Skills in Sports: Classification and Learning

Skills in Sports

Classification, Information Processing, and Learning

• Skills in sports relate to consistent, goal-oriented movements that are learned and specific to tasks.
• Various types of skills include:
  • Motor Skills: Focus on movement without thinking (e.g., sprinting, wrestling).
  • Cognitive Skills: Involve decision-making and critical thinking (e.g., chess, soccer).
  • Perceptual Skills: Relate to sensing and interpreting the environment (e.g., golf, rock climbing).
  • Perceptual-Motor Skills: Combine thought and movement (e.g., basketball, soccer).

Skill Types and Classifications

• Skills can be classified into multiple categories:
  • Discrete Skills: Have a clear start and finish; brief and well-defined (e.g., golf swing, shooting a basketball).
  • Serial Skills: Comprise a sequence of various skills forming a more complex action (e.g., gymnastics flips, triple jump).
  • Continuous Skills: The end of one cycle begins the next (e.g., swimming, cycling).

Open vs. Closed Skills

• Open Skills: Performed in unpredictable environments requiring adaptability (e.g., soccer).
• Closed Skills: Performed in stable, predictable environments where actions are consistent (e.g., shot-put).

External vs. Internal Paced Skills

• External Paced Skills: Rate of skill execution is controlled by the environment (e.g., ball games).
• Internal Paced Skills: The performer controls the rate of skill execution (e.g., javelin).

Gross vs. Fine Skills

• Gross Motor Skills: Require significant muscle groups (e.g., running, jumping).
• Fine Motor Skills: Involve smaller muscle groups and intricate movements (e.g., darts, catching).

Individual-Coactive-Interactive Skills

• Individual Skills: Performed in isolation (e.g., archery).
• Coactive Skills: Performed alongside others without direct confrontation (e.g., swimming).
• Interactive Skills: Performance is influenced by others (e.g., football, rugby).

Ability vs. Skill

• Skills are acquired, while abilities are innate traits related to performance potential.
• Abilities are challenging to teach and are developed without formal instruction.
• Fleishman’s Taxonomy: Outlines physical proficiency (e.g., dynamic strength, endurance) and perceptual-motor proficiency (e.g., reaction time, control precision) abilities.

Technique and Limitations

• Skill in sport reflects how an ability is expressed through basic movements.
• Skills are limited by the combination of ability and technique, emphasizing that "Practice makes perfect."

Skilled vs. Novice Performance

• Experienced or skilled individuals:
  • Perform effortlessly
  • Achieve goals efficiently and consistently
• Novices:
  • Lack experience, resulting in inaccuracies and wasted motion.

Information Processing

Signal Detection (Detection-Comparison-Recognition Process)

• Detection of signals influenced by background noise and previous exposures.

Simple Model of Information Processing

• Processing involves:
  • Input: Environmental information
  • Decision Making: Central nervous system processing
  • Output: Response to the stimuli

Welford’s Model Components

• Involve various elements:
  • Sense organs
  • Perception
  • Memory (short-term and long-term)
  • Decision-making and effector control
  • Feedback mechanisms

Memory in Information Processing

• Types of memory:
  • Short-Term Sensory Store: Holds data for <1 second; one item at a time.
  • Short-Term Memory: Holds 7 items for 6-12 seconds; requires rehearsal.
  • Long-Term Memory: Infinite capacity; involves retrieval.
• Selective Attention: Enhances response times by filtering relevant information.

Improving Memory

• Methods include rehearsal, clarity, organization, and chunking.

Response Time

• Comprised of reaction time and movement time, influenced by:
  • Stimulus transmission and recognition
  • Decision to respond
  • Nerve transmission time
• Hick’s Law: States the more choices available, the longer the response time.

Psychological Refractory Period (PRP)

• Previous experiences can reduce decision-making time, impacting subsequent reactions to stimuli.

Motor Programme Theories

• Open Loop Theory: Brain sends commands to muscles without feedback; suitable for continuous actions.
• Closed Loop Theory: Requires constant feedback for fine adjustments.

Feedback Mechanisms

• Intrinsic Feedback: Self-assessed feelings during performance.
• Extrinsic Feedback: External guidance from coaches; can be concurrent or terminal.
• Knowledge feedback includes results and performance insights.

Learning and Performance

• Learning involves a relatively permanent change in performance based on experience.
• Performance is subject to fluctuations; consistent changes can indicate learning.
• Three Stages of Learning:
  1. Cognitive Stage: Understand instructions through mental imagery.
  2. Associative Stage: Practice leads to more consistent movements.
  3. Autonomous Stage: Performance is consistent with minimal cognitive effort.

Learning Curves

• Positive Acceleration: Slow start leads to rapid improvement.
• Negative Acceleration: Quick learning but difficult to perfect.
• Linear Progress: Consistent improvement, easy to learn.
• Plateau: Initial improvement followed by stagnation, often rectified by breakthrough in practice.

Transfer of Learning

• Positive Transfer: Mastery of one skills aids another (e.g., throwing a ball to javelin).
• Negative Transfer: Transfer of skills hinders performance of another (e.g., conflicting movements).

Types of Practice

• Distributed Practice: Interspersed rest; varied activities.
• Massed Practice: Continuous without breaks.
• Fixed Practice: Repetitive, single-skill work.
• Variable Practice: Skills practiced in different contexts to enhance adaptability.
• Mental Practice: Visualization without physical performance.

Coaching and Instruction Styles

• Command Style: Authoritarian, minimal individualization; suitable for beginners.
• Reciprocal Style: Collaboration where learners provide feedback.
• Problem-Solving Style: Emphasis on learning through self-discovery and reduced direct input from instructors.