Instead, retrieval should involve coaches setting problems for athletes, with a‘ show me’ focus. The purpose of retrieval( regardless of theoretical basis) is for the coach to check the stability of previous skill learning, without significant coaching support. It is therefore something that should be embedded over a longer-term plan. For example, a coach looking to progress a gymnast’ s high bar skill may ask an athlete to perform a skill seemingly stabilised in a previous training cycle.
Maintain
Maintenance practice refers to the repeated rehearsal of already stabilised movement solutions. In contrast with other practice interactions, it is designed to preserve the stability of existing movement solutions rather than enhance or develop( Williams and Hodges 2023). The challenge point and cognitive demands will be lower, leading to a higher success rate. Although sometimes criticised for having limited functional use, this form of practice allows for the building of confidence, warming up and prevention of skill decay. For instance, a wheelchair basketball player may dedicate 15 minutes before a training session to practice shooting from their preferred location to prepare themselves for the session and prevent skill decay.
Execute
Under execute, the challenge point increases based on perceived consequences of errors rather than functional task difficulty( Moran et al. 2024). Under these circumstances, it is highly unlikely that athletes will develop novel skills. Instead, they will exploit previous skill learning based on a desire to avoid error. This pressure can involve anything from lowerlevel competitive activity to the use of specific pressure training and actual competition. The desirable error rates in execute will be based on the intentions of coach / athlete. For example, it may be just as useful for an athlete to build confidence under high pressure, as it is for another athlete to experience the emotional disturbance of an error to promote a change to their training( Taylor and Collins 2021). For example, a Gaelic football coach might use a pressurised and competitive shooting practice from a specific area of the pitch, known to be a weakness for a player, as a means of initiating a conversation about their developmental need.
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