Skills and Techniques

1. Skills and Techniques Lesson Three

3. Some important concepts from last week…

4. There are three important stages in learning and developing skills STAGES OF LEARNING Preparation (Cognitive) Practice (Associative) Automatic (Autonomous)

5. Beginner Level Badminton Player Even although some of the subroutines involved in the skill maybe new, it does not mean that you are at the beginner level in badminton. During the cognitive stage, you find out what the skill involves – work out the subroutines. Preparation Action Recovery After establishing the different subroutines you make your first attempts at learning the skill Errors are likely to be common during the planning stage. As a result of this you will need lots of advice and encouragement Cognitive Stage

6. Methods of Practice Shadow Practice Shadow practice involves performing the overhead clear in isolation without the distraction of a shuttle. The idea of shadow practice is to grove the skill / increase muscle memory by concentrating on just performing the movement patterns involved in the overhead clear. By removing the shuttle you can focus solely on technique. Shadow practice is an appropriate method of practice during the planning stage as it focuses solely on learning the movements involved in the overhead clear. Also errors are common during the planning stage, by removing the distraction of the shuttle I can reduce the number of errors it’s possible to make and remove the need for a feeder. Feedback By removing the need for a feeder I allow my partner to concentrate on providing me with verbal feedback. During the planning stage it is important to receive plenty of positive feedback. For the feedback to be effective, it needs to be given as soon as possible. For this reason I had low work to rest ratios during shadow practice drills. During my initial shadow practice drill my partner provided me with feedback after each overhead clear. As my performance improved the feedback was given after 5 overhead clears. It was important that the feedback was positive, giving negative feedback would not have been useful as it would fail to explain how I could improve.

8. Repetition Drills During the practice stage you link together all the subroutines and practice the skill using a variety of practice methods. Combination Drills Pressure Drills Appropriate practice will gradually reduce the number of mistakes made during performance. As performance improves the difficulty of practices will gradually increase. Difficulty of practice Performance Level Your level of performance will determine how quickly you progress through the practices. To ensure you move on at the correct time you could have specific success criteria to achieve before you move on. Practice Stage To avoid boredom and ensure high quality practice it is important to vary your practice. If you repeat the same thing over and over again you will become bored, disinterested and your level of performance will decrease.

9. Repetition Drills During the practice stage you link together all the subroutines and practice the skill using a variety of practice methods. Combination Drills Pressure Drills Appropriate practice will gradually reduce the number of mistakes made during performance. As performance improves the difficulty of practices will gradually increase. Difficulty of practice Performance Level Your level of performance will determine how quickly you progress through the practices. To ensure you move on at the correct time you could have specific success criteria to achieve before you move on. Practice Stage To avoid boredom and ensure high quality practice it is important to vary your practice. If you repeat the same thing over and over again you will become bored, disinterested and your level of performance will decrease.

10. During the practice stage I linked together all the subroutines involved in the overhead clear and practiced the skill by using a variety of different practice methods. • Repetition Practice • Combination Practice • Pressure Drills • By completing a varied programme of practice sessions I was able to gradually reduce the number of errors I made when performing the overhead clear. To ensure progression in my practice sessions I increased the difficulty of the practices as my level of performance improved. • For example initially I used Repetition Drills which involved my partner feeding the shuttle high above me so I could play an overhead clear. At first I started in the back tramlines but as my performance improved I had to move from base to the rear of the court to return the shuttle. • After focussing on repetition practice my level of performance had improved to such an extent that I progressed to using Combination Practices. This involved playing another stroke in addition to my overhead clear. For example initially I worked with two feeders. One fed the shuttle to the rear of the court allowing me to return with an overhead clear, the other dropped the shuttle over the net forcing me to play a net shot before returning to the rear to play another overhead clear. • As I was moving towards the automatic stage I started to use Pressure Drills. Initially I used repetition pressure drills which required be to repeatedly perform overhead clears while under pressure. As my performance improved I progressed to using combination pressure drills, which required me to perform my overhead clear along with a net shot in pressured situations. • By varying my sessions and having clear progression routes between practice methods I kept my motivation levels up avoiding the onset of boredom. To avoid fatigue I ensured I had adequate rest, my work to rest ration was usually 1:3. When performing I would never have to perform more than 10/15 shots without a break.

11. Homework • Due Thursday 2nd December Task 1: Mark model answer from 2006 SQA paper. Award a mark out of four. Note down any missing content. Complete homework feedback sheet. Task 2: Describe in detail three of the practices that we have used for each of the practice methods below. The three practices you describe should gradually increase in difficulty. Shadow Practice Repetition Practice Combination Practice