Developing Skills
Skilled performance in any context is ulti- mately based on a foundation of movement control or technique. This foundation takes many years to develop and will ultimately take place across a number of different environ- ments. The process of growth and movement skill development is reasonably predictable in terms of universal principles and sequential progressions as children develop higher levels of functional competence. The key to successful coaching with both children and adults is to programme the appropriate progressions and use the appropriate methodologies to match these sequential, development progressions in a fun and imaginative way that keeps the participant interested in getting better.
Planning for long-term development involves the logical and systematic sequencing of training factors to optimize specific training
outcomes at predetermined times.4 The identi-
fication of progressive outcomes is key in this process. A fundamental part of programme development in respect of any aspect of phys- ical conditioning is that the content or element of a programme is fundamentally determined by the objective that the practitioner seeks to achieve. The best methods can be adopted to achieve the outcome.
Progression
Competence is a major theme in programme development because it would typically form the basis for progression between different levels of task complexity. For example, as illus- trated in chapter 9, a person shouldn’t under- take relatively high-intensity plyometric tasks until he or she can demonstrate competence at controlling the posture during various landing tasks and has achieved the strength required to execute the task. Movement competencies grow through experience, and because move- ment takes place in various sporting contexts, the athlete would need to be presented with the movement task in a number of situations to learn and demonstrate competency. The athlete would be able to interpret the required movement in the situational context and have mastery of the tools—the techniques—to take the most effective action (or movement response) in a given situation.
This concept can be illustrated through refer- ence to a potential teaching progression for the clean weightlifting movement. Weightlifting is regarded as a closed skill, which means that the execution of the intended movement is entirely within the control of the individual and that no outside agents such as weather, opposition, a moving object or a moving target can influ- ence the athlete. As a multijoint, multimuscle exercise that requires the development of high rates of force from a dead-stop starting position, the clean (and derivate movement components) may be regarded as a cornerstone exercise within a functional strength-training programme, as discussed in chapter 10.
Although the clean is a closed skill, the joint movement sequencing and intramuscular coor- dination that are required to execute the overall
movement are reasonably complex. The coor- dination of the posture with the progression of the bar and the various movement velocities that are achieved in the bar at different stages of the lift mean that the movement typically isn’t easy to master. Although there isn’t one correct way to teach a technique, breaking the executive movement down into smaller move- ments (subroutines incorporating key postures and positions) that can be mastered and then sequenced together to build the overall skill might be a reasonable strategy to teach the skill.
This process is illustrated in figure 7.2. The athlete gains competence in lifting the bar from the floor to above the knees (first-pull deadlift), moving the bar from the knees to the thigh (stiff-leg deadlift) and then pulling the bar from the thigh and recovering to standing from the point where the bar would be caught (not shown) in the catch of a full lift (front squat). Because each of these movements is a sound training movement in its own right,
the athlete is training while learning. As the athlete achieves mastery in each exercise, the movements are linked together and additional tasks are added to the movement repertoire.
The next progressions challenge the athlete to link the pull from thigh with a shrug and front squat to complete the clean from thigh, where the rapid and highly complex move- ment of rapidly descending under the bar to catch in the front squat position is practised. The stiff-leg deadlift and pull from thigh are linked into a pull from hang. The athlete also learns to lift from the floor, practising the first pull through first-pull deadlift (bar ending above the knees).
Differentiation
Athletes will not follow a uniform rate of pro- gression. Some athletes will quickly pick up the basic (level 1) movements but find clean from thigh much easier than pull from hang because
E5649/Brewer/fig 07.02/552488/mh-R3 Front squat Stiff-leg deadlift Pull from thigh
Pull from hang First pull deadlift Hang clean
Clean
Pull from floor
Clean from thigh Shrug 1. Start 2. End of first pull 3. Start of second pull 4. End of second pull 5. Catch 6. Recover to standing
Figure 7.2 Mastery in simple movements can progress towards learning more complex movements. A
of the nature of the transition phase of the movement and rapid reflex of the knees under the bar as the hip extends in this lift. Other ath- letes may accelerate through levels 1 and 2 but struggle to link the pulling movements together to accelerate the bar from the floor to its highest position (pull from floor). The added movement range and coordination requirements may or may not slow their rate of progression.
The practitioner must be able to accommo- date the athlete’s rate of learning and level of competency within the overall curriculum progression, even within a group setting. This principle of physical education, known
as differentiation, is fundamental. Although all individuals are doing the same practice, a number of individualized variations are appro- priately applied to different people to enable all to receive the same level of challenge. As this chapter illustrates, and as chapters 8 through 10 describe in detail, every practice can be adapted in some way to make it more appropriately challenging for the athletes in the programme.
Differentiation can be illustrated in a number of ways and within different practical environments. Tables 7.2 and 7.3 demonstrate how this is possible within a strength-training
Table 7.2 Session 1: Basic Technique, Hip and Knee Extensors Team plan
Load
Exercise Sets Reps Notes 1 2 3 4 5
DB front foot raised split squat 3 5 Each leg Bungee-assisted razor curl 3 8
High-box DB step-up 3 5 Each leg
Clean pull from thigh 3 5
Vertical leg shoot 2 10
Player 1: Experienced player with good technical execution who is able to perform extensions of many of the exercises within the prescribed sessions
Load
Exercise Sets Reps Notes 1 2 3 4 5
High-bar barbell front foot raised split squat
3 5 Each leg
Razor curl 3 8
High-bar barbell step-up 3 5 Each leg
Clean pull from hang 3 5
Candlestick 2 10
Player 2: Less experienced player of young strength-training age who is developing basic technical competence and is being challenged by simplifications of the movements within the prescribed sessions
Load
Exercise Sets Reps Notes 1 2 3 4 5
DB split squat 3 5 Each leg
Bungee-assisted partial movement razor curl
3 8 Quality dictates reps and movement range
Unloaded high-box step-up 3 5 Each leg
Clean pull from thigh 3 5
Table 7.3 Session 2: Basic Technique, Hip and Knee Extensors Team plan
Load
Exercise Sets Reps Notes 1 2 3 4 5
DB reverse lunge 3 5 Each leg
Single-leg hop and hold 3 4 Each leg Behind-the-neck push press 3 5
Springbok 3 8
Rollout 2 10
Player 1: Experienced player with good technical execution who is able to perform extensions of many of the exercises within the prescribed sessions
Load
Exercise Sets Reps Notes 1 2 3 4 5
Barbell reverse lunge 3 5 Each leg
Vertical drop single-leg land and hold
3 4 Each leg
Behind-the-neck push press 3 5 Springbok with arms overhead 3 8
On-feet rollout 2 10
Player 2: Less experienced player of young strength training age who is developing basic technical competence and is being challenged by simplifications of the movements within the prescribed sessions
Load
Exercise Sets Reps Notes 1 2 3 4 5
Reverse lunge with arms overhead 3 5 Each leg Double-leg jump and hold 3 4 Each leg
DB push press 3 5
Reverse springbok 3 8
Hip rollout 2 10
context using the example of a weight-training programme for an elite female soccer squad. In many team situations, individualizing every player’s programme may be impossible, per- haps because of time constraints (for example, when a squad is one of a number that passes through a facility in a week and only for spe- cific training sessions). But the practitioner in charge can still establish a programme in which the training objectives can be achieved and individualized challenges can be provided across all exercises.
The objective for the female soccer team, which consisted of players of varying training
ages and experience within a strength-train- ing context, was to work on functional hip strength and postural control throughout the kinetic chain. Of particular concern to the coach and medical staff was the long-term development of players’ ability to stabilize and maintain dynamic knee control in a range of sport-specific actions. For the 20 players, the presented programme (an example week from the start of a long-term programme) identifies the target exercises that form the core of the programme and includes exercise variations that can either reduce or increase the chal- lenge to the athlete. Chapter 10 explores this
concept in more detail and illustrates the idea that exercises can be regressed to a foundation movement or extended in terms of the chal- lenge presented by increasing the movement complexity (position of bar relative to the centre of mass, speed of the movement, range of the movement, joints involved and so on). Further variation can be achieved at an indi- vidual level by increasing the resistive load to the movement.
The idea for foundation and extension movements is based on the notion of social competence. Players in group settings don’t want to be given easier tasks and often want to go to the hardest tasks straight away. But practical delivery that has planned opportunity to ‘go back a stage’ often is not perceived in the same way. In the given team setting, in which everyone is working on the same exercise, dif- ferentiation based on movement competence and strength level can be delivered easily and quickly. Those who quickly progress beyond the extension exercises can be provided new movement challenges to suit their abilities as the programme develops. In this way, exercises that were once extension tasks quickly become foundation-level challenges.
Similar differentiation can occur in every range-of-movement and sport-specific skill setting. Consider a group coaching setting in which young children are practising the overarm throwing of a tennis ball. (Throwing is a fundamental movement skill; therefore, competence and confidence in the ability to throw well underpin a range of other sporting choices and abilities.) One practice challenge is for the practitioner to line up the children in front of a wall and see how many times in 1 minute they can throw a ball against the wall so that it comes back to them above head height. This practice encourages chil- dren to think about how they can adapt their throwing action to make it more forceful. In throwing and kicking tasks, in the early stages of skill learning with children, force is better to develop than accuracy because of the earlier neuromuscular development of the large-muscle groups compared with the muscles responsible for fine motor control, as explored in chapter 3.
The practitioner in charge follows good prac- tice by lining up all athletes and having them throw the ball in the same direction against the same wall. The horizontal distance between them should be sufficient so that no one is hit by a thrown ball. Athlete A stands on the start line 6 metres from the wall, which provides a challenge suitable for his or her skill level, strength and coordination. Athlete B is more physically mature and has a mature skill action, in that he or she is able to step into the throw by turning the hips quickly and transferring weight from the back to the front as the arm comes forward. Athlete B also uses the non- throwing arm as a guide and rotational aid. For this reason, he or she stands farther from the wall, making the challenge appropriate to his or her level of competence in the task. Athlete C is limited not by his or her throwing compe- tence (which is similar to that of athlete A) but by his or her inability to catch and retrieve the ball. If athlete C needs to spend time chasing and retrieving every ball that comes back over head height, he or she will need to spend much of the 60-second time off task and will not address the skill objective. Therefore, athlete C should be provided more tennis balls than the other participants so that he or she can have a similar opportunity to address the challenge of the task. Catching skills will not be ignored; the programme will offer other opportunities and relevant practices to address this skill.
To improve, all athletes need to be provided with an appropriate level of challenge that will stretch their ability to execute a particular technique or skill within a given situation. The excellent practitioner is able to provide the appropriate level of challenge to all participants so that they can experience sufficient success to reinforce developed movement patterns and experience the confidence that comes from achieving a successful outcome. This objective needs to be balanced with the need to provide variation to the challenge so that learning is reinforced and developed. Indeed, the need to experience failure (or noncompetence) is a rec- ognized stimulus for learning and progression in many athletic (and nonathletic) situations.
The principles of individual need can be
depend on the athlete’s training status. As with designing a learning programme, differenti- ating an imposed training load to an athlete within a group is important. Based on the supercompensation model for human adapta- tion to training stimuli,5 figure 7.3 models the
response of two athletes to the same training session. As can be seen, athlete 1 experiences little disruption to his or her homeostasis (habituated level), whereas athlete 2 is affected much differently by the same training load. Athlete 2 will need longer to recover between training episodes to avoid overtraining. This example explains why physical training loads need to be individualized. A training load (exercise complexity, exercise intensity, exer- cise volume) that stimulates one athlete may break (overreach) another yet not disrupt the physical capacities of a third person at all.
The training status of a person also changes over time as he or she adapts to the specifically imposed loads of the training programme. Therefore, what is considered a stimulating load at the start of a training block may well become a warm-up load later in the train- ing progression. This transformation occurs because of the biological principle of accommo- dation, whereby the response of an athlete to a constant (or similar) environmental stimulus decreases over time. Hence, variations in the
training stimuli are needed to achieve overload that will cause performance improvement.