Un programme de recherche articulant analyse de l’activité en situation et conception d’aides à la performance : un exemple en entraînement sportif de haut niveau

This article presents an original program that combines research and This article presents an original program that combines research and training development. Between 1997 and 2002, several studies of the activity of expert table tennis players during matches were carried out within the framework of course-of-action theory (Theureau, 1992, 2004). These studies had been formally agreed on by coaches, athletes and researchers and responded to both sports needs and scientific interests. Matches were videotaped during international meetings and followed by self-confrontation interviews during which the players described and commented on their activity as they viewed the tapes. A grounded theory of players’ activity resulted from the data collected and the ensuing theoretical issues that were raised. This theory focuses on the three modes of players’ involvement identified in the studies: exploration, execution and deception. The findings on table tennis players’ activity led to questions about some of the usual practices of coaches and pointed to a new direction for training proposals.