Discuss The Differences between Skill, Ability and Technique and Explain How you would structure practices to enhance these components of Fitness
Discuss The Differences between Skill, Ability and Technique and Explain How you would structure practices to enhance these components of Fitness
Skill – “The learned ability to bring about a pre determined result with minimal outlay of time and energy” (Knapp)
Ability – “A general capacity of an individual ability is inherited” (Advanced Edexcel Book) (Frank Galligan, 2000) How well a skill is performed is dependant over the level of ability an athlete possess.
Technique –“The method used to perform a skill correctly” (English Dictionary) e.g. A seat jump in trampolining has different stages, which make up the skill.
There are four different types of skill:
Cognitive skill- this requires thought during skill e.g. snooker- the ability to work out how many points left on the table is a cognitive skill.
Perceptual skill- where a performer has to adapt to the different situations in a sport, “interpreting what you see” (Edexcel Book, Frank Gallligan) e.g. football- a player will have to adapt to how hard or in which direction the ball is passed to him.
Motor skill- is basically the muscular movement e.g. in rugby a player striking a conversion kick using muscles in the leg.
Perceptual motor skill is a combination of both motor and perceptual skills e.g. passing and receiving a ball in basketball involves muscle movement and adaptation to the pass.
There are also classifications of skill:
Open skills- skills effected by the environment which involves adaptation e.g. a rugby pass has to be adapted to how fast it’s thrown, A closed skill is the opposite. Gross skills involve large muscle movements e.g. 100m sprint involves a burst of muscle energy, fine skills are the opposite of this e.g. snooker. Self-paced skills- are the rate/pace of the skill e.g. shot-put throw, one movement at the performers unique pace, nothing is adapted. Externally-paced skills are the opposite, adaptations to the environment have to be made, the skill has to be performed according to the pace at which a game is played e.g. a netball pass- in a game situation would have to be quick and accurate. Discrete skills have a clear beginning and end e.g. a darts throw, nothing changes throughout the action, the opposite is a continuous skill doesn’t have a clear beginning and end. A skill can be placed on a continuum to find out what type of classification it falls under. E.g. 1 meaning the skill is closed and 10 meaning the skill is open. A rugby tackle- we know this is usually played outside and is externally-paced, Movement must be adapted accordingly in the direction of making the tackle. We would place this around a 9-10 in a continuum, which means this is an open skill. Skills are classified because then we will know the requirements to a skill, then we can then set about organising the right practices for each skill.