1. Skill Learning Principles

2. Factors Affecting Learning
Inherited Factors
These could include:
Gender
Age
Race
Culture
Body Shape
Muscle Fibre type
Information Processing Ability

3. Factors Affecting Learning
Previous Experience
Confidence
Self Esteem
Motivation
Relation with others
Reasons for participation
Level of aspiration
Degree of enjoyment
Persistence
Effort
Readiness to learn.

4. Phases of Skill Learning
Learning a skill is a continuous process that does not have distinct and definite stages. However there are general changes the take place and these can be categorised into 3 phases:
Cognitive (or understanding) phase
Associative (or practice) phase
Autonomous (or automatic) phase

5. Cognitive Phase
This stage is characterised by thinking and trying to understand the skill.
In this stage the learner gains a picture of the skill and what is required to do it.
Charactestics:

6. Cognitive Phase During this stage the coach should:
Teach simple, fundamental skills, by demonstrating, modelling and giving clear instructions.
Keep instructions brief and focus on a few things at a time.
Provide instant and simple feedback

7. Associative Phase
In this stage the fundamentals and the mechanics of the skill have been learnt.
Performance is more consistent and the subject will be able detect and correct errors.
Characteristics:

8. Associative Phase During this stage the coach should:
Communicate well and give feedback
Instruction needs to be individualised with errors identified and solutions prescribed.
There should be a progression in the complexity of tasks.

9. Autonomous Phase
Characteristics:

10. Autonomous Phase Training sessions: Need to be well organised
Should simulate the actual conditions of play
Should involve sport psychology

11. Learning a skill
How complex the skill is will obviously affect the acquisition of it. Skills can be classified into the following:
Closed and Open skills
Fine and Gross skills
Continuous, Serial and Discrete skills
Timing (externally or self paced)

12. Closed and Open Skills
This refers to the stability of the environment.
Closed skills have a stable, predictable environment
Open skills have a changing, unpredictable environment.
Skills need to be viewed on a continuum.

13. Timing Self Paced Closed skills are self paced Externally Paced
Open skills are externally paced

14. Fine and Gross Skills This refers to the precision of the movement:
Using large muscle groups
Fine Skills
Using small muscle groups
Examples:

15. Discrete, Serial and Continuous
Clearly defined start and finish point
Continuous
No defined start or finish (determined by person)
Serial
A series of discrete skills put together

16. Practice Methods
There are a range of methods you can use to practice a skill including:
Massed and Distributed
Whole and Part and a combination of

17. Massed Practice Continuous with very little or no rest periods.
Good for:
Highly motivated performers
Highly skilled performers
Easy tasks

18. Distributed Practice
Periods of rest are equal to amount of work on primary skill
Good for:
Novices
When task is difficult or boring
When energy demands are high

19. Whole and Part Practice
Learning the skill in its entirety
Good for basic skills
Part
Learning the skill in sub routines
Good for complex skills

20. Feedback
There are different forms of feedback that can be given and received with performance. These are:
Internal
External
Knowledge of Results
Knowledge of Performance
Positive
Negative

21. Internal and External Feedback
Internal Feedback
Internal (or intrinsic) feedback is information received from the senses. This helps athletes develop a feel for a movement which allows them to distinguish between a skilled or less skilled performance.
External Feedback
External (or extrinsic) feedback is information received from external sources (outside the body) such as the crowd reaction, opposition, coach, replays/taped performances, results etc

22. Knowledge of Results / Performance Feedback
Knowledge of results suggests how successful the skill was performed, and comes from an external source. This could include a coach discussing the outcome of a performance with the athlete such as did the ball go in.
Knowledge of Performance
Knowledge of performance is information received about how well a skill was performed. It may be internal or external.

23. Positive and Negative Feedback
Positive Feedback
- When a skill is performed correctly giving a successful outcome. The player then knows what to repeat for the next time that they do that particular action. (Good for beginners)
Negative Feedback
- This is more than just picking out a weakness in the players game. It includes what the player should do to correct the fault. This feedback must be used carefully because it can easily demotivate the player.