My passion and focus are on getting better at getting better. The longer I coach, the more I realize that we can’t rely on doing more of the same old things we have been doing and hope to get our athletes better. We must use the time and resources better to get better. Here are some thoughts, ideas and concepts I have culled from some of my research and practice on learning:
The learning process is based on acquiring new habits and changing old habits
Practice does make perfect; practice only makes possible – no guarantees
Perfect effort creates a positive climate for learning
Drills do not equal skills. Use drills selectively and prescriptively
Start with a technical model of the skill and then let the athlete express their interpretation the model. At best the technical model is a framework. Never fit the athlete to a model.
Explicit learning is acceptable in the early stages of learning to guide the athlete and move them forward. Gradually switch toward implicit learning by giving the athlete more difficult movement problems to solve.
Talk it (clear explanation), chalk it (demonstration) and Walk it (imitation) – then let them spread their wings and fly.
Massed practice yields short term results but does not stick
For learning to be durable it must be hard
Practice is an and opportunity to get better
Learn to interleave – practice a skill for a short-focused period of time, leave it go to something else and come back to it. Do this several times in a session.
Law of Threes – This relates to the concept of interleaving, it is something I came up with that works for me. Practice a skill for three minutes, move to another skill for three minutes. Repeat these three times and move to other skills. I then come back to original pair as many as three times.
It is not the time you put into practice, it’s what you put into the time
Have clear specific measurable objectives for each session. Evaluate the planned versus achieved results in practice.
The coach is the catalyst that directs the athlete’s attention to the appropriate action.
Feedback must be appropriate for each specific situation and learner. Limit the amount of feedback, be specific and on point.
Vary the type of feedback
Timing and frequency of feedback – With an experienced athlete it is not as effective to give immediate feedback. The beginner on the other hand needs more immediate feedback.
Encourage the athlete to rely on their own intrinsic feedback, not to rely on the coach. Feel it! Develop their own error detection and correction process.
Here are some resources that well help you get better at getting better:
Berthoz, Alain. The Brain’s Sense of Movement. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press. 2000
Brown, Peter C., Roediger III, Henry L., McDaniel, Mark A., Make it Stick – The Science of Successful Learning. The Belknap Press of Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2014
Chow, Jia Yi. Davids, Keith. Button, Chris. and Renshaw, Ian. Nonlinear Pedagogy in Skill Acquisition – an introduction. London, England: Routledge Taylor & Francis group. 2016
Davids, Keith. Button, Chris. Bennett, Simon. Dynamics of Skill Acquisition – A Constraints-Led Approach. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishing Company. 2008
Dweck, Carol. Mindset – The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House. 2006
Farr, Steven. Teaching as leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 2010
Gabbard, Carl., Leblanc, Elizabeth., and Lowy, Susan. Physical Education for Children-Building the Foundation, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1987
Gilbert, Wade. Coaching Better Every Season. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishing Company. 2017
Lemov, Doug. Woolway, Erica. Yezi, Katies. Practice Perfect – 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better. Jossey-Bass. San Francisco, California. 2012
Leonard, George. Mastery – The Keys to Success and Long-term Fulfillment. New York: Penguin Books USA.1992
Magill, Richard A. Motor Learning and Control – Concepts and Application. Ninth Edition. New York: McGraw Hill. 2007
Nater, Swen. & Gallimore, Ronald. You Haven’t Taught Until They Have Learned – John Wooden’s Teaching Principles and Practices. Fitness Information Technology. Morgantown, WV. 2006
Pink, Daniel H. A Whole New Mind – Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age. New York: Riverhead Books. 2005
Renshaw, Ian. Davids, Keith. Newcombe, Daniel. Roberts, Will. The Constraints-Led Approach – Principles for Sports Coaching and Practice Design. London, England: Routledge Taylor & Francis group. 2019
Renshaw, Ian. Davids, Keith. and Savelsbergh, Editors. Motor Learning in Practice – A Constraints led approach. London, England: Routledge Taylor & Francis group. 2010
Wulf, Gabriele. Attention and Motor Skill Learning. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishing Company. 2007
Zaichkowsky, Leonard and Peterson, Daniel. The Playmaker’s Advantage – How to Raise Your Mental Game to the Next Level. Gallery Books, Jeter Publishing. New York. 2018