Body Language in Sports

The funny thing about the words "body language" is they show up in the news most often to describe victory and defeat in sports, but there is much more to body language in sports.

In movement games like basketball and soccer the players are making decisions based on the opponents body language every second. Which way is the opponent likely to go- to the right or the left. What is the expression on their face, likely can tell me if they have numbers, or the advantage. Better players do this very well.

The other side is the strategy sports like American football. For the most part it is being ignored at even the top levels.

When I first noticed this was when I was playing football, I played defensive tackle and during the offensive part of the practice there was one coach that would look directly at the hole the ball would be run to when the huddle broke. Since it was practice the coaches were right behind the huddle, making it really easy to see where the ball was going. It was a huge advantage for me. If i knew it was coming at me I'd hold my ground and wait for the ball carrier to come to me, if it was to the other side I could basically ignore the offensive tackle, do a spin move to the other side of the field next to the play- It worked perfectly... except once when I was in too good at getting over to the other side of the line, the running back cut back to my assigned side of the line... "where the h@#l were you warr..."

If I was a defensive back I would be taking it all in: Does the receiver move into starting position faster when it is a pass play; Do they follow the route with their eyes before the snap; how closely is the receiver looking at the defensive setup; what is the quarterback doing; do the line man act differently when approaching the line when it is a run/pass; what is the coach playing the call doing right after the play is being brought in- does he have happy feet, or nervous whenever the long ball is thrown. There are so many players and situations to account for, but when you pick up on a "tell" it is like you were in their huddle, and if that happens 3-4+ plays a game that is an advantage. Colts quarterback, Peyton Manning watches his own game film and analyzes his own non verbal behavior to see if he can tell if the play called was a pass or run, there are times he sees the smallest tell in his own body language.

No matter what the sport, from soccer to chess, if you analyze the opponent it can lead to advantages◦

Body Language in Sports