In conclusion, the following key qualities are expected to be present in a skilful performance: consistency, accuracy, control, intention and fluidity.
Fig 1.1
Fig 1.2
According to Advanced PE for Edexcel, ‘Abilities’ are innate characteristics that enable one to learn and perform any skill. In fact, this defines the difference between skill and ability, i.e. that skill is something you learn, whereas ability is something you inherit and are born with or which are developed very early in life and which you can only possibly do very little to improve if you work hard on it.
Without the basic building blocks or movement vocabulary, we will never be able to develop skill fully.
According to Advanced PE for EDEXCEL:
Examples of specific abilities required in sport would include: hand/eye coordination, flexibility, speed, etc. without these abilities, it would not be possible to learn skills such as a smash in badminton.
‘Technique’ is quite often confused with skill. Wikipedia’s Wikitionary defined it as “a way of accomplishing a task that is not immediately obvious”.
The relationship between skill, ability and technique can be demonstrated by the following formula:
SKILL = ABILITY + TECHNIQUE
As technique is something we have to learn, and ability is something we are born with, skill should therefore be what we learn to go with our abilities in order to perform skillfully. If you consider the definitions of skill and ability, you will see that performers at the elite level must have been born with natural abilities and then developed the specific techniques for them to perform the skills at such a high level.
STRUCTURING PRACTICES TO ENHANCE THESE COMPONENTS OF FITNESS
When teaching a new skill, it is important for the coach to remember that the student has a limited channel capacity and therefore too much or fast information may well cause a system overload. So, depending on the skill, i.e. complex or simple, the coach will have to decide which type of practice is most appropriate.
So this brings us to the types of practices. As far as we are concerned here, there are 4 types of practices, which are:
- Externally paced skills are those where the skill execution is not totally dictated by the athlete. For example, sailing is an externally paced skill because weather conditions play an influencing role.
- Serial Skills – made up of a number of discrete or continuous skills put together. An example would be javelin throw. For example, in javelin, when you have to first hold the javelin and start running. While still running, you have to draw back the javelin and, calculating where the line is, throw the javelin.
- Discrete Skills – these have a clear beginning and end. An example would be a serve in tennis. You throw the ball up and draw back the racket and hit the ball.
- Continuous Skills – these have no obvious beginning or end, like jogging and swimming.
- Fixed Practice – this leads to the ‘over-learning’ of a skill, due to the repetition of an activity. This type of practice is perfect for skills that need to be performed the same way time and time again and do not change in nature or are unaffected by outside factors, i.e. closed skills. e.g. free throws for basketball.
- Variable Practice –this type of practice involves using a variety of activities and situations. It’s useful for skills that are not performed the same way twice. Skills are performed using a variety of situations and environments, building up the skill under various pressurized situations. An example would be a header in football.
- Distributed Practice – usually, associated with variable practice, this involves the division of a practice session into sections. It’s usually suitable for those new to a skill or activities where feedback is important. The overall session tends to involve breaks between the sections, which may result in the activity being changed, while feedback is exchanged between performers, or the coach gives feedback to the performers. An example would be the dribbling, passing and shooting of the ball in basketball, with breaks in between each activity.
- Massed Practice Sessions – this involves a continuous session with no breaks in between sections. Aimed at high-level performers who have higher levels of fitness, it’s most suited to fixed practice. It allows for the skills to be demonstrated under pressurized conditions where feedback is intrinsic and the athletes can make their own adjustments. An example would be the same as activities as mentioned in the distributed practice, but with no breaks in between each activity.
Also, the coach must be sure to give the learner feedback [i.e. positive, negative, extrinsic, intrinsic, terminal, concurrent, Knowledge of Performance (KP), Knowledge of Results (KR)].
The athlete should remember the principles of training:
Specificity
Progression
Overload
Reversibility
And also, the FITT concept:
Frequency
Intensity
Time
Type of activity
In conclusion, structuring practices to enhance performance will depend on the skill being taught. Practices need to be set up to allow the skill to be learned in isolation and then the skill must be learned so well that it can be performed under pressure of a game or competition.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Advanced PE for EDEXCEL - Frank Galligan, Colin Maskery, Jon Spence, David Howe, Tim Barry, Andy Ruston & Dee Crawford.
PE to 16 – Sally Fountain & Linda Goodwin
Wikitionary – Wikipedia. ()
Word Count (excluding bibliography and title): 1, 198