"Do, or do not. There is no try" - Yoda, 0BBY
The learning environment refers to all the external influences on athletes while they are learning new skills. Elements like the weather, the playing surface and the coach’s feedback are examples of the learning environment.
The first area to consider in the learning environment is the nature of the skill. Skills can be defined and categorised. Most are classified into one or more of the following categories:
• open or closed skills
• gross motor or fine motor skills
• discrete, serial or continuous skills
• self-paced or externally paced skills.
Closed skills are those that are executed in a controlled and stable environment, or one that is the same every time the skill is repeated. A closed environment is difficult to create, and is not seen in many competitive sports. An open skill refers to skills performed in a dynamic environment. The open skill is performed accurately in spite of the environmental influences. Closed skills are often useful when learning. This allows the athlete to concentrate on the skill; however, as they become more proficient, the coach will introduce other elements to make it an open skill. For example, if a batsman in cricket wants to learn the square cut, the athlete may begin by setting a bowling machine to bowl the ball in the perfect position every time for a square cut. The athlete would also train in the indoor net on the same surface every time, as this would create a more closed environment. As the batsman becomes more proficient at the shot, the coach can introduce different bowling speeds, varying bowling lines and lengths as well different surfaces and outside pitches, thereby making the skill more open. Defining a skill as open or closed is difficult because most skills tend to lie on a continuum. Some are more open than closed while others progress back and forth on the continuum, depending on the environment.
Gross motor skills are those that require large muscle groups to execute them – for example run, hop, skip, jump. Alternatively, fine motor skills require only small muscles to execute the skill. Fine motor skills are more delicate, and the most common examples are things like writing, cutting and drawing. Fine motor skills in sports are more difficult to identify, as most sporting performance uses gross motor skills. Sporting examples come from more sedentary activities like chess, darts and putting.
Skills can also be classified based on the process or steps it takes to complete them. The simplest\classification is of a discrete skill, which can be defined by having a clear starting and finishing point – for example, catching a ball in basketball. A serial skill is one that links together several discrete skills. A lay-up in basketball is an example of a serial skill; the athlete must dribble, jump and shoot, all as one skill. The next classification is a continuous skill, which is repetitive and ongoing – for example, dribbling or running in basketball.
Pacing is another classification factor when considering the nature of the skill. Specifically, the skill is defined as either self-paced or externally paced. Self-paced skills are those in which the athlete controls the timing – for example, a tennis serve. An externally paced skill is controlled by factors outside of the athlete’s control – for example, returning the tennis serve. Another example in cricket is where the bowler is self-paced while the batsman is externally paced.
The performance elements are critical for the athlete’s success in a competitive environment. While athletes may demonstrate proficiency at a skill during practice, they must also be able to apply it during competition. In addition to building the skill, the coach must develop performance elements like decision-making, and strategic and tactical awareness. While skill development is fundamental to any training session, as the athlete progresses the coach should use techniques that develop the skills through competitive games. This is referred to as the game-centred approach. A soccer coach who gets their players to practise passing through small-sided games is applying this principle. In this scenario, the soccer players enhance their passing game while in an open environment in which they have to balance all the uncontrolled environmental factors like surface and defence.
Decision-making is a skill that can only be learnt through experience. Knowing when to pass the ball or draw a player, or which opposition weakness to target, is a crucial performance element that needs to be developed. Presenting athletes with scenarios that are both theoretical and practical is a good way to develop decision-making skills. Taking time out after training and competition to debrief specific decisions and their level of success can ensure continuous improvement. The athlete who can manipulate a game to their advantage is said to have strategic and tactical awareness. The knowledge and confidence to take leadership of a situation so as to ensure the best possible result for the athlete, and possibly the team, is immensely powerful in sport. More often than not, opponents can possess similar skills and ability: it is strategy alone that makes the difference between winning and losing. In soccer, coaches and players implement formations targeted at guaranteeing their team’s strengths and exposing the opposition’s weaknesses.
Massed practice is when the session is all blocked together and no break is taken. This is ideal if the training schedule does not allow for multiple days of practice or the athlete is highly motivated. A coach may assign an hour of training time to a particular skill. Massed practice is suitable for discrete and simple skills. This type of training is beneficial for beginners, as they can consolidate their learning.
Distributed practice is when the rehearsal session is broken into smaller parts, or is interspersed with small breaks. This is a good way to learn complex skills as the athlete can remain free from fatigue and apply their concentration. In a distributed form of practice, the coach would implement the skill rehearsal in four 15-minute blocks across four days. Distributed practice is suited to continuous and complex skills, as well as skills that may result in injury.
Whole practice is a method in which the whole skill is practised in its entirety. This type of practice allows the athlete to get a sense of the skill while also developing their kinaesthetic sense. Part practice involves breaking a skill down into its components and rehearsing each component separately before combining them into the whole skill. This is suitable for complex skills.
Feedback is a process by which information about a past or present event is provided. The information may come internally or externally, during or after the event, and/or as result within a game. Feedback is very important as part of the learning process because it helps to shape improvement and development.
Internal feedback is received from signals within the body. These are sometimes referred to as proprioceptive signals. The skill is performed, and during the execution the athlete can judge the success by the way it feels. For example, an AFL player kicking a goal knows when their foot strikes the ball whether they did so in a manner that was appropriate and in line with what they should feel if they are going to score a goal. Quite often, players indicate that they know a goal will be successful a long time before it goes between the posts simply because it ‘felt good off the boot’. External feedback is when the information comes from a source outside the body. The type of external feedback can vary from a crowd’s applause at their approval to video analysis with a coach. Scoreboards, stopwatches, team-mates, parents and coaches all provide external feedback.
The moment at which feedback is received will also play a part in the learning process. Feedback that is received at the time when the skill and or movement is performed is referred to as concurrent (continuous) feedback. This feedback occurs simultaneously with the skill being performed. Concurrent feedback is always internal. The AFL kicker in the above example also experiences concurrent feedback. Delayed feedback occurs after the event. An example would be when a golfer hits the ball. The feedback comes in the form of where it lands on the fairway.
Feedback can also be classified in terms of results and performance. An athlete’s knowledge of results represents one variety of this feedback. Knowledge of results comes after the skill has been executed, and takes its form in how many goals were scored, the time it took and so on. For example, a netball shooter may take 36 shots in a game and score 34 goals. This knowledge of the result helps to provide feedback.
Knowledge of performance also provides feedback through more specific skills-based indicators. For example, after the netball game in which the shooter scored 15 goals from 36 attempts, the coach may talk through with the athlete technical points such as hand position on the ball, position to the net and the angle of release.
The knowledge of performance provides direct information about the quality of execution. The kinaesthetic sense of an athlete can also provide knowledge of performance. Often athletes can be happy with their performance despite the result, due to the quality of the performance. The opposite is also true, with an athlete achieving victory despite playing badly. Both situations still provide the athlete with useful feedback.