Skills and Techniques

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Skills and Techniques
KEY CONCEPT 1 THE CONCEPT OF SKILL AND SKILLED
PERFORMANCE
In this KEY CONCEPT you examine in detail what a
skill is, what makes a skilled performance,how
skills are performed using an information
processing model, classification of skills And
how a MODEL performer can be used to enhance and
Develop performance
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What is a the difference between a SKILL and a
TECHNIQUE?
A skill is a movement with a purpose, for example
-
Shooting, passing,dribbling,tackling etc.
A technique is HOW you perform a skill, for
example
Set shot, jump shot, lay-up, hook shot, slam dunk
Skills and techniques vary in difficulty
according to their Requirements, your level of
ability and your previous experience
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Classification of SKILLS
Skills are classified in 3 main ways these are -
Open lt gt Closed
Simple lt gt Complex
Discrete lt gt Continuous
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OPEN ?----------?CLOSED
Skills are classed as OPEN if they are performed
in UNPREDICTABLE situations
For example dribbling past opponents in basketball
Skills are classed as CLOSED if they are
performed in CONTROLLED situations
For example performing a Free throw in
basketball
Most skills have both open and closed elements
and occur At different points along the CONTINUUM
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SIMPLE ?--------?COMPLEX
Skills can also be classified on the CONTINUUM as
Either simple
Or complex
Simple skills have
Complex skills have
Little decision making
Much decision making
Little information to be processed
Much information to Be processed
Few subroutines
Many subroutines
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DISCRETE ??CONTINUOUS
Skills can be placed along the CONTINUUM
between Discrete and continuous
Discrete skills have a clear beginning and end
for example Throwing a javelin or a long jump
Continuous skills are ongoing in nature do not
have a clear Beginning and end and are
repetitive or cyclical movement Patterns for
instance a long distance runner.
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What makes a skilled performer?
A skilled performer can carry out linked
movements with The maximum efficiency
Movements are carried out in a fluent, controlled
and accurate way
Minimum time and effort are required
Correct options are selected
Skills and techniques are selected which reflect
the performers Ability and experience
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Questions
1. Describe the difference between a simple
skill/technique and a Complex skill/technique
2. Describe the qualities that you would see in a
skilled performance.
3. Provide an example and explanation of an
activity which contains Both open and closed
skills
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Information processing model
Understanding of how you learn and perform SKILLS
can be Increased by studying the information
processing model
The information processing model contains 4 parts
Input
Feedback
Decision making
Output
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Input
The first part of the loop is INPUT. This is the
Information which you receive from your senses
Sight what you see where the ball is, where
the Opposition is, where your team mates are,
where the Basket is etc.
Sound team mates shouting for a pass,giving you
Information etc.
Feel the strength of the wind, the
underfoot Conditions etc.
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Decision Making
You then have to make decisions about your
performance based On the information you received
from your senses input.
You have to separate important information from
the less Important information
For instance - you see a defender approaching
you but you know That you have enough time to
shoot the basketball before the Defender arrives
therefore you can ignore the defender,
concentrate On the shot and perform it
successfully
A less skilled performer may see the defender,
rush the shot and Be unsuccessful
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Output
The third part of the loop is OUTPUT This is the
way in which you move and how you perform
the Skill depending on the decisions you have
made
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Feedback
After you have performed your chosen skill or
movement you then Receive information about your
performance
Information about your performance is called
FEEDBACK
With this information you can evaluate your
performance and Adapt it to help you be more
successful in the future. For example was the
pass you made successful if not why not?
This then leads you into the INPUT part of the
loop again
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Questions
Describe in detail the Information Processing
Model and discuss Its relevance to performing
and learning skills
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KEY CONCEPT 2
Skill and Technique improvement by using
Mechanical analysis
Movement analysis
Consideration of Quality
In this KEY CONCEPT you examine in detail how
you can collect RELEVANT and DETAILED
information about your performance Of a skill or
technique
You can then use the information gained to create
a detailed plan to Improve your performance
You can also use this process to review and
monitor any Improvement in your performance
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Mechanical analysis
Mechanical analysis is looking at your
performance of a skill or Technique in a
MECHANICAL way.
MECHANICS is about FORCE, FRICTION, LEVERAGE,
PLANES OF MOVEMENT, ETC.
Mechanical analysis is often used in activities
where the SKILLS are Highly Technical and are
often CLOSED skills
In our course we rarely use MECHANICAL
analysis,but you should Know it exists and
understand the basic principles of it
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Movement analysis
The method of analysing a skill which we use most
often is
Movement analysis
In Movement analysis we break the skill down into
3 parts
Action
Preparation
Recovery
Preparation is the movements you make BEFORE you
perform the SKILL
Action is the movements you make AS you perform
the SKILL
Recovery is the movements you make AFTER you
perform the SKILL
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MOVEMENT ANALYSIS
This is a useful way to examine your performance
of a skill or Technique in many different
activities
By analysing skills in this way it is possible to
discover which parts Of the skill/technique
require improvement
It is then possible to design an improvement
programme to Improve the aspects of the
skill/technique which have been Identified as weak
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Consideration of quality
This is concerned mostly with QUALITIES like
Physical
Personal
Special
Again it is important to know that analysing
skills using Consideration of quality exists but
it is not one that we use in our course very often
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Movement analysis
The method of ANALYSING SKILLS which we use
most Often is MOVEMENT ANALYSIS.
See handout
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Question
Higher Past Paper 2004

• Mechanical analysis, movement analysis and
  consideration of
• Quality are regarded as being useful methods when
  analysing
• Performance in the area of skills and techniques
• Choose an activity. Describe , in detail, the
  method
• Of analysis you used to gather information about
  your
• Performance of ONE selected skill or technique
  (4)

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Key Concept 3

The development of SKILL
The refinement of TECHNIQUE
In this KEY CONCEPT you examine in detail
The different STAGES of skill learning
Principles of EFFECTIVE practice
METHODS of practice
Motivation, concentration and feedback
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Stages of Skill Learning
There are 3 important stages when learning and
developing skills These are
Preparation stage
Practice stage
Automatic stage
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Preparation (Cognitive) stage
During the preparation stage you find out WHAT
the skill involves
You find out what the parts of the skill are -
SUBROUTINES
and
You make your first attempts at
learning/performing each part
At this stage errors are likely to be common and
so you will Need advice, encouragement, and
perhaps support to avoid Injuries. Positive
feedback will help you to improve and Remain
motivated
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Practice(Associative) Stage
During the practice stage you link together all
the required SUB ROUTINES of the skill
Your ability, experience and the difficulty of
the skill you are Learning will determine the
amount of practice time required
Simple skills will require less practice and
consolidation than Complex skill
Gradually appropriate practice will reduce the
number of mistakes Made during performance
The METHOD of practice you will use will differ
according to the skill being practiced
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Automatic (Autonomous) stage
By this stage most sub routines have become
automatic
As a result you do not need to think about them
You can now concentrate on other aspects of your
performance Other than the skill which you can
now perform AUTOMATICALLY
You can now think about other things like where
your team mates Are, what the best option is etc.
At the AUTOMATIC stage errors are less likely and
you can Concentrate on more detailed aspects of
your performance
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Question
Describe, in detail, the three stages of skill
learning and Explain how you went through this
process in the learning of ONE skill from an
activity of your choice.
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Methods of Practice
When developing SKILLS and TECHNIQUES you can use
a number Of different METHODS OF PRACTICE
The most regularly used METHODS of PRACTICE are
1.Solo/shadow/partner/group
2.Opposed/Unopposed
3. Gradual build up
4. Repetition/drills
5. Whole - Part - Whole
6. Conditioned/Small sided/Coached games
7. Massed(Continuous) / Distributed(Spaced)
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Solo/shadow/partner/group
Practices can be done in different sized
groupings
You can perform practices
On your own SOLO eg. Movement practice in
Badminton
Mirroring or copying another person SHADOWING
eg. Copying the movement patterns of a MODEL
performer
Work with another person PARTNER eg. One
person feeds the other performs the skill
Work with more than one other person GROUP Eg.
Group of 5 practicing passing in a circle
Increasing the number of people in the practice
session may be A useful way of increasing the
difficulty of the practice
- PROGRESSION
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Opposed/unopposed
Varying the degree of opposition in a practice is
a useful way of Making a practice meaningful and
avoiding practice which is inappropriate
It can also be used to increase the level of
difficulty of a practice
- PROGRESSION
Practices can often be performed with
NO opposition
PASSIVE opposition
ACTIVE opposition
Performing a practice with NO opposition may be
suited to the early Stages of learning a SKILL
PREPARATION STAGE
Practicing with PASSIVE opposition may be suited
to the middle Stages of learning a SKILL
PRACTICE STAGE
Practicing with ACTIVE opposition may be suited
to the final Stage of learning a SKILL
AUTOMATIC STAGE
It is important that your partner knows which
level of opposition They are expected to provide
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Gradual build up
Gradual build up is a useful method for learning
COMPLEX skills
- amount of information to be processed
- number of decisions to be made
- number of subroutines to be learned
- amount of co-ordination required
- environment in which skill is to be performed
- accuracy and speed of decision making etc.
It is also a useful method of learning skills
which have an element Of RISK
By using GRADUAL BUILD UP you can learn a skill
in stages
BIT BY BIT
By doing this you can make the practice more
demanding in small Stages. If these small stages
are realistic and achievable then this method of
learning skills can produce a high level of
CONFIDENCE
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Repetition / drills
During practice it can be productive to repeat an
action many times
You may practice the whole skill or smaller parts
of the skill over and over
The intention is to GROOVE the technique so that
all the parts of the Skill ( sub routines) work
well together
This type of practice works best with fairly
CLOSED, COMPLEX skills
Drills are routines or sequences of movements
that are designed to give You the opportunity to
repeat a skill or technique Eg. Set shot gt
rebound gt pass.
Drills can also be made more gamelike and
therefore more demanding And pressurised -
PROGRESSION (See P. 71)
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Whole / part / whole
This method of practicing skills is often used
when you already have Some experience of the
activity
You need to be able to perform a version of the
whole skill already
You can then use whole-part-whole to refine parts
of the skill Which need improved before
attempting the whole skill again
After analysing the skill using
Movement analysis
You identify which PARTS OF THE SKILL are weak
and you Can then practice these parts in
isolation before putting them Back into the full
skill
Skills which allow parts of the performance to be
SEPERATED Are most suited to this method of
learning eg. Lay- up in Basketball.
Whole-part-whole works less well with continuous
skills as it is Difficult to isolate parts of
these skills eg. Handspring in gymnastics
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Conditioned /small sided/coached games
When you are learning and developing OPEN skills
using a Games like situation can be a useful
method to use
This can allow you to refine and develop skills
in a more Demanding and realistic situation
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Conditioned games
Conditioned games can take many forms. Often
Conditioned games Are used to provide one side
with an advantage
This makes achieving tasks or successfully
performing skills easier
For example if you play 5v3 in Basketball the
attacking side has a Numerical advantage and will
therefore have more attacking options, More
passes available, and more shooting opportunities.
5v3 could also be used to make defensive duties
more difficult and could be used to put extra
pressure on defensive skills like closing down
attackers, blocking shots, and winning rebounds
You can also change the formal rules of the game
to emphasise through The game particular skills
or techniques that you have been working on For
example if you had been practicing Drop shots in
Badminton you Could encourage the use of the
Drop shot in the game by awarding Extra points
for any rally which is won by successfully
performing A Drop shot
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Small sided games
Reducing the number of players in a team can be a
useful way of For improving performance
Reducing the number of players in a team gives
each player MORE Opportunities to practice skills
and techniques in a realistic, Games like
situation
The MORE times you practice skills and techniques
in a demanding Games like situation the better
your performance will be when you are Required to
perform these skills in a real game under real
pressure to Perform successfully
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Coached games
While playing a real game the coach/teacher may
wish to interrupt The game to emphasise a
particular point
Often this interruption or Coaching will be to
highlight something In the game which the
coach/teacher considers necessary to Improve
performance
For instance the coach may interrupt your game of
Badminton To emphasise improvements to your shot
placement, performance Of a technique etc.
This Coaching can only be done in certain
circumstances
Opportunities to coach in Real games are
limited by rules Eg. Time outs in Basketball,
Technical area in Football etc
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Massed / Distributed
The demands of different skills and activities
influence whether Practice is best done on a
Massed continuous basis
or
Distributed spaced basis
Massed practice may be most suited to
Continuous skills
Where the performer has a high level of MOTIVATION
Where practicing until TIRED or FATIGUED would be
beneficial
Continuous / massed practice can be useful as it
can reproduce The situation where it is necessary
to perform skills when fatigued such as may
occur in the later stages of a physically
demanding game
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Massed / Distributed
Distributed or spaced practice would be best
suited to a complex, Closed, discrete skill or
technique
Eg. A Backflip in Gymnastics
In techniques such as this there is a danger of
injury or failure If you become too tired
Therefore few practice attempts interspersed with
longer Rest or Recovery periods would ensure the
best progress
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Questions
1. Give an example of a method of practice which
would be suited to the development of a complex
skill. Give a detailed description Of how you
developed a complex skill in your course using
this method of practice
2. Discuss how the activities in your course
could be adapted to Improve certain skills within
each activity
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Principles of EFFECTIVE practice
There are 3 main principles of EFFECTIVE practice
1. Clear Objectives ( Targets)
2. Work to Rest Ratio
3. Progression
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Clear Objectives
For your practice to be effective you should set
clear objectives (Targets)
This will take into consideration your present
STRENGTHS and WEAKNESSES
What aspects of your performance you are trying
to improve
Your present level of performance compared to a
MODEL performer
The targets should be
PROGRESSIVE
ACHIEVABLE
REALISTIC
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Work To Rest Ratio
In all practices you need to calculate the RATIO
of WORK to REST
Working out this RATIO is one of the KEY issues
in making the skill Training SPECIFIC to your
NEEDS
The RATIO depends on
Your previous EXPERIENCE in the activity
Your level of ABILITY
The COMPLEXITY of the SKILL
The PHYSICAL DEMANDS of the ACTIVITY
Get the WORK to REST RATIO wrong then you could
become either
TIRED
or
BORED
When you are TIRED or BORED then your SKILL LEVEL
will DROP
This is exactly the OPPOSITE to the desired
outcome
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Progression
To ensure that your practices are meaningful to
your current level Of performance you must make
your practices
Harder
As your level of PERFORMANCE improves
This is known as - PROGRESSION
You must make sure your practices are suitably
demanding at all times
Apply the PRINCPLE OF PROGRESSION to all your
practices
HIGH QUALITY PRACTICE for a SHORT time is better
than Repetitive, low quality practice for a
longer period of time
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Question
When designing a training programme to improve
your skill level In an activity you must take
into consideration principles of
effective Practice. State what you understand to
be principles of effective practice And give
details of how you used these principles when
practicing a Skill from an activity in your
course.
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Motivation
Motivation is your level of DESIRE to SUCCEED
YOU need to be MOTIVATED in order to IMPROVE Your
PEFORMANCE
There are 2 types of MOTIVATION
INTERNAL MOTIVATION
EXTERNAL MOTIVATON
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Internal Motivation
This is your own level of desire to succeed.
If you are interested in the activity then you
are far more likely To improve and make progress
in your performance
It would be impossible to achieve a high level of
performance if You did not have a high level of
INTERNAL MOTIVATION
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External motivation
External motivation is when your desire to
improve your Level of performance is for reasons
apart from your internal Desire to succeed
Examples of external motivation are
MONEY
MEDALS/TROPHIES
FAME
It is rare to have only external motivation
More often it is a combination of INTERNAL and
EXTERNAL motivation
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Optimum level of Motivation
Every one has an OPTIMUM level of MOTIVATION
Top performers are used to, and can DEVELOP
their ability to MOTIVATE themselves to the
OPTIMUM level for a SPECIAL performance
If your level of MOTIVATION is too LOW
Then your level of PERFORMANCE will also be LOW
If your level of MOTIVATION is too HIGH
Then your PERFORMANCE can also be AFFECTED
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Concentration
A high level of performer is able to pay full
attention, To CONCENTRATE fully on the most
IMPORTANT parts of the INPUT
A weak performer finds it difficult to decide
between IMPORTANT Parts of the INPUT and less
important input
This is known as - SELECTIVE CONCENTRATION.
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Feedback
Feedback is INFORMATION you receive about your
PERFORMANCE
There are two main types of feedback
INTERNAL
EXTERNAL
Internal feedback is concerned with awareness of
MOVEMENT
This is the FEELING of different parts of the
action
It is also known as KINAESTHETIC FEEDBACK
EXTERNAL feedback comes in a variety of forms
VISUAL
VERBAL
WRITTEN
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Visual feedback
Visual feedback is when you can SEE your
performance
Video cameras make this possible
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Verbal feedback
Verbal feedback is what you are TOLD about your
performance
This VERBAL feedback could be given to you from
your Teacher/coach, team mate, classmate etc.
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Written feedback
Written feedback can take many forms, observation
schedules, Checklists, match analysis
sheets,statistics, match reports, Scouting
reports etc.
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Feedback
Positive feedback is more EFFECTIVE than negative
feedback
POSITIVE feedback concentrates on what you did
well and offers Suggestions as to how you could
IMPROVE your PERFORMANCE Even further
NEGATIVE feedback is not so EFFECTIVE because it
fails to Explain HOW improvements can be made
For EXTERNAL feedback to be EFFECTIVE it needs to
be PRECISE, ACCURATE, POSITIVE and given as SOON
as Possible after the PERFORMANCE
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Feedback and Motivation
Feedback and Motivation are linked.
You are likely to be MOTIVATED to do well in an
activity if You receive POSITIVE FEEDBACK about
your performance
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Question 7- 2001sample answer (a)
(a) The steps which I took to identify the
features of my skills and Techniques which need
improving were firstly I chose an opponent to
play against who was about the same standard as
myself. This made Sure that I would be tested
and that I would have to produce my best
PERFORMANCE to beat. Then during a real game I
had my performance Video taped. This meant that I
could look back on my Performance at any time in
the future and I could use all of the facilities
of the Video like Pause,Replay and Slow motion
to let me analyse any part of my performance in
detail. Then I watched the Video and completed a
GENERAL observation Schedule which looked at all
the different strokes in the game. From this
General Observation schedule I could tell what my
strengths and weaknesses were. I then did a more
FOCUSED observation schedule on my weakest skill.
This allowed me to Focus more closely on a skill
which I was not performing well. I used a
MOVEMENT ANALYSIS sheet for this. The MOVEMENT
ANALYSIS sheet breaks the skill down into 3
parts PREPARATION,ACTION and RECOVERY. The
sheet had ESSENTIAL FEATURES of performance that
you would see from a MODEL PERFORMER. From this
sheet I was able to compare my performance in a
skill against that of a model performer By doing
all of the above things I was able to identify in
detail which features of my performance
needed Improving.
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2001 q.7 sample answer (b)
(b) The first method of practice I used was
GRADUAL BUILD UP. I started by watching A model
performer and trying to copy the movements/sub
routines of the skill as he performed them. I
tried to learn the skill BIT by BIT. First I
attempted the footwork required to perform the
skill on its own. I practiced moving from the
Centre of the court to the back of the court
using small, quick steps and making sure that I
was Getting side on to the shuttle as I moved. I
then added in sighting the shuttle with my Free
hand and raising the racket above my head. Once I
could do this I added trying to hit the shuttle
over the net and once I could do this I then
Added moving back to the base position on the
court. At this stage I was now performing the
complete skill.
The next method of practice I used was
REPETITION/DRILLS. Now that I could perform a
Version of the skill I set up a drill which
allowed me to practice the skill over and over
and in a Games like setting. By practicing the
skill repeatedly I was trying to Groove the
skill and by Using a drill I could simulate some
of the conditions of a Real game. My partner
and I set up a DRILL where he served to me using
a high serve and I had to return using my
overhead clear,he then played a drop shot which I
returned using an underarm clear and my partner
retuned using an overhead clear. We tried to
repeat this Sequence over and over again which
gave me lots of chances to play overhead clears .
I had to play my Clear to different parts of the
court and my partner could vary where he played
to on my court. Because I didnt know where the
shuttle was going to arrive I had to watch the
shuttle carefully and react quickly to move to
get into position to play the shot, similar to
what happens in a game. Playing the shuttle to
different targets on the court also meant that I
had to adapt my technique slightly for every shot

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2001 sample answer (c)
(c) GRADUAL BUILD UP was an appropriate method
for me to use because it is suitable for
Learning the early stages of a complex skill.
Because I had to identify and learn all the sub
routines of the skill I could do this and learn
to link them all together BIT by BIT. I was able
to learn the skill by setting small realistic
targets. When I managed to achieve these Targets
I got a lot of confidence and this made me more
motivated to continue to learn
REPETITION/DRILLS was suitable because it allowed
me to repeat the skill over and over again Which
meant that I could GROOVE the skill. I could also
adapt the DRILL to make it more Demanding so
that as my skill level improved I could make the
drill harder and so I was constantly
Challenged. I could also make the DRILL more
games like and this would put the skill
under More pressure
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2001 sample answer (d)

• It is important to vary your practice routines so
  that you ENJOY practicing.
• This will keep your INTEREST level high and your
  CONCENTRATION high.
• If you vary your practice it will prevent you
  feeling BORED and therefore TIRED.
• You can also vary your practice routines to make
  your training PROGRESSIVE in order to
• Continually challenge you to improve your level
  of performance.