The ability of individuals to experience, learn and refine motor skills greatly affects their ability to perform any physical activity. I have tried to explore the processes that individuals undertake when learning a new skill and how these processes can be adapted to help individuals learn these skills more easily and quickly. I have also tried to examine the ways in which movement can be assessed.
There are 3 different levels of learning accepted by the psychologists:
1) Cognitive stage
2) Associative stage
3) Autonomous stage
Cognitive Stage:
The phrase "Catch 'em young" is very apt.
The motor skill development in the child is way better between 3 - 7 years than ever in his lifetime. I've found that teaching children to catch the ball and doing some ball balancing/bouncing will help. I started to teach my son cricket when he was about 6 years old. That is when he caught fancy to this game. So, what I did was teach him the stance and started out with front-foot defense. I placed the ball at different places and asked him to reach out to it and hit it. Each action well co-ordinated. This continued for about a week. Then I'd bowl at a certain spot continuously for about 10 min and make him play the front foot defense. Next, it would be two spots that I'd alternate. After that 3 and so on. Finally it would be random. This is the first phase of learning. The mind-eye-body co-ordination is now there to move to the next phase.
Associative stage:
In comparison with the cognitive stage, the associative stage is quite long. In fact, the person might never move beyond the associative stage. In this stage, the fundamentals and mechanics of the skill have been learnt, and performance is less variable and more consistent. There are fewer errors and they are less gross because the person has developed the ability to detect and correct errors. Movements become coordinated and refined to the task as the person learns to use environmental cues for timing. Anticipation develops, and smoother, unrushed movements result as the individual needs to think less about the skill and there is a shift to memorised movements. There is rapid improvement with a marked decrease in energy expenditure. In this phase, what I found was that children generally developed their own style.It is very important as a coach to let them be as they are. First, they'd try and imitate someone they see on TV; copy his action and mannerisms, refine it, provide a personal touch to it and then they are away. I've seen this personally with my son when he tries to imitate Dale Steyn and Malinga. He wants to bowl fast. I just let him be. Today he is the fastest bowler in his group.He has developed his own style. His determination to bowl fast and not just be another medium pacer is what is making him bowl fast. Again, as a coach, never be too eager to correct but insist on finding rhythm and let him find his way. I guess one of the main reasons why Sri Lanka and Pakistan have the most number of people with different actions is because the coaches there do not tinker with the original style. This also means reduced injuries. I am against someone changing their style to suit "biomechanics". The point is, the muscles would have tend to develop in the way you move your body over a period of many years. Suddenly someone comes and changes your action. Your body muscles take a beating. A tear here and a sprain there would start and finally the person is no more a fast bowler but another medium pacer. So, it is important to provide the right environment and also just enough coaching while letting the person bring out his original style.
Autonomous Stage:
After much practice and experience, the skill becomes habitual or automatic. This is the autonomous stage. In this stage, improvements come slowly, but there is good consistency of performance. Most of the skill is performed without thinking because the person requires less attention to basics. Instead, he or she can give more selective attention to higher-order cognitive activities, such as game strategies and external cues; for example, the spin on the ball or the position of the opposition, the field placement etc. We generally tend to discuss game strategies about if there is a certain type of field placement, what type of ball the bowler is going to bowl;How to outwit the bowler and the importance of imagination. For Eg. What makes Kohli / Sangakara so consistent. What is it that they do
so naturally that others are not able to replicate. So, the idea is to look at the field and choose your options to hit the ball. This comes from imagining the ball being at different places and the type of shots that you can play. This way, the mind is ready, focussed on the job and is willing to execute effectively.
Lastly, learn the rules to break the rules. The greatest example of this is none other than Roger Federer. One of the greatest sportsmen of all time.
There are 3 different levels of learning accepted by the psychologists:
1) Cognitive stage
2) Associative stage
3) Autonomous stage
Cognitive Stage:
The phrase "Catch 'em young" is very apt.
The motor skill development in the child is way better between 3 - 7 years than ever in his lifetime. I've found that teaching children to catch the ball and doing some ball balancing/bouncing will help. I started to teach my son cricket when he was about 6 years old. That is when he caught fancy to this game. So, what I did was teach him the stance and started out with front-foot defense. I placed the ball at different places and asked him to reach out to it and hit it. Each action well co-ordinated. This continued for about a week. Then I'd bowl at a certain spot continuously for about 10 min and make him play the front foot defense. Next, it would be two spots that I'd alternate. After that 3 and so on. Finally it would be random. This is the first phase of learning. The mind-eye-body co-ordination is now there to move to the next phase.
Associative stage:
In comparison with the cognitive stage, the associative stage is quite long. In fact, the person might never move beyond the associative stage. In this stage, the fundamentals and mechanics of the skill have been learnt, and performance is less variable and more consistent. There are fewer errors and they are less gross because the person has developed the ability to detect and correct errors. Movements become coordinated and refined to the task as the person learns to use environmental cues for timing. Anticipation develops, and smoother, unrushed movements result as the individual needs to think less about the skill and there is a shift to memorised movements. There is rapid improvement with a marked decrease in energy expenditure. In this phase, what I found was that children generally developed their own style.It is very important as a coach to let them be as they are. First, they'd try and imitate someone they see on TV; copy his action and mannerisms, refine it, provide a personal touch to it and then they are away. I've seen this personally with my son when he tries to imitate Dale Steyn and Malinga. He wants to bowl fast. I just let him be. Today he is the fastest bowler in his group.He has developed his own style. His determination to bowl fast and not just be another medium pacer is what is making him bowl fast. Again, as a coach, never be too eager to correct but insist on finding rhythm and let him find his way. I guess one of the main reasons why Sri Lanka and Pakistan have the most number of people with different actions is because the coaches there do not tinker with the original style. This also means reduced injuries. I am against someone changing their style to suit "biomechanics". The point is, the muscles would have tend to develop in the way you move your body over a period of many years. Suddenly someone comes and changes your action. Your body muscles take a beating. A tear here and a sprain there would start and finally the person is no more a fast bowler but another medium pacer. So, it is important to provide the right environment and also just enough coaching while letting the person bring out his original style.
Autonomous Stage:
After much practice and experience, the skill becomes habitual or automatic. This is the autonomous stage. In this stage, improvements come slowly, but there is good consistency of performance. Most of the skill is performed without thinking because the person requires less attention to basics. Instead, he or she can give more selective attention to higher-order cognitive activities, such as game strategies and external cues; for example, the spin on the ball or the position of the opposition, the field placement etc. We generally tend to discuss game strategies about if there is a certain type of field placement, what type of ball the bowler is going to bowl;How to outwit the bowler and the importance of imagination. For Eg. What makes Kohli / Sangakara so consistent. What is it that they do
so naturally that others are not able to replicate. So, the idea is to look at the field and choose your options to hit the ball. This comes from imagining the ball being at different places and the type of shots that you can play. This way, the mind is ready, focussed on the job and is willing to execute effectively.
Lastly, learn the rules to break the rules. The greatest example of this is none other than Roger Federer. One of the greatest sportsmen of all time.
