Understanding team coordination in doubles table tennis: Joint analysis of first- and third-person data

ObjectivesThis study sought to determine whether combining first- and third-person methodologies would provide insight into team coordination.Design and methodsWe studied the activity of a table tennis doubles team during an official match. We collected and processed the verbal data according to a procedure defined for course-of-experience analysis, but we also included a video-based field study of the partners' interactions during the breaks between points. We then conducted a joint analysis of the two players' lived experience and behaviors during these short breaks.ResultsThe results showed both the difficulties and the empirical richness of this approach. For example, the joint analysis of first- and third-person data on doubles table tennis revealed how the players' behaviors during the short breaks between points had a key role in shaping the understanding shared by the two partners.ConclusionsThe combination of first- and third-person data seems to be a promising approach for improving our understanding of the coordination processes in sports teams. In our study, the joint analysis of these data enabled us to describe in great detail how the respective behaviors of the partners contributed to the dynamics of constructing/deconstructing shared understanding between them.

► Joint analysis of 1st and 3rd person data is interesting in team cognition research.
► Bodily conduct has a key role in constructing/deconstructing shared understanding.
► Behaviors occurring during breaks are “critical mediators” of shared understanding.