Characteristics of Skilled Performance
Skill is defined (sports psychologist Barbara Knapp) as the learned ability to bring about predetermined results with maximum certainty, often with minimum outlay of time or energy, or both.
The characteristics of skilled performance can be remembered using the mnemonic ACE FACE:
- Aesthetically pleasing – the performance looks good to watch and is carried out with good technique/form
- Consistent – the performer can reproduce the same quality of performance repeatedly
- Efficient – the skill is carried out with minimal wasted effort or movement
- Fluent – movements flow smoothly, with no hesitation between phases of the action
- Accurate – the technique and outcome of the skill are precise and controlled
- Controlled – the performer can regulate the speed and accuracy of the movement
- Economical – only the necessary amount of time and energy is used to achieve success
These characteristics overlap in practice – for example, a fluent, controlled performance is also usually economical, since unnecessary movement wastes both time and energy.
Skill Classification: Open and Closed Skills
Skills can be placed on continua according to shared criteria – this helps coaches understand how best to develop and practise them.
An open skill is performed in an unpredictable, changing environment. The performer must constantly make decisions based on external factors such as the position of the ball, opponents or teammates (e.g. a pass in a team game).
A closed skill is performed in a predictable environment. The performer has time to plan the action in advance and can repeat the same technique with little need to adapt (e.g. a shot put throw).
Most sporting skills sit somewhere between the two extremes rather than being purely open or closed.
Skill Classification: Gross and Fine Skills
This continuum is based on the extent of muscle groups used in the action.
A gross skill uses large muscle groups and tends to be less precise (e.g. a rugby tackle). A fine skill uses small muscle groups, requiring precise control and coordination, often involving hand-eye coordination (e.g. a table tennis shot).
Skill Classification: Self-Paced and Externally-Paced Skills
This continuum is based on who controls the rate and timing of execution.
In a self-paced skill, the performer controls when the skill starts and the speed at which it is performed (e.g. a penalty taker deciding when to strike the ball). In an externally paced skill, the performer has no control over the start or speed of the action – this is dictated by the environment (e.g. a sailor reacting to the speed and direction of the wind).
Skill Classification: Discrete, Continuous and Serial Skills
This continuum is based on the continuity of the skill – how clear its beginning and end points are.
A discrete skill has a clear, distinct beginning and end (e.g. a tennis serve). A continuous skill has no clear beginning or end; the end of one cycle of the action flows straight into the start of the next (e.g. cycling). A serial skill is made up of several discrete skills linked together, performed in a particular order to form one complete movement (e.g. a triple jump: hop, step, jump).
Skill Classification: High and Low Organised Skills
This continuum is based on how easily a skill can be broken down into separate parts, or sub-routines.
A low organised skill can be broken down into distinct parts relatively easily, with clear pauses possible between them, so parts can be practised in isolation (e.g. a swimming stroke, where arm and leg actions can be trained separately). A high organised skill has sub-routines that are closely linked and happen quickly, making the skill hard to break into parts without disrupting the whole action (e.g. a volley in football).
Skill Classification: Simple and Complex Skills
This continuum is based on the amount of information a performer must process to execute the skill.
A simple skill requires little decision-making and few cues to attend to (e.g. a forward roll in gymnastics). A complex skill requires many decisions based on large amounts of information, combining cognitive demands (e.g. the positions of opponents and teammates) with the psychomotor execution of the skill itself (e.g. a hockey dribble).
Justifying Skill Classification
Skill classification is not fixed: the same skill can shift along a continuum depending on the specific situation and context in which it is performed, so classification should always be justified rather than simply stated.
For example, a basketball free throw is usually classed as closed because the court markings and ball stay constant and the shot is always taken from the same position – but pressure from the crowd or defenders nearby could give it more open characteristics. Similarly, the start of a swimming race is discrete (clear beginning and end), but the ongoing stroke during the race is continuous, and the point where one stroke cycle ends and the next begins is not always clear.
When justifying a skill's classification, points should be supported with evidence describing the skill and the context in which it is performed, rather than the label alone.
Transfer of Learning
Transfer of learning is the effect that learning and performing one skill has on the learning and performance of another skill.
- Positive transfer – happens when learning or performing one skill helps the learning of another; tends to occur when two skills have a similar action or shape (e.g. an overarm volleyball serve helping the learning of a tennis serve, or a netball pass helping a basketball pass)
- Negative transfer – happens when learning or performing one skill hinders the learning of another; can occur when two skills look similar but are technically different, causing confusion (e.g. the arm action of a tennis serve negatively affecting a badminton serve, since the wrist action required is different)
- Zero transfer – happens when there is no relationship between two skills, so neither a positive nor a negative effect occurs (e.g. the swimming stroke and rock climbing)
- Bilateral transfer – the transfer of learning of a skill from one limb to the other side of the body (e.g. practising a skill with the left foot improving performance of the same skill with the right foot)
Coaches try to ensure positive transfer by making practice as realistic as possible – for example, replacing cones or tackle bags with real opponents in small-sided games so that practice better represents the true demands of the sport.