How Athletes Learn
Techniques are the basic building blocks of skilled performance. Techniques are learned skills that allow athletes to compete most efficiently within the rules of sport. Skill has two meanings: a task and/or performance; the observable behavior that demonstrates a skill. Learning is the relative improvement in performance through practice. Skill learning is an invisible process. Because other factors can impact changes in performance, it is not always easy to know if an athlete has learned a skill. An athlete's consistent performance of a skill is the key to knowing if the skill has been learned.
As athletes continue to practice, feedback and instruction are the basic pieces of information used to create a sequence of the athlete's movement (motor program). The motor program is developed whenever we practice a skill. The memory of the previous attempts is used to physically perform the action again. With practice, a clear and precise memory of the skill is formed. The development of an athlete's motor skills is what allows him/her to master a skill. As a coach, one of your major responsibilities is to help athletes develop good motor skills. Many factors impact the learning of motor skills: your coaching ability, the environment, and the athlete's physical and cognitive ability to name a few. Most importantly, your athletes will be influenced greatly by what you do: how you teach, organize practice and give feedback.
