Tag Archive for: Skill Acquisition and Motor Learning

GAINcast Episode 265: Creating better movers (with René Wormhoudt)

Being a better mover solves a lot of problems: it makes it easier to pick up skills and adapt to new situations, which also helps reduce the risk of injury and increase the level of performance. Rather than focusing on your next injury prevention exercise, most athletes would be better off just becoming better overall movers. Dutch national football team coach René Wormhoudt joins this week’s GAINcast to discuss his training approach which builds upon this philosophy for both youth athletes and the world’s top athletes.

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HMMR Podcast Episode 291: What’s your engine? (with Nathan Ott)

Every coach aims for technical improvement, but few have a clear method for achieving it. Throwing coach Nathan Ott has a clear process. It starts with defining the key engine an athlete uses to move, creating a plan together with the athlete, and maintaining focus and accountability. He joins us on this week’s episode to discuss how he views technical development, its interaction with physical preparation, and examples from world champion Brooke Andersen.

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Session planning in sports: moving away from tradition?

It is quite common that former players, once their playing career is over, transition to a coaching position to give back to the sport. For many of them, they might coach a youth team sport in a recreational setting where kids are there to have fun and play the game.

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HMMR Podcast Episode 271: Tackling and grappling (with Ollie Richardson)

Contact sports often look towards grappling sports for help in preparing athletes for contact. While there is much to be learned from grappling, there are also key differences as well. This is true when taking ideas from any sport to another, and a lesson Ollie Richardson learned first hand working in elite rugby and MMA. On this week’s podcast he shares his system for contact preparation, how it came about, and how to best adapt ideas from other sports.

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HMMR Podcast Episode 270: Prepare for contact (with Andy Ryland)

In sports like rugby and American football there is the contact paradox. Players are bigger and collision forces continue to increase. However the amount contact allowed in training continues to decrease. So how do we prepare for something we cannot train much? Coach Andy Ryland has a few ideas. On this week’s podcast he discusses the skills involved in contact, and how to best physically prepare for them off the field.

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On skill progression

Some good food for thought and discussion. This is from master coach Jim Richardson, former women’s swim coach at University of Michigan. He shared this with one day when we were talking about the progression for practice and learning when changing technique: Read more

Training talk with Rob Gray

If you want to learn about skill acquisition, Rob Gray is your guy. His day job is as Associate Professor of Human Systems Engineering at Arizona State University, with a focus on researching perceptual-motor control in sports, driving, and aviation. But in addition, his passion is spreading that knowledge outside of academia. His Perception & Action Podcast is on my favorites list and helps translate the latest research in the field easy to digest nuggets of wisdom that coaches can use in training. Read more

Frans Bosch on intrinsic learning and understanding attractors

Yesterday we posted the first part of an interview with Frans Bosch in anticipation of his new book coming out next week: Anatomy of Agility: Movement Analysis in Sport (available for preorder in the HMMR Store). In that part we looked at role of perception in agility, how to eliminate errors, developing independent athletes, and quantifying progress. Below we continue to the conversation by taking a look at a few different topics: attractors of agility, connecting training to context, and how this impacts other general training concepts. Read more

Frans Bosch on agility, perception, and understanding errors

Agree with his methods or not, few coaches have forced us to rethink how we prepare athletes as Frans Bosch has over the last five years. The publication of Strength Training and Coordination: An Integrative Approach started a conversation about how motor learning concepts can be brought into the weight room. Read more

Jack Skille Show Episode 3: Angelo Ricci looks beyond the skills

On episode three of the Jack Skille Show, we are joined by Angelo Ricci, skills coach for the Philadelphia Flyers and executive director of the Colorado Thunderbirds AAA hockey club. From his experience working with both developmental and professional players, he breaks down what environment can help young athletes reach their potential, what scout are looking for, and what are the difference makers among pro athletes. Read more