feel the ball on your fingers”, “stay low”, and “eyes up”.  As the player gains better control of the ball, they can shift their attention to external cues like “Scan the court for an open player” or “Aim for the back of the rim.”

6. How can I keep athletes focused and avoid distractions when I give cues?

Effective cueing is rooted in getting and keeping the athlete’s attention during training and competition. That can be challenging, especially for Generation Z athletes (born between 1996-2012)—the first to grow up in the digital age. They tend to have short attention spans will stop listening if you talk too long.

In addition, 7-8% of students and elite athletes have attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD).

Try to:

• Limit distractions by having athletes face away from other athletes or activities that may attract their attention. 

• Establish eye contact to ensure you have their attention.

• Keep instructions and cues brief.

• Check in. Ask them to repeat the cue and its purpose.

7. How do I adapt my cues for athletes with injuries or special needs?

While every athlete has unique abilities and skills, injuries and special needs require more from the coach.

In general, adopt a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to address the diverse needs of all athletes, including those with known conditions and “hidden disabilities”.

Hidden disabilities include unidentified mental health issues (anxiety, depression, behavioral issues), undiagnosed visual and hearing impairments, or learning disabilities that aren't immediately obvious but can still impact performance. 

First, learn as much as you can from health professionals and the athlete about their needs, limitations, capabilities, and rehab plans for injured athletes, so you are better equipped to create effective cues to develop their skills.

Here are just a few examples of how you can adjust cueing:

• For an athlete in throwing or striking skills with a lower body injury, cue trunk and upper body movements while kneeling or seated.

• Create cues using medicine balls, bands, or other equipment that simulate technique, coordination, and key movement concepts.

• Mentally practice skills. Mental rehearsal has a stronger effect for externally cued movement tasks compared to internally cued movements (Toth et al., 2020).

• Have an injured athlete coach other athletes. Take note of the cues they use that resonate with them and use them to improve their own performance.

• Check out How to Coach and Support Athletes with Physical Disabilities.

8. Can I use visual feedback to improve cueing?

Videos and other types of visual feedback can be incredibly powerful tools. They help identify errors and strengths that you can use to help the athlete improve, and which cues might work best. It also helps the athlete more accurately align their perceptions with their real movements (called perception-action coupling).  

All too often coaches focus on cues that correct the symptoms of errors, rather than the cause, slowing an athlete’s progress. Video analysis can often help zero in on the causes of errors so you can choose cues that target the root of the problem.

My Take on Cueing

I think of cueing as an art based in science. It’s about teaching correct movement mechanics so athletes “get it”. It means reading their body language, hearing them, and imagining how they feel so you can give feedback and create cues that hit home.

I listed my most effective cues and found that a mix works well. (See cues for teaching full extension in the power clean starting with the shrug onto the toes below.)

For the power clean (a technical skill), I start with “shrug the shoulders”. Most athletes get that, but some will “roll” the shoulders. Asking them to gesture, “I don’t know” is a great analogy. If the shrug isn’t high enough, I cue “shoulders to ears” before adding “shrug onto the toes”.

When I began to learn the second pull in the power clean, I was told to “re-bend” my knees (an internal cue). Mechanically, that’s what actually happens, but it didn’t work, as the constrained hypothesis theory predicts. When another lifter said, “Graze your thighs with the bar” (external/tactile cue), I got it, repeated it, and easily lifted 20 lbs. more that very workout.

There’s no single cueing strategy. Find cues that click for your athletes and situation even if they seem inconsistent with research.

It’s also important to watch how an athlete performs the whole skill, then identify where an error begins. You can spend a long time cueing symptoms of errors. But if you cue the cause, you may correct several related errors. (Stay tuned for my next post.)

Let’s Take Inventory

What are your favorite coaching cues—the ones that work best most of the time?

Are they internally or externally focused, or both?

Are there cues that experienced coaches use that you can add to your toolbox?

Creating more and better cues will help diverse groups of athletes stay focused, improve performance faster, and gain confidence.

References

Toth, A. J., McNeill, E., Hayes, K., Moran, A. P., & Campbell, M. (2022, May). Does mental practice still enhance performance? A 24-year follow-up and meta-analytic replication and extension. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 48.

Winkleman, N. (2020). The language of coaching: The art and science of teaching movement. Human Kinetics.

Wulf, G. (2013). Attentional focus and motor learning: A review of 15 years. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 6(1), 77–104. 

Yamada, M., Diekfuss, J., & Raisbeck, L. (2020). Motor behavior literature fails to translate: A preliminary investigation into coaching and focus of attention in recreational distance runners. International Journal of Exercise Science, 13(5), 789 - 801.

Zhuravleva, T. A., Aiken, C. A., & Partridge, J. A. (2022). Reflections from expert throws coaches on the use of attentional focus cues during training. Brazilian Journal of Motor Behavior, 16(1):26-35.