APPLIED COACHING RESEARCH JOURNAL 2021 , Vol . 7
Movement Coordination and Perceptual Learning This section addresses Part A of Figure 1 . How athletes learn to coordinate and control their movement skills ( sometimes called ‘ techniques ’) in sport performance environments has been studied for many years by psychologists , and movement / coaching scientists ( see Renshaw et al , 2019 ). Based on an ecological rationale , we would like to emphasise one key idea of this approach : the continuous integration and interactions between athletes and their environment . What this signifies in practice is that athletes never perform movements in isolation and there is always a performance context to consider . Their actions are continuously shaped by , for example , locations and movements of other performers , whether teammates or opponents . Influential environmental factors include weather conditions , the playing area and surface , and crowd effects . Contextual factors are exemplified by the current game state and specific competition rules , specific playing area markings , all of which continuously inform their decision-making and actions . In short , athletes do not perform in a vacuum and are always surrounded by information from the performance environment which they need to consider when organising their decisions and actions . An ecological approach , therefore , focuses on how each athlete coordinates a ( sport-specific ) action ( eg playing a long pass behind the opponent ’ s defence ) with the perception of information from the environment surrounding them ( eg a teammate running from deep into the open space behind a defender may invite a long pass into that space ). In other words , athletes need to ‘ learn to learn to move ’ in specific performance contexts , highlighting the inseparability of the individual from their environment ( Adolph and Hoch , 2019 ). So , practice designs and coaching methods must provide a context and performance background to best help learners develop relevant skills . Here , the ecological mantra of ‘ search , discover , exploit ’ may offer a starting point for coaches to grasp foundational ideas of : i ) movement coordination by Bernstein , Newell and colleagues ( see Seifert et al , 2017 ; Table 1 ); and ii ), using information to organise actions in performance and practice by Gibson and colleagues ( see Araújo and Davids , 2011 ; Table 1 ).
How can these ecological skill acquisition and practice design ideas be implemented ? Otte and colleagues ( 2019 , 2020a ) proposed a threestaged skill development framework for skill training and periodisation ( ie top of Figure 1 ). From left to right , first , the ‘ Coordination Training ’ stage ( in blue ) emphasises the ‘ search ’ component of athletes establishing and stabilising the relationship between relevant motor system components ( eg a hockey player coordinating various body segments to control or pass a ball ). Second , the ‘ Skill Adaptability Training ’ stage ( in green ) focuses on the ‘ discover ’ and ‘ exploit ’ components by enhancing movement adaptations and optimising movement efficiency ( eg a footballer refining coordination ( in both lower limbs ) to develop optimal force and acceleration when crossing a football from different areas of the field into the penalty area ). Third , the ‘ Performance Training ’ stage of the framework ( in red ) extends to each athlete ’ s immediate preparation for , and involvement in , competition . This final performance training stage aims to stabilise and prepare athletes on various psychological , physical , and social levels for a maximum return in a competitive event ; for example , players lead their own game warm-up routine to feel comfortable and confident to play in competition . Notably it is proposed that all skill development stages work in synergy . An athlete ’ s search for , and adaptation of , movement solutions may move back and forth between these stages throughout the learning process ( see Chow et al , 2008 , for a discussion ). For example , athletes can hit a moving target by throwing a pass , but are challenged to make the pass when they and the target are running .
Further , in interaction with the movements , we must consider the environment and its rich information and affordances . Affordances are invitations and opportunities for action that an athlete can use in a performance environment . Many dynamic and complex sport environments are full of constantly changing possibilities for actions , such as shooting , penetrative passing , dribbling at speed or maintaining possession . Perceiving opportunities for action ( eg different options for actions ) is a hallmark of high skill levels , learned in practice . Fajen and colleagues ( 2008 ) and Jacobs and Michaels ( 2007 ) provided insights on perceptual learning for making decisions and coordinating actions .
In a nutshell , an athlete ’ s search for , and discovery of , functional movements , is dependent on learning to perceive and interpret which environmental information sources to pay attention to at any moment in time . For example , while the intent to score game points may need initial training on which distances and angles are generally reasonable for shooting , the player , over time , can discover useful environmental information to guide their decision-making and actions ( eg affordances such as positioning of opposition defenders , gaps between them , location of nearest teammate and the speed of the approaching ball ). To enhance athlete decisionmaking , coaches can stretch themselves and their athletes by designing more complex practice tasks to simulate dynamic performance conditions . In this way , they can shape what athletes need to focus
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