Rob

327 – Interview with Sian Beilock, Barnard, Building a Toolbox for Performing Under Pressure

327 A discussion with Sian Beilock from Barnard College. Why does pressure affect different performers in different ways? What should be in your toolbox when preparing for a high pressure situation or recovering from a situation where you didn’t handle pressure as well as you would have liked? How can we best train to prevent…

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326 – Revisiting “Automaticity” & Its Relevance to Skilled Performance

326 Revisiting the concept of “automaticity”. Does it still have relevance to understanding skilled performance? Should the goal of training really be to get a performer to a stage where they are doing things automatically? Or, is it time to retire this idea to the legends section of the motor learning hall of fame?Download link…

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The Two Skill Acquisition Approaches: Key Differences

Outlining the key differences between the Information Processing and Ecological Approaches to Skill Acquisition. Is this a useful dichotomy?

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325 – Journal Club #21: Fundamental Movement Skills

325 I am joined by Stu Armstrong and Kasey Crider to discuss Karl Newell’s recent article “What are Fundamental Motor Skills and What is Fundamental About Them?” What exactly are they? Do we need to teach them to new learners before they can begin to explore and self-organize? What are the potential dangers of doing…

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Why Cristiano Ronaldo’s Ability to Play “in the Dark” is not Evidence for Predictive Control

I think by now most people have seen the video demonstrating Christiana Ronaldo’s incredible ability to play soccer “in the dark” – that is, execute skilled actions when the lights are turned completely off at some point. The typical explanation for why he can do this (including the one given by the people in the…

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324 – An Ecological Approach to Sports Injury Prevention & Adaptation (Not Recovery!)

324 An ecological approach to preventing and adapting to sports injury. To what extent can we predict injury from technique? How is injury risk related to movement variability and attentional focus? Can we reduce risk by increasing variability through training? Does injury induce functional neuroplastic changes in our brain?Download link Articles: Reviewing the Variability-Overuse Injury…

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323 – The Role of Movement Efficiency & Economy in Motor Learning: A Constraints-Based Framework

323 Do learners choose movement solutions that are economical – that is those which not only achieve their performance goal but are also the most efficient and have low energy expenditure? What information is available to guide a performer to a more economical movement solution and how does it depend on attentional focus? How can…

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322 – Overspeed Perception & Decision Making Training

322 Can decision making in sports be improved by using above real time or “overspeed” video based training? Does it seem more “game-like” to athletes? Does it result in transfer of training to improved decisions on the field?  Download link Articles:Sports training technologies: Achieving and assessing transferThe speed of perception: the effects of over‑speed video…

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321 – Differential Learning III: Clarifying Methodology, Acute Training Effects & Brain Activity

321 A more detailed look at the manipulations used in Differential Learning. Are the movement variants representative? Will they induce an internal focus of attention? As a coach, how should you choose variants appropriate for the skill level and task being trained? And, a look at few recent studies in this area examining acute effects…

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320 – Using a Constraints Led Approach to Develop Tactical Skill

320 How can a constraints led approach be used to develop tactical behavior in teams sports? Can a Step-Game Approach be combined with the CLA to improve tactical knowledge and team synergy? How does this all fit with Gibson’s distinction between “knowledge of” and “knowledge about”?Download link Articles:The constraint-led approach to enhancing team synergies in…

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