1. GAME SENSE COACHING & DECISION-MAKING
UNIT 2 VCE PE (2012)
RAY BREED (HIGH PERFORMANCE COACH)
Rayzor Edge Sports (

2. GAME SENSE COACHING & DECISION-MAKING
UNIT 2 VCE PE (2012)
Exerpts from the book:
Breed & Spittle (2011):
“Developing Game Sense through
Tactical Learning – a resource for teachers and coaches”.
Cambridge University Press
(copy link below in to browser)
RAY BREED (HIGH PERFORMANCE COACH)
Rayzor Edge Sports (

3. TEAM SPORTS Can you name the coaches and players above?
GREAT COACHES
GREAT PLAYERS
Can you name the coaches and players above?
What do all of their sports have in common? (think ‘tactics’)

4. GAME SENSE TGFU (UK) or “Tactical” approach
Teaching/coaching that uses games to develop tactical/strategic thinking
Modification for exaggeration
Technique + Pressure = Skill
Caption: Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU): The Curriculum Model (Bunker & Thorpe, 1982)
(From: Bunker, D., &Thorpe, R. (1986). Is there a need to reflect on our games teaching? In R. Thorpe, D. Bunker, & L.Almond (Eds.), Rethinking games teaching (pp. 30). Loughborough, UK: Loughborough University of Technology.)

5. What is ‘skill’? Features of Game Sense drills:
+ Pressure
Skill =
Technical skill
Tactical skill +
Features of Game Sense drills:
‘Open’ skill drills (repetition of a skill in variable situations)
Implicit learning
Questioning
Repetition of tactical scenarios
Variable conditions
“Great players are NOT born – they are developed through practice and hard work!” (Jordan)

6. “INATTENTIONAL BLINDNESS”
DM involves:
TACTICAL KNOWLEDGE: What to do if…..? (game understanding/rules/team plans/probabilities)
READING PLAY: Pattern recognition/movement cues
The DM process:
1. SCANNING
INSTRUCTION VS
“INATTENTIONAL BLINDNESS”
2. PERCEPTION
3. ATTENTION
4. RESPONSE SELECTION
5. SKILL EXECUTION

7. Training involves 3 main areas of improvement:
Eg. Kick to adv, cont marking, set shots
High reps/low pressure
Explicit & implicit
Indiv/small-sided drill
(1) Technical skill
Improve DM
Skill eff under pressure
EG: ‘Game Sense’!
High reps/pressure
Implicit/variable
Small-sided games
(2) Tactical skill**
Framework within decisions are made
Team plays/structures
EG: ‘Game Plan’!
Low reps/pressure
Large-sided games
Explicit & implicit
Structured scenarios
(3) Style of play
IMPLICIT: learning through experience without direct instruction
EXPLICIT: learning through direct instruction

8. The Coach is a FACILITATOR
Why implicit game-based training?
Elite players have better DM skills
“Open” skilled game i.e., techniques executed in variety of situations
Well-rehearsed techniques can break down under fatigue & pressure
Research strongly supports implicit training is more effective in transferring to performance than explicit (structured drills) methods
Implicit games are more durable in terms of player learning
Features of implicit game-based training:
Player-centred – coaches guide/facilitate players to explore options
Coach asks questions
Emphasis on DM in tactical situations that can occur in a match
Implicit learning – learn sub-consciously/‘learning from mistakes’
Indirect learning through problem solving
The Coach is a FACILITATOR

9. How does Game Sense work?
Techniques (movement patterns) can break down in competitive situations with ‘distractions’
Practicing with variety of scenarios can improve attention to only ‘relevant’ cues
Improve DM skills through ‘experience’ i.e., learning from good and poor decisions
Repetition – small-sided games
DM becomes automatic (sub-conscious)
‘Need to make mistakes to learn!’
“A poor performance is not failure, it is feedback!”

11. COACHING GAME SENSE GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPING GAMES/TRAINING
Aim or theme (expected outcomes?)
Small-sided (2-6)
Replicate typical scenarios
Length – time for repetition
Main rules & area
Variations of game
Prepare questions
Block or Random/variable practice?

12. COACHING GAME SENSE GUIDELINES FOR TEACHING THE GAME (Explain purpose)
Brief explanation of rules/limitations
Let game ‘play’ & observe (evaluate)
Is it working? Modifications?
Vary pressure/difficulty
Ask individual questions during game
Teachable Moments
Freeze play – ‘walk through’ demo
Feedback on decisions
Turn FB into questions

13. COACHING GAME SENSE QUESTIONING
Coach’s role to assist players in solving tactical problems
4 concepts:
TIME – when should you…….?
SPACE – where should you…….?
RISK – which option…….?
EXECUTION – how should you……?
Use open-ended questions
Turn feedback into questions: when, what, where, why, how?

14. COACHING GAME SENSE CONSTRAINTS-LED APPROACH
Level of pressure/tackling
Size/shape of area
No of players (def/att)/size of teams
Rules
Time in possession
Method of scoring/points eg. 3 pt
Positions/zones

15. COACHING GAME SENSE PRESENTING GAMES: To develop strategy we can:
Stay in A or D role for time of no. of turns
Give one gp a task
Set scenarios
Observation
Experienced v inexperienced

16. COACHING GAME SENSE EVALUATING THE GAME Did game address aims?
Could game be modified?
Sufficient repetition of skills?
Player involvement maximised?
Game progressions?

17. PART 2: GAME SENSE IN ACTION SMALL GROUP PEER COACHING
3 Teams of 6-8
You will have 3 roles throughout the session:
Player within a team
Observation of opposition team tactics
Observation of coaching strategies/styles
Play 3-4 games:
2 teams play
1 team observes opposition and coaching methods eg. questioning, feedback, changing game constraints

18. PART 2: GAME SENSE IN ACTION SMALL GROUP PEER COACHING
Teacher to select from the following games (play each game for minutes) using a variety of balls/rules.
Warm-up game – 2v1 tag (variation 4v2 tag)
2v1 Gauntlet (variation 3v2 gauntlet)
Team tag
Prison Break
NB: see Breed & Spittle (2011) book for game descriptions