The latest in skill acquisition and performance research from perceptonaction.com -When we are trying to keep our eyes un-moving and fixated on something are they really still? Not always. In the Journal of Eye Movement Research a recently published special issue addresses this interesting question. In research studies, a fixation has long been defined as…

The latest in skill acquisition and performance research from perceptonaction.com -We all know that exercise is good for us for a multitude of reasons. But one of lesser known ones is that it seems to help us learn new motor skills more effectively. Adding to this growing body of literature is a recent study by…

Something new and exciting! Daily news briefings delivered to your Amazon Echo! (Notes and a player to listen will also be posted here on the website). To enable the news briefing on your echo:Go here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CZ8Y2T2OR-From the Alexa app on your phone go to settings by pressing the three little lines in the top left-Go…

If I add a constraint to practice to take away (i.e., de-stabilize) a movement solution won’t the performer just return to using their old, familiar solution once the constraint is removed? This is a question I get asked a lot and indeed it is important issue both for the Constraints Led Approach (CLA) and most…

A paper I have been working on for awhile has just been published in Frontiers in Psychology. You can read and download an open-access copy here: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01295/full Abstract:How do baseball batters solve the problem of coordinating the timing of the different phases of movement to generate a powerful swing that is appropriately adjusted for the…

I have created new resource pages for people interested in learning more about and applying the CLA and Differential Learning. I will continue to add to it and am happy to take suggestions for any additions. CLA Resource Page Differential Learning Resource Page

It is clear that one way in which we can help facilitate the process of skill acquisition in sports is by not “throwing the learner in the deep end” right away. That is, not including all the complexities, variability and task demands they will face in competition right at the early stages of learning. This…

Some degree of variability in practice conditions is good! I don’t think that’s too controversial of an opinion. Although we may quibble over things like how applicable studies comparing blocked vs random practice are to real sports skills, I think almost all researchers and coaches would agree with my first statement.  Here, I want to…

After my recent podcast episode contrasting Prescriptive Instruction vs Self-Organization approaches to skill acquisition I have received a lot of great questions and comments regarding how specific training activities fit with the different approaches. So, to further explore the relationship between them I am going to try and do a few blog posts where I…

A few people have asked me whether I have any thoughts about how knowing what pitch is coming (e., in the Astros cheating scandal) changes batting. Not only do I have thoughts – I have data! For those not in the know, the Houston Astros were recently severely punished after they were caught stealing signs….