Voice use in professional soccer management

Abstract

Vocal load related to heavy voice use in particular professions increases the risk of occupational voice disorders. Research on professional voice use has primarily focused on educators, singers, and call-centre advisors. This paper describes the daily experiences of professional soccer managers’ occupational voice use through qualitative methods. Four global themes were identified: 1) voice uses, 2) factors affecting voice change, 3) impact of voice use, and 4) the importance of voice in soccer management. All describe the nature of soccer managers’ vocal demands. Risk factors for voice disorders include intense and prolonged voice use in environments with adverse acoustic properties for speakers and poor phonation methods. Research on vocal behaviours and early prevention programmes for this population group is warranted.

Key words::

• Professional voice user
• qualitative research
• soccer manager

Acknowledgements

Dr Alan Byrne, Medical Director, Football Association of Ireland, is acknowledged for his assistance.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.