5.1 Characteristics and classification of skill

Skill is the consistent production of goal-oriented moments, which are learned and specific to the taste (McMorris 2004)

Cognitive skills Motor skills Perceptual skills Perceptual-motor skills

Cognitive skills are the thinking skills. They are used in decision making, critical thinking, and problem solving. Success is not “executing”.

Emphasises movement without much thinking.

Ability to sense and interpret environment to paint a picture of surroundings. Vision, haptic, auditory. Perceptual skills are used to interpret information gathered through your senses to guide your actions.

Involves thought, interpretation, and movement skills. Depend on high perceptual ability, and adaptability to environment. Thought-interpretation-movement.

Which golf club to use

Shooting a hoop in basketball

Watching the goalkeeper during penalties

The start of a race hearing the gun

Fine —> Gross Individual —> Coative —> interactive Open —> Closed External —> Internal Discrete —> Serial —> Continuous

Gross = involves large muscle groups (legs and arms) ex. walking, jumping, running, and kicking HURDLES Fine = involves small muscle groups and fine movements, intricate, precise, and high levels of hand-eye coordination PLAYING PIANO

Individual skills: performed in isolation. Only one performer is involved at one time. VAULT GYM Coactive skills: performed with someone else, but no direct confrontation. SPEED SKATING Interactive skills: performers are directly involved and can involve confrontation. Active opposition and influences the skill.

Discreet skills have a definite beginning and a definite end e.g. a handstand = you start balanced on foot, end balanced on hands Serial skills are discreet skills linked together e.g. a triple jump links a hop, a step, and a jump Continuous skills cannot be easily broken down into discreet skills as they must be performed continually e.g. pedalling a bike

Open = environmental conditions have significant impact, dictates pace of movement, environment is largely variable and unpredictable, adaptability is crucial for athlete, perceptual and perceptual-motor skills are vital ex. formula 1, rugby Closed = stable and predictable environment, internally paced by performer, follow set movement patterns, performed in same way each time ex. bowling

Internally paced (self-paced) skills: performer controls rate at which the skill is executed Externally paced skills: environment (opponents) controls rate of performing the skill. Performer must pay attention to external events to control their rate of movement.

It is the way in which a sports skill is performed.

Ability refers to a general trait or capacity of the individual, that is related to the performance and performance potential of a variety of skills or tasks.

In order to perform “skillfully” one needs to have the necessary technique(s) and choose the correct one given any situation. Skill = ability + selection of an appropriate technique

Consistency Control Learned Efficiency Goal-directed Fluency

By purpose, goal or objective and practice

Goal oriented - using the skill will achieve an end result Meets performance goal with maximum certainty Meets performance goal with minimum energy Learned through practice

Fleishman distinguishes between physical proficiency and perceptual motor ability

control precision, reaction time, speed of arm movement