“If a coach fails to concentrate on correcting an athlete’s technical errors, all they are doing is perfecting those errors” (3).
Often technical improvement or skill mastery is impaired because the athlete learns the skill incorrectly. If the technical skill is not taught correctly, the athlete’s ability to correct technical errors is greatly impaired. The coach must strive to eliminate as many technical errors as possible to maximize the athlete’s development. Technical or tactical errors can occur because of many reasons, but generally they fall into three broad areas:
• The athlete is performing a skill incorrectly. Many factors can impair an ath- lete’s ability to learn or perfect a skill. Two interrelated factors are an insufficient physical training base and lack of correlation between biomotor abilities. A poorly developed physical training base or insufficient development of biomotor abilities can delay skill acquisition and development. For example, athletes who have not adequately developed a physical training base are more apt to develop fatigue when working on skill acquisition. Fatigue, which can result from a poor training base or a poorly implemented training plan, can impede learning or result in a deterioration
Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3
Objective
• Perfect the components of the skill • Integrate the components of the skill into the whole system • Develop dominant motor abilities
Requirements
• Use simple conditions to master the performance of a skill • Competitions are inadvisable
Objective
• Stabilize the skill within the whole system under standard conditions • Maintain the development of the dominant biomotor abilities
Requirements
• Use exhibition competitions at the end of the phase
Objective
• Stabilize the skill within the whole system • Use the skill under competitive conditions • Optimize physical capacity for maximal performance
Requirements
• Simulate competitive environment
(e.g., with noise, fatigue) • Participate in competitions
E4492/Bompa/Periodization,5E/332989/Fig 03.06/Tammy Page/R3-alw Figure 3.6 Three stages of perfecting a skill.
Adapted from Teodorescu and Florescu 1971 (48).
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of technical skills. Therefore, simply improving the athlete’s physical training base may improve her ability to learn new skills. The development of biomotor abilities may also facilitate the acquisition of skills. One of the major biomotor abilities that can affect skill acquisition is strength. For example, a gymnast may not be able to learn or master a specific element (e.g., iron cross) if he does not have the appropriate level of strength to perform or practice the skill (16). Therefore, simply increasing strength as part of the physical training base will increase the athlete’s ability to learn or master the targeted skill set.
• Psychological factors, such as self-confidence, morale, desire, and beliefs, appear to be significantly related to the athlete’s ability to perform or develop skills (12, 49). For example, athletes who set goals that are task oriented, such as working hard to perfect a skill, generally achieve greater success than athletes who are ego driven (i.e., perform for individual notoriety) (12, 49). Athletes who are ego driven tend to perceive failure as an inability to perform a task, which may result in a withdrawal from training (12). Conversely, task-oriented athletes will respond to failure by increasing their effort in training (12) because they equate success with hard work (49).
• The coach’s teaching method causes technical faults. The coach may use inap- propriate teaching methods or demonstrate the technique incorrectly when introducing the skill or may fail to completely explain the technical aspects of the skill. Some coaches neglect to tailor skill instruction to the individual’s learn- ing capacity and biomotor ability. Additionally, the coach’s personality, coaching style, and character can affect the athlete’s ability to acquire technical skills. For example, if the coach does not allow the athlete sufficient time to learn a skill, the potential for developing technical errors is magnified.
• There are equipment, organizational, or environmental causes. The environ- ment must foster the acquisition of proper technique, and the training session must be properly planned. Equipment must be appropriate and must function properly during each training session. Appropriate facilities (e.g., field, court) must be avail- able for training, because an adverse environment can impair skills acquisition. There are many ways to correct technical errors, but it is better to prevent technical errors in the first place. The best way to prevent technical errors is through the uti- lization of appropriate teaching methods. If technical errors do occur, it is essential that they be addressed as soon as possible. The best time to dedicate to technical or tactical corrections is the preparatory phase of the annual plan, because the stress of competition is absent during this phase and time can be dedicated to addressing technical issues.
Learning new skills or addressing technical errors should be avoided when the athlete is fatigued, because fatigue usually has a negative effect on learning. Thus it is best to address technical errors or teach new skills immediately after the warm-up. Another strategy is to increase the amount of rest between repetitions of the drills used to address errors.
The first step in addressing technical errors is to isolate the error from other tech- nical skills. Once this is done the coach can introduce the correction or new element that will address the error. The athlete then practices the new skill. When the athlete has acquired or mastered the new skill it is integrated back into the system or whole skill. While this process is being undertaken, the athlete must maintain or develop the biomotor abilities that are necessary to support the skill being perfected.
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Another issue that must be considered when addressing technical errors is the intensity or velocity at which the exercises are performed. In most cases, coaches concentrate on correcting technique with low-intensity or low-velocity movements. Although this is an important step in reeducating the athlete, sporting events often occur at higher velocities and intensities. Therefore, after the athlete becomes profi- cient at the new skill or corrected skill with low intensities and velocities, she must practice the skill at progressively higher velocities and intensities until the skill can be used in competition.
Visualization or mental practice is an excellent tool for correcting technical errors (46). The scientific literature has shown that athletes who use mental practice perform significantly better than those who do not (46). The coach should consider incorporating mental practice into the training plan to maximize the correction of technical errors and ultimately improve performance.