Technical

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Technical Psychological Development in Hurling

• Damian Quigley

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Session Aims

• Define Technical Development
• Define Psychological Development
• Explore how we learn new skills
• What are the practical implications for Hurling
  Coaches.
• Examine the relationship between Technical and
  Psychological Development and what it means for
  Hurling Coaches

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Technical Development

• The ability to perform the underlying techniques
  of the game, accurately, consistently and at
  match tempo.

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Psychological Development

• The ability to maintain focus on the here and
  now, regardless of internal and external
  distractions.
• It requires competence, confidence and cohesion.

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How we learn new skills

• When players practice new skills the brain seeks
  the following four types of information.
• Condition of the environment and the position of
  the athlete
• Demands of the movement being performed
• Consequences as perceived by the senses during
  and after movement
• Comparison of actual outcome with intended
  outcome.

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3 Stages of Learning

1. Mental Stage
2. Practice Stage
3. Automatic Stage

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Mental Stage

• Objective is to understand what to do to perform
  new skills correctly.
• Searching for a mental plan of the correct
  technique.
• Brain seeks connections with previous activities
• Lots of errors at this stage (allow them)

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Practice Stage

• More time spent at this stage
• Less mental energy more refining timing of
  movement patterns
• Players benefit from visual and kinesthetic
  senses
• Less errors
• Make sure you attend to your players and give
  them accurate meaningful feedback

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Automatic Stage

• Skill can be performed without thinking
• Allows players concentrate on other areas such as
  tactical and mental preparation for the game
• Even if players perform skills poorly during a
  game, it maybe a result of other factors such as
  anxiety etc and not that they havent mastered
  the skill

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Psychological focus required for technical skills
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Implications for the Coach

• Get players competent with their skill, more time
  left for tactical decision making during games.
• Create a large amount of different scenarios
  during training to help make the correct decision
  in a game. (Variety the key)
• Training needs to mirror match scenarios, not all
  drill based

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Implications for the Coach

• Match tempo required in training, can be
  difficult.
• Question Players, get them to find answers for
  themselves.
• Praise performance not outcome.
• Dont make all the decisions in training, involve
  your players you wont be making them in a
  match.

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Implications for the Coach

• 6 v 4
• 6 v 5
• 6 v 6
• Change the training patterns, make players think.
• Intensity, Intensity, Intensity.

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Link between Psychological and Technical
Development

• Ability to perform skill Competence
• Competent players Confident
• Confident Players Concentration
• Concentrated Player In Control
• Players in Control Committed
• Committed players Consistently perform skill

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Games for Technical and Psychological Development

• Mayhem!
• Small sided games, 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, etc
• Tunnel Work.
• Hand pass or Strike!
• Chaos!

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Conclusion

• Both Technical and Psychological Development
  cannot be seen as separate entities, they go hand
  in hand.
• Players learn from doing, let them at it, your
  job is to spot and fix (dont over coach).
• We must do a lot of our work in the preparation
  phase, let the players do the bulk of the work in
  training!

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Conclusion

• You dont have to be the centre of training
  sessions, your role is that of facilitator.
• Can only be so if you have prepared properly

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Conclusion

• Tell me and I forget,
• Teach me and I remember.
• Involve me and I learn
• Benjamin Franklin
• Thank you for your attention