Ecological Dynamics

An Alternative (Ecological) Approach to Youth Athletic Development - John Barry

With only 13% of Youths meeting Physical Activity guidelines of at least 60 mins Moderate to Vigorous Activity a week (CSPPA, 2018) Can we look at alternative methods to develop and engage kids in Physical Activity? The framework I will discuss comes under the Non-Linear Pedagogy umbrella which is known as the Constraints Led Approach. The Constraints Led Approach (CLA) is underpinned by the Theoretical frameworks of Ecological Psychology and Dynamic Systems Theory. Both Theoretical frameworks validated in the literature (Chow et al., 2007 Davids, 2012, Renshaw et al., 2015) The CLA shares some commonalities with the popular approach Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) but is much broader in that the CLA is Learner-Environment Centred. The Coach/Teacher modifies interacting constraints which shapes the interaction of Perception/Action Coupling through the tasks/games they design. (Renshaw, 2015). In some instances, the CLA is viewed as hands off coaching as the individuals discover the solution from the game/task that was designed for them to interact with. Whereas the TGfU is Learner Centred whereby games are designed so that the individuals learn both Tactics and Skills in a modified game context of the Macro game (Griffin, Butler, Lombardi and Nastasi, 2003, Hopper, 2002, Kidman, 2001)

‘Methods are many. Principles are few. Methods always change. Principles never do’

Some of the principles that underpin Coaching and Youth Athletic Development are creating a fun environment for the kids to flourish within. Empower them to become Independen Decision Makers and provide Autonomy. Whatever framework you align with, your role as Coach/Teacher is to develop the 4C’s of the individuals you are working with. Effective coaching/teaching should result in a positive change to the Individual regardless of age. The 4 Cs are Competence, Confidence, Connection and Character (Côté and Gilbert (2009) when aligning practice with the CLA you cover these elements.

Competence: Specific Technical, Tactical and Performing Skills. Improved Health and Fitness and Healthy Training Habits.

Confidence: Internal sense of overall Positive Self-Worth

Connection: Positive Relationships and Bonds with people inside and outside Sport

Character: Respect for the Sport and Others, Integrity and Empathy.

When designing games and sessions under the CLA there are some key characteristics that need to be considered and included. For this purpose, I am going to use a popular school yard game used in P.E and would have been played in Summer Camps across the country throughout this summer also, Dodgeball. This specific game aligns with the CLA on many levels so those of us that have used this game recently in a session have been aligning our practice with the CLA possibly unknown to ourselves.

Representive Learning Design: This is where we ensure the game/drill that is designed allows for learning of the skill you are coaching/teaching within the game. There needs to be an abundance of opportunities for the individuals to exploit to practice the skill or what is known as affordances (Button, 2020, Rudd et al., 2021). The Activities used allow for learning of the skills you are targeting ex Underhand Throw, Dodge or Catch in Dodgeball to be performed, developed, and acquired within the game designed. This game allows the participants to practice these skills in abundance while playing the game.

Repetition without Repetition 

made famous by Soviet Neurophysiologist Nikolai Bernstein who observed a skilled blacksmith at work and concluded that no two Reps are the same (Bernstein, 1967, Renshaw, Davids, Newcombe and Roberts, 2019). Just to provide a useful exercise to validate the beliefs underpinning the framework. Go grab an A4 sheet paper quickly and draw a line freehand from one side of the page to the other. Repeat the exercise 5 times and check are the lines you have drawn all identical?....... 

You have achieved the outcome by drawing a line from A to B successfully but the outcome from A to B has variation. Embracing variation and individuality when the learner is learning or refining a skill is encouraged in the CLA as it challenges the individuals to explore an abundance of movement solutions (Button, 2012, Rudd et al., 2001). 

To use the example in the game Dodgeball, as the individual is perceiving moving targets, they act upon this information to adjust their throw to predict where the moving target is going to be, how fast to throw the ball to hit the target etc. No 2 throws will be the same in this instance due to target moving continuously.

Constraints Manipulation: 

Constraints fall under 3 categories which all interact and influence the development of movement (Newell, 1986, Renshaw, Davids, Newcombe and Roberts, 2019). Manipulating the constraints leads to ‘Movement Couplings’ i.e., Perception/Action Coupling. (Davids, Glazier, Araujo and Bartlett, 2003)

The setting up of a grid the participants will ‘play’ within; how big will it be? The rules that

will be set i.e., where the ball can be thrown, where the ball can hit someone, these would be

the Task Constraints. Is the game going to be played in a hall indoors on a timber floor or

outside on grass or tarmac? What is the weather like on the day strong breeze v sunny calm day? 

These are the Environmental Constraints. Finally, you have the constraints on the individual how will they throw the ball, is it underhand oroverhand? These Constraints act on the participants as they are playing the game and contribute to the attunement of the movement patterns the participants are engaging with. (Rudd et al., 2021) 

The Constraints influence the Performance in this instance i.e. how the individuals will play the game  of Dodgeball and how quick they knock out their opponent or avoid being knocked out.

Attentional Focus:

What we say Matters’ - (Winkleman, 2020)

When introducing a skill to someone for the first time or coaching a skill to someone for the

100th time the language we use influences the outcome. The language we use can be viewed

as instructional constraints and impact learning in different ways. Focusing on the movement form or focusing the attention Internally can freeze the ‘Degrees of Freedom’ (Glazier, 2017).

The overall goal when learning or refining a skill is to ‘Open’ the Degrees of Freedom around

that movement outcome. We should look to focus on the movement outcome as much as possible ex. the trajectory of the throw, the target you are aiming for in the Dodgeball context. This allows the individual to focus externally and pick up as much information from the environment that they can use to improve and become efficient at the task that was set for them (Chow, Davids, Button and Renshaw, 2016, Rudd et al., 2021). 

The use of informational constraints influences how Physical Literacy is acquired and developed (Rudd et al., 2021) It assists in engaging the individuals in the learning process, take the example of certain movements been called after animals for kids when learning a new skill. We are focusing their attention and allowing them to be creative with the movement. The work of Dr. Gabby Wulf and more recently Dr. Nick Winkleman is well worth checking out for more information around the influence Attentional Focus has on Skill Adaption.

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