Unit 1: Skill Acquisition

A motor skill is an activity that involves voluntary muscular movement with the correct degree of muscular control to complete a reasonably complex predetermined task.

A whole plan which specifies correct timing and sequencing.

When a motor skill has been broken down into its component parts.

1- Movement Precision 2- Type of movement 3- Environmental predictability

The muscle groups used

Fine- uses small muscle groups requiring great precision, eg. Dart throwing & writing. Gross- involve large parts of the body, eg. Block start & rugby tackle.

Discrete- a movement with a distinct beginning & end, eg. Shot out & throwing a ball. Continuous- a repetitive movement, eg. Cycling & running. Serial- discrete movements linked together in a sequence, eg. triple jump & gymnastics routine

The availability of the environment, which could be either ball or context court surface or wind conditions etc.

Closed- environment that is stable and highly predictable and performer is in full control of timing, eg. gymnastics & 10-pin-bowling Open- performed in an environment that is rapidly changing and unpredictable, eg. basketball & football Shown on continuum

1- Cognitive 2- Associative 3- Autonomous

For beginners when they are learning what is needed to perform a skill. Large number of errors Poor timing Unnecessary movements Rapid progressions Frustrated and loss of motivation Perform skills slowly Rarely have two consecutive trials the same.

Provide accurate demonstration. Don’t overload with information.

Provide practice in competition stimulated situations. Continually seek to challenge athlete by increasing difficulty, expectations & tolerance.

This is the intermediate stage when the individual is refining accuracy and consistency of the skill. Reduced degree of error Know how to do skill, not just what to do. Develop anticipation and timing Improvements are incremental Consistency More efficient Some remain in this stage for extended periods.

Performer is able to chunk together large amounts of information to reduce response time. It can be necessary to go back to associative stages to improve or change technique.

Previous experience Motivation Heredity Socio-cultural experiences Geographical Location Personality Age & maturity Opportunity Ability to process information Physical characteristics Quality of instruction Gender

This is the elite stage of learning and very few reach this stage. Movements become automatic, requiring little to no conscious thought. Effortless movements. Carry out other skills simultaneously Repeatable and consistent performance. High speed and efficiency Improvements are subtle and can identify and correct own errors. Habits can be difficult to break as even elite athletes need to revisit and refine automatic skills.

1- Massed Practice 2- Distributed practice 3- Whole Practice 4- Part Practice 5- Fixed/Drill Practice 6- Varied Practice 6- Progressive Practice

Practice with no rest intervals Fatigue and loss of motivation would be experienced by beginners - meaning it is undesirable. eg. 30 sprint efforts, 50 softball pitches, 25 overhead volleyball serves.

Practice that contains rest intervals, with short frequent practice conditions. Important element is the work : rest ratio. eg. 5x 20 chest passes w’ 2min rest, 2 min forward rolls 2 min handstands repeat.

When a skill is practiced in it’s entirety and is effective for skills with a high complexity. eg. Jump Shot, skating.

When a skill is being learnt in its component parts and is used when a skill has clear defined components. eg. Hurdles, Golf swing.

Combination of both whole and part practice. Ables learner to progressively learn and become better at the subroutines Learning individual parts and then practicing as a whole would be best for a beginner.

Learning one component of a multi-task to improve specific component. eg. 20 forehands 20 backhands (tennis), wickets (running)