Where to focus, the sneak attack & more
Here's some Skill Acquisition content for you to explore over the weekend. I hope you enjoy it!
This week at a sconce;
Research Insight: The Ecological Account of Focus of Attention
Podcast Snip: What do affordances offer?
Quote: The Sneak Attack By Roger
Resource: Harnessing the power of variability
Tweet: Developing thinking players
Research Insight
Every Story Has Two Sides: Evaluating Information Processing and Ecological Dynamics Perspectives of Focus of Attention in Skill Acquisition
In the 90s, researchers began looking at how our attention affects performance and learning. Gabrielle Wulf played a big role here, proposing the idea of focusing on the effects of movement (external focus) instead of the movement itself (internal focus). Her research showed that this approach improved movement accuracy, efficiency, and learning. Since then, more research has been done on different types of attentional focus and their effects, as well as how this applies to coaching. The current paper provides a comprehensive overview of the theoretical principles underpinning focus of attention in skill acquisition, drawing on both information processing and ecological dynamics perspectives. I’m going to focus on the Ecological Dynamics Account in this piece here
In the paper the authors explain that the Ecological Dynamics Account of Focus of Attention has 3 core tenets which I’ll break down now
According to the Ecological Dynamics account of attentional focus, the direction of the attentional focus needs to align with the demands of the task to facilitate optimal perception for action. The attentional focus needs to align with the demands of the task to ensure that athletes are attending to the most relevant information in their environment. Tasks that rely on external environmental information may benefit from focusing externally on relevant aspects in the environment, while tasks that rely on internal bodily information may benefit from focusing internally on relevant aspects concerning the body.
Directing Attentional Focus towards towards the non-specifying information can lead to sub-optimal self organisation. Movement is continuously (re)organized based on the dynamical interaction between the individual, the task, and the environmental constraints. This means that attentional focus needs to be directed towards the most relevant aspects of the environment that are important for achieving the goal if we want effective self organisation to occur.
Attentional focus is flexible and context-dependent: The distinction between an internal and external focus of attention is less clear-cut from an ecological dynamics perspective. Attentional focus needs to be flexible and context-dependent, meaning that it needs to adapt to the demands of the task and the individual's needs. This means that an internal focus of attention may be more effective in some situations, while an external focus of attention may be more effective in others.
Podcast Snip
Affordances and what they offer different individuals
The ability of an individual to pick up an affordance is based on their action capabilities. Their action capabilities also mean that the same opportunity for action may be perceived differently. The Lionel Messi and Xavi example that Mark talks about is brilliant and something that could be adapted for different sports.
For example, if Steph Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo both get the ball in space outside the 3 point line with a clear route to the basket. Steph would likely perceive the opportunity to shoot a 3 pointer whereas Giannis would likely act on the opportunity to drive towards the basket. However, depending on the score and the time left, it could influence the players decisions. For example, if they are two points with 5 seconds left, Steph may drive towards the basket for the higher percentage lay up to secure the win.
https://share.snipd.com/snip/f6b9adaa-4353-492d-a999-6a9da4d70b84
Quote
“Okay, I’m going to chip and charge and just keep the points short. I’m tired. I want to get off the court soon anyway. That’s when I started to run in and hit returns. I hit a couple for a winner. They were like ridiculous. He laughed, I laughed”-Roger Federer
This is a cool story about how ‘messing around’ on the practice court led to the development of a shot that helped Roger Federer win the masters event in Cincinnati in 2015. The SABR (Sneak attack by Roger) is a return of serve where Federer charges towards the net before his opponent has even hit the ball. He then takes the ball early and hits a half-volley to catch his opponent off guard. It was a shot players struggled to adapt to and was a big factor in his success in the tournament.
There are a few things that I think coaches can learn from the story behind the shot
1)From a skill acquisition perspective, I think it highlights the importance of giving players room to be creative and rewarding them for it during practice.
2)While successful initially on the practice court, Federer actually lost the first 4 points he tried using it on. He was actually quite close to abandoning the tactic before he was convinced to stick with it. The tactic then ended up being very successful for the rest of the tournament.
3)Going against the status quo and trying something your opponents aren’t expecting is a powerful tactic. Sometimes it’s very useful as the player’s aren’t used to adapting to the problem.
https://twitter.com/gigicat7_/status/1691102124128583680?s=20
Resource
Harnessing the power of variability
Differential learning is an approach to skill acquisition that emphasizes variation and unpredictability in training. The idea is to train in a way that challenges the athlete to constantly adjust and adapt to new situations. This can help to develop movement skills that can be applied to a wide range of situations.
To apply differential learning in practice, coaches can introduce variability into training drills by modifying equipment, changing the rules, or altering the environment. For example, a soccer coach might have players practice dribbling with a ball that bounces unpredictably, or a basketball coach might have players practice shooting from different angles and distances.
There’s a few caveats to using this that I’ll discuss below
I think the amount of variability used in differential learning makes it most appropriate when players are in the ‘skill adaptability’ phase of learning. Using this much variability with beginner players can be overwhelming and it’s something that I usually avoid. See picture below
Because the level of variability is high, this will increase the level of complexity of the task.
The amount of variability and changes will also make the task less representative which is important for coaches to be aware of.
https://twitter.com/julius_riemann/status/1681995971658502144?s=20
Tweet
Developing thinking players
I really enjoyed reading this 3 step process that Jordan shared for developing ‘thinking’ players. This 3 step process is a great place for coaches to start if they want to develop the decision making skills of the players in practice
Psychological safety:
Ability to detect errors:
Ability to correct errors
https://twitter.com/jcassidy_sport/status/1693548503052726414?s=20