Skill in Sport

Skill

Skill

A learned and adaptable ability to carry out a task effectively.

Fine Motor Skills

Involve precise movements, often associated with small muscle groups (e.g., writing, drawing).

Gross Motor Skills

Encompass larger, more general movements that engage larger muscle groups (e.g., running, jumping).

Cognitive Skills

this skill involves decision-making and problem-solving.

Perceptual skill

Using senses to assess a situation and help you make decisions (vision, hearing, touch)

Open skills

are those that are significantly affected by the environmental conditions.

Closed skills

are skills that are performed in a more stable and predictable environment and can be internally paced by the performer.

Discrete skills

Have a clear start and finish.

Serial skills

Involve linking together skills to form a longer, more together complex movement.

Continuous skills

Are where the end of one cycle of movement is the beginning of the next.

Externally Paced Skills

The environment, which may include opponents, controls the rate of performing the skill.

Internally Paced Skills

The performer controls the rate at which the skill is executed.

Individual Skills

are those skills that are performed in isolation from others.

Coactive Skills

are those skills that are performed with someone else, but with no direct confrontation.

Interactive Skills

are where other performers are directly involved and can involve confrontation.

Ability

is an individual's inherent, enduring capacity to perform various tasks or acquire specific skills.

Technique

refers to the specific method or approach used to perform a skill.

Sensation

is the capacity to have a physical feeling or perception by receiving information from environmental stimuli through our senses.

Perception

is becoming aware of, organizing, and interpreting this information so that it makes sense to us.

Memory

is essential for learning and understanding new information, and there's a lot we still don't understand about it.

Cognitiion

These processes allow us to make sense of the information we receive from the world around us.

Sensory Input

The sensory information relevant to the situation is stored in short-term memory.

Exteroceptors

These are receptors located in the skin and mucous membranes that detect external stimuli such as touch, pressure, temperature, and pain.

Proprioceptors

These receptors are found in muscles, tendons, and joints, and they provide information about the position and movement of body parts.

Interoceptors

These receptors are located in internal organs and provide information about internal conditions such as hunger, thirst, and pain.

Short and Long-Term Memory

All information gathered from the various sensory inputs is stored for a split second in the short-term memory before processing.

Decision Process

occurs by comparing the current situation, held in the short-term memory, with previous experiences, held in long-term memory, to determine appropriate action.

 Action

is performed regarding the movement pattern stored in long-term memory. 

Effector control

refers to the regulation of movements by the nervous system. Welford's Model emphasizes the role of feedback in controlling motor actions.

Feedback

is information received after executing a movement that allows for adjustments to be made.

Signal detection

involves distinguishing between meaningful signals and background noise.

Early signal detection

refers to the ability to detect a signal within noise.

Short-Term Sensory Store (STSS)

Brief storage of sensory information (e.g., iconic memory for visual stimuli).

Short-Term Memory (STM)

Limited capacity storage for information actively being processed.

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

Permanent storage with a vast capacity for information and experiences.

Selective attention

is the ability to focus on one thing at a time or on multiple things that require different areas of the brain.

Rehearsal

the more a memory is rehearsed, the more likely it is that it will be remembered.

Coding

crucial first step to creating a new memory.

Brevity

the quicker a process is learned, the more likely it is to be remembered.

Clarity

initially you don’t always know what to respond to; the coach/teacher can begin with a simple approach and build on the information; help you focus.

Chunking

pieces of information are grouped together then remembered as one piece of information.

Organization

involve structuring information in meaningful ways, such as categorization or creating mnemonic devices.

Association practice

involves linking new information with existing knowledge to facilitate encoding and retrieval.

Response Time

the time from the introduction of a stimulus to the completion of the action required to deal with the situation.

Reaction time

time elapsed for the onset of a stimulus to the start of the response.

Movement time

time it takes to carry out the motor aspect of the performance.

Psychological Refractory Period (PRP)

The period of time during which the response to a second stimulus is significantly slowed because a first stimulus is still being processed.

Motor Program

Defined as a set of movements stored as a whole in the memory regardless of whether feedback is used in their execution.

Executive programs

can only be executed successfully by training and focusing on subroutines

Open loops

performance of a skill without recourse to feedback.

Closed loops

involves the process of feedback.

Perceptual trace

memory for the feel of successful past experience/movements

Memory trace

refers to the physical or chemical changes in the brain associated with memory storage.

Intrinsic feedback

available to a performer/athlete without outside help.

Extrinsic feedback

is provided by someone (coach/teacher) or something else (stopwatch, game clock, tape measure).

Knowledge of Result

is a post response information concerning the outcome of the action (visual).

Knowledge of Performance

consists of post-response information concerning the nature of the movement (feel).

Positive

telling someone they did well; or prescriptive feedback (telling the learner how to improve)

Negative

concentrates on errors; “you’re wrong”; demotivation and of little use to beginners (they need prescriptive feedback)

Motivation

we all like praise from those we perceive as being important.

Punishment

focuses on reducing an unwanted behavior but does not teach a replacement for it

Learning

refers to the relatively permanent change in behavior or capability that results from practice or experience.

Performance

 is the actual execution of a skill during a specific instance or task. 

Cognitive/Verbal (Early Phase)

In this initial phase, learners are primarily focused on understanding the task and the requirements involved.

Associative/Motor (Intermediate Phase)

Learners start to refine their movements based on feedback received during the cognitive phase. 

Autonomous (Final Phase)

 skills become automated, requiring minimal conscious thought for execution.

Positive Acceleration

This type of learning curve indicates that, at the beginning of the learning process, individuals make rapid and substantial progress.

Negative Acceleration (Plateau)

After an initial period of rapid progress, the rate of learning slows down, and the curve levels off.

S-Shaped Curve

combines elements of positive acceleration, a plateau, and eventual positive acceleration again.

Linear Learning Curve

represents a steady, consistent rate of learning over time. 

Prior Experience

Past exposure can provide a foundation, making it easier to grasp new concepts or techniques.

Quality of Coaching

Effective coaching plays a crucial role in facilitating skill acquisition in sports.

Teaching Environment

The learning environment, including facilities, resources, and organizational structure, can impact students' ability to acquire skills in sports.

Age-Related Factors

Age can influence the learning rate in sports due to developmental differences in cognitive, physical, and emotional domains.

Varied Practice

where the learner works on different aspects or variations of a skill, can enhance overall learning. 

Distributed Practice

Distributing practice sessions over time, rather than cramming all practice into one session, enhances retention and promotes long-term learning.

Focused Practice

involves concentrating on specific aspects of a skill that need improvement. It is targeted and purposeful, leading to more efficient learning.

Transfer

is the effect of previous learning on the performance of a new skill or the influence of one skill on the learning of another.

Skill to Skill Transfer

Involves the application of skills learned in one context to a different but related context.

Practice to Performance Transfer

Refers to the ability to translate skills practiced in training or practice sessions to real-game situations.

Abilities to Skills Transfer

Involves how innate or natural abilities influence the acquisition and refinement of specific skills.

Bilateral Transfer

Occurs when learning or practicing a skill with one limb (e.g., dominant hand) enhances the performance of the same skill with the opposite limb (e.g., non-dominant hand).

Stage to Stage Transfer

Involves progressing through the stages of skill acquisition, from cognitive to associative, and finally to autonomous stages.

Principles to Skills Transfer

Refers to the application of theoretical principles or concepts to the practical execution of skills.

Massed Practice

Continuous repetition without rest intervals.

Blocked Practice

Repeating the same task continuously.

Random Practice

Varied tasks in a random order.

Fixed practice

involves repeating the same task or skill under consistent conditions.

Mental practice

also known as imagery or visualization, involves mentally rehearsing a skill without physical execution.

Whole practice

involves executing the entire skill in one go.

Whole-Part-Whole Practice

This method starts with practicing the skill as a whole, breaking it down into parts, and then practicing it as a whole again.

Progressive Part Practice

Focuses on learning a skill in segments, adding more parts progressively.

Part Practice

segments of a skill are practiced in isolation.

Command Style

Teacher-centered, direct instruction.

Reciprocal Style

Interaction between teacher and students.

Problem-Solving Style

Encourages students to solve problems on their own.