Voice and work conditions of soccer coaches and physical trainers

Abstract

Introduction: The voice is a work tool for soccer coaches and physical trainers and there is a lackof studies about the work, health and vocal well-being conditions of these professionals. Purpose: toinvestigate aspects related to work conditions and vocal health of soccer coaches and physical trainers.Material and method: Qualitative study. The subjects are 13 physical trainers (T) and 13 coaches (C) fromthe teams in the first round of the Paulista Soccer Championship 2012/A-series. An on-site observationwas conducted (environment, vocal usage, behavior and care; eating habits and others) as well as aninterview with content analysis (importance/role of voice in work; vocal needs of the occupation; vocalusage, complaints/difficulties/problems; voice care). Results: The voice is extremely important to thework of both professional categories, with roles and needs regarding communication efficiency andvocal psychodynamics, in the relationship with the players. Unfavorable aspects of environment andwork conditions involve noise competition and voice usage in high intensity as well as yelling. Workconditions associated to the presence of inadequate habits, lack of knowledge and of information aboutvocal care are risk conditions for vocal health. Conclusions: There is a need for further studies aboutthe relationship between work, care, health and vocal well-being of soccer coaches and physical trainersthat provide subsidies for actions in Health Promotion of both categories.