Nick Smallridge
@nasthe3rd
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Strong views, weakly held | CLA | @bhswomenssoccer | ⚽️ | M.Ed | USSF C |
Bentonville, AR
Joined June 2013
Keep the Door Open I noticed my 7yo son do something unusual at a recent game, something he has never been ‘taught.’ This thread will attempt to highlight why viewing skill from a lens of emergence can keep the door open for stronger skill acquisition. 🧵
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Except an opponent
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New Post! A new study by @kbecker99 investigates how internal and external attention cues focusing on process and outcome impacts athlete performance. I explore how those cues could apply to invasion sports. 🔗 https://t.co/KXqGCaoUli
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Teaching isolated technique is easier, looks good from the stands Teaching a technique in context is harder, looks messy, frustrates at times. Big toolbox, right skill, right time Does “technique” matter if they can never see the space, opportunity, or teammates to make plays
@live4footy @MyFootballCoach @CoachingFamily I have seen players drilled in technique never get it either or able to transfer it to the game! They succeed at 10 and then are out of the game early too because they are not successful at the older ages when decision making and compete become more important
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It’s not about letting players ‘figure it out,’ or assuming anything. It’s about how we approach what we are doing and why we are doing it so players can figure it in. For more on coaching language: https://t.co/HEd1QRGSXv End
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An ecological approach doesn’t reject technique or the coach’s role in supporting players finding functional solutions to the problems the game demands. It simply reframes how we can prioritize activities and intention to improve transfer and stability of functional solutions.
tandfonline.com
In this paper, we outline an ecological approach to practice design in American football to support coaches in helping players to coordinate skilled movement behaviours in dynamic performance envir...
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Technique taught in isolation is functional in isolation. It’s stable in rehearsal, but fragile in reality. Skill doesn’t come from perfecting a movement and then applying it, it comes from adapting movements to what the situation demands. For more on technique as outcome:
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I could spend half a practice running traditional activities focused on isolated patterns or isolated technique so players can ‘figure it out,’ and it would still be ‘ecological.’ Players will learn what they’re exposed to! But here’s the problem:
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Because it’s not a method, it doesn’t exclude traditional drills or feedback. Rather, it recontextualizes and prioritizes which, how, and why different methods can be more effective. @kestrelpsych @MovementMiyagi @TylerYearby @markstkhlm For more:
tandfonline.com
Recently, there has been a great deal of progress in our understanding of skill learning and the types of practice activities that best develop athletes. Evidence suggests sport practitioners’ assu...
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I’ve heard this concern/criticism quite a bit, and it’s worth addressing. An ecological approach is not a method. It’s a lens of how skill is viewed. “Being skillful is not a process of repeating a solution, it’s repeating the process of finding a solution.” -@ShakeyWaits 🧵
The problem with the ecological approach to coaching? It assumes players will figure it out technically. Many don’t. ⚽ @CoachingFamily
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Updated this slightly. Went with 5v3 in the middle to create an underload/overload, and allowed only the underload team to score in the side goals. Focus was on the defensive side for both. Definitely saw some interesting patterns emerge based on the disparity- it highlighted
Unstable Floors Trying this one today. Multiple means of scoring. Hoping to create some instability in the middle to encourage players to play more centrally.
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Unstable Floors Trying this one today. Multiple means of scoring. Hoping to create some instability in the middle to encourage players to play more centrally.
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Unpopular opinion: The best players will cut corners to create or take advantage of weaknesses in the opponent. Touch the line when you have to, cut short when you don’t. Grinding isn’t the goal. Winning is. As slow as possible, as fast as necessary.
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My 9 year old kid at 6:49AM on Saturday morning. Cartoons? Nope. Sleeping in? Of course not. “Dad, it’s time to go to pickup. Come on!” The halcyon days of youth might be past for you, but they’re just beginning for some. Lean into it.
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🚨New Post! 🚨 From Problem to Practice: 3 session activities that reframe practice as problems to be solved, not actions to be performed. Link below!
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Curious to hear others’ takes: how long or how often have you or would you use amplification or (de)stabilizing constraints to help players self-organize better solutions? (If you’ve leaned into this thread this long you can share a thought 😄).
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In other words, I wouldn’t prescribe a particular method too long or too much without risking over-reliance on it as a crutch instead of a scaffold.
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