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COA


CHING MA


TTERS |COACH EDUCATION|


THE W


SKILLSONE


Continuing his series on skill acquisition, Richard Shuttleworth looks at the practical steps a coach can take.


hen working with elite and development level coaches in skill acquisition, we have used a process I have


adapted over time to enhance skill and decision making.


The method is based on a problem- focused approach which considers performance in its entirety and attempts to identify any ‘constraints’ (skill-related problems) and manipulate practice conditions to release these constraints, allowing for learning and optimal performance.


Most highly skilled players are extremely ‘comfortable in the uncomfortable’ and this is when and where they perform at their best. Rugby League players and management need to continually adapt and evolve their skills to fit the changing constraints of modern day elite performance.


In 2001, Wayne Bennett pointed out specific ‘constraints’ to skill development in Australia. He realised what could emerge if Rugby League prioritised physical over decision-making areas of performance: ‘I have noticed many more athletes


coming into our game, but coming into it without football sense. Footballers know where to put the ball, they know where there’s a gap, how to read a game – but the athlete knows none of this.’


The things I talk about, the know-how, it has been learnt in the back yard. If we’re not very careful and we trade the football instinct for athleticism, the game is going to get pretty boring.’ (Wayne Bennett, Don’t Die with the Music In You, page 94, 2001).


Skill acquisition aims to develop a player’s ability to make effective and appropriate decisions under pressure and to perform the necessary movement skills. I will briefly outline the steps we take to implement a problem-focused approach to developing skills.


Step 1: Skill ‘Problem’


An important first step is to identify a skill-related problem. A skill problem will usually limit the performance of a skill – such as catch, pass, carry and kick, or a team skill – for example, decision making, running a shape, pattern or sequence of play, or timing of a pass, or kicking to a team-mate under pressure.


Skill problems will differ, and usually lesser skilled players will experience


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problems related to decision making involving the scanning of non-relevant information; for example, scanning ball movement resulting in off-the-ball player groupings around the ball carrier similar to the ‘bees around the honey pot’ analogy.


The lesser skilled players often possess unstable and inconsistent movement patterns. Often simplifying the pressure on a player under game-specific situations is enough for players to find an effective technique through appropriate repetition.


Elite players usually experience skill problems related to performing under pressure. Pressure in a dynamic performance environment involves varying levels of time and space and the situation a player finds themself in can change quickly and unexpectedly. Early skill acquisition is preferred over skill re-acquisition, which is where players are forced to re-acquire skills later in their careers – breaking old habits is never easy.


Examples are players who are restricted to playing one side of the field due to a limited skill set, younger players who are heavily reliant on physical dominance and lack decision- making skills, and players who are


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