By Sam T and Lachlan S Skill Acquisition, 10 PASS

How swiftly an athlete grasps a new skill can be determined on numerous things such as prior experience, confidence, personality and ability. For some athlete’s it may take years to develop the necessary traits to master the skill, whilst others will take very little practice to develop and master the skill. When watching a sporting event the spectators will notice the varying levels of skills between players especially team sports like Rugby league, soccer and basketball. A skilled performer will have many positive characteristics such as coordination, reaction time and a positive attitude. Skill Acquisition, 10 PASS

Appropriate training exercises and warmups must be used when a newcomer to a sport is present as their ability in the sport may be limited or restricted. For example in soccer try basic passing and shooting techniques rather than focus solely on acute skills, such as tricking the opponent. Feedback in a sport can be another valuable asset, and coaches can give methods of improving an athlete’s technique, skill or performance. There are many things that coaches need to include in training sessions such as decision making, strategic and tactical development. The whole point of practice and training sessions is to practice certain strategies that will be used at specific points of a game in both team and solo sports. Skill Acquisition, 10 PASS

There are two types of measure in sports, the first being an objective measure and the second a subjective measure. An objective measure is something that can be measured such as time, speed or distance travelled, whilst a subjective measure is something which is based on personal opinions and experience and cannot be easily compared with objective measures. Subjective measures can be significantly less accurate than an objective measure. Measuring results can be an effective way of gauging how skilled an athlete is, coaches use measuring as an indicator of how well an athlete would handle the real situation. Coaches may also use this to compare players and determine who the most skilled player is. The reliability of measuring and tests must be accurate, also the validity of the test must remain valid or significant to the skill or sport which is being tested. Validity means that a test measures what it was designed for. Skill Acquisition, 10 PASS

There are 3 stages of Skill Acquisition, associative, cognitive and autonomous. These stages are the phases that a learner will use to learn and perfect a new skill. The Cognitive stage is usually the first stage of skill acquisition (Or Learning a Skill), this involves the learner to learn the theory behind a skill without practice. This relies heavily on the Coach to discuss and instruct the learner to make sure the learner knows how to perform the new skill. The Associative stage of skill acquisition is a progression of a skill once the learner has learnt the skill and done the basics of performing the skill. This does not mean that the learner can perform the skill well but knows the theory behind the skill. Using the Associative stage the skill will be improved and adjusted by the learner slightly till the learner has perfected the skill. Autonomous is the last stage of learning a skill. This is when the learner has fluently performed the action and can automatically complete the skill. This is when the learner completes without thinking about the skill and the process, but can “sense” when the skill is done incorrectly and correct it independently without need of direction by a Coach. Skill Acquisition, 10 PASS

There are factors of the learner that can speed up or reduce the development of a skill. These include confidence, experiences or ability to name a few. Commonly in the NRL community tackling bags are common for training; these are designed to not only develop technique but to build confidence when carrying out a tackle and this is important for a player to perform at their best. Ability also affects the development of skill, when 10 PASS completed their juggling experiment it was apparent that those who used their hands in weekend sports developed the technique quicker than those who don’t use their hands in weekend sports. This was because those that play sports that require them to use arms knew how to control their hands and the muscles having been developed to benefit them in this skill. Experience speeds up development of skill dramatically. This goes- hand-in-hand with the Cognitive stage in skill acquisition, knowing and researching a skill and the theory behind it allows the learner to apply and change their technique to benefit them in mastering a skill. Skill Acquisition, 10 PASS

The surrounding environment can affect performance and change the completion of a skill dramatically. If the environment is wet it can cause the learner to be over-precautious and reduce performance, this is common in sports that is at high intensity and require traction to perform at their best. At the same time if the environment is hot, the learner can push their body too hard sub-concisely without knowing and can suffer from heatstroke. This can have long-term affects by reducing confidence or damaging organs (that is unlikely) including the heart, liver or kidneys. The ground can also affect the development of a skill. If the ground is soft and muddy it causes the learner to feel sluggish and slow distracting them from concentrating on the skill, over all reducing the development of a skill. Skill Acquisition, 10 PASS