Coaching for skill development in sport: a kinesio-cultural approach

Abstract

Skill development was traditionally seen through a positivist lens. Research was based on mind-body, individual-environment, and performer-skill dualisms, and researchers assumed that universal principles would ensure optimal development. Metaphorically, these assumptions represented a target hitting understanding of skill development. The goal was for the performer to hit the target of optimal performance as reliably as possible. Such an understanding commits researchers and practitioners to practical and methodological approaches. The aim of this paper is to reconsider skill development and think beyond a target hitting metaphor. To achieve this aim, we outline a kinesio-cultural exploration approach to skill development. This approach is based on a metaphoric understanding of skill development as familiarizing oneself with a landscape. Attaining familiarity in movement landscapes, or 'kinescapes', requires spending time in these fields, attending to critical aspects, and remaining flexible. From this perspective, skilled performers are qualitatively different to 'target hitting' performers.

Genuine Movement Learning Through a Deleuzian Approach

“…Although we were not knowledgeable about Deleuze's thinking about learning at the outset of the project, we believe that his overall geophilosphical method (Deleuze and Guattari, 2013; see also Peters, 2004) resonates relatively well with our notion of kinescapes and kinesiocultural exploration (Barker et al, 2021;Larsson et al, 2021). Kinesiocultural exploration designates the embodied exploration of kinescapes, where learners gradually discover the critical cultural, material, and mechanical elements that are necessary to master/perform/participate-and possibly also change/adapt-in a movement practise.…”

“…Games sense approaches typically assume that tactical understanding and technical competence develop concomitantly, and therefore challenge the linear idea of first learning basic techniques and then progressing to complex game situations (Harvey et al, 2018 ). Our own approach to movement learning, which we call kinesiocultural exploration and which will be further outlined below, can also be considered non-linear (Barker et al, 2021 ; Nyberg et al, 2021 ). In this work, our broad goal has been to develop an alternative theoretical perspective to the mechanistic way of thinking that has influenced much movement learning research.…”

“…Together with the teachers, we “staged the scene” for exploration in the sense that we offered a variety of tasks and equipment with which the students could explore educational movement landscapes, or kinescapes (Nyberg et al, 2020 , 2021 ). Kinescapes are movement (in Greek, kinesis ) landscapes, which “have their own features and principles that relate to propulsion, flight, rotation and so forth” (Barker et al, 2021 , p. 7). Further, Barker et al ( 2021 , p. 7–8) point out that:…”

“…All the above occasions occurred during the implementation of a research project that has the aim of theorising movement learning in new ways (see e.g., Barker et al, 2021 ; Nyberg et al, 2021 ). Questions about movement learning have indeed become topical within physical education and sport pedagogy research lately (Larsson, 2021 ; Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy , p. 26:3), where, summarily, so-called linear approaches have been challenged by non-linear approaches (e.g., Renshaw et al, 2010 ; Davids et al, 2012 ; Chow et al, 2015 ).…”

“…We believe nonetheless, that developing new perspectives of movement learning could be fruitful also in other movement culture domains, such as in competitive sports and fitness, two areas where equally “square” approaches to movement learning dominate, and where pedagogical approaches are similarly connected to strong societal norms regarding, for example, age, gender, socioeconomics, ethnicity, ability, and so on. These norms may in turn contribute to individuals' ceasing to learn new ways of moving at an early age as well as marginalisation and exclusion of people, bodies and movements that are not considered perfect (Barker et al, 2021 ). This does not mean that we are attempting to offer the answer to how to approach movement learning.…”