A GAMES SENSE APPROACH

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WHAT IS ‘GAMES SENSE’?* Games sense coaching is a holistic approach to teaching physical education (PE) skills which have meaning in relation to different sports (Currie, 2013). It’s not learning skills through ‘drills’.

*This approach stimulates and challenges players along with encouraging their creativity (Griffin & Butler, 2005). It’s also highly inclusive and enjoyable for students’ of all abilities Griffin & Butler, 2005).

* Games sense offers ‘intrinsic drive’ for students’ to participate in sports by having fun and giving players a feeling of achieving mastery at learning a new task (Honeybourne, 2006). A student will learn how to pass by playing a modified match of netball, not through the constant practice of ‘back and forth’ passing in pairs or groups.

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WHAT IS GAMES SENSE?* With traditional coaching methods, coaches sometimes observe a ‘lack of transfer’ in skills from the training ground to the game which is frustrating to players (Light, 2013). An example of this could be when a cricket batsman is hitting the ball well in ‘the nets’ yet he/she can’t score a run in a real game setting.

* Games sense fosters good relations between teachers and students’ along with giving the latter group empowerment and independence (Griffin & Butler, 2005). This independence lends itself to enjoyment and fun for the students’ and for the teacher, he/she becomes more like a facilitator.

* Students’ are encouraged to develop a greater understanding of the game being played along with learning techniques and skills in ‘pressure situations’ which is more effective than learning in isolation (Towns, 2002).

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SKILLS LEARNED IN GAMES SENSE* The fundamental movement skills such as jumping, running, catching, striking, kicking, dodging are learned through the games sense approach (Currie, 2013). These skills are also part of the ‘manipulative’ and ‘locomotor’ skills required to be learned as part of the NSW K-6 PDHPE Syllabus in Stage 1 (NSW BOSTES, 2012). The movement skills learned can be applied to learning other sports; a skill such as dodging for example is also transferable to learning how to play rugby.* Social skills such as interaction and teamwork along with other life skills such as persistence and good sportsmanship, are also developed through learning PDHPE in a games sense environment.

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THE STRENGTHS OF GAMES SENSE* Games sense is a more logical approach to sporting skills development. An example of this is with football; if a player for example only gets the ball for 5 minutes during a 90 minute game what does he/she do for the other 85 minutes? Work ‘off the ball’ can only be taught through a games sense approach, not by constantly practising drill ball skills (Light, 2013).

* The Games Sense model, developed by Bunker & Thorpe, emphasises that players must first understand a game and the problems that need to be solved before the execution of skills, knowing the rules and learning team tactics (Towns, 2002). This approach allows students’ to be creative and work together to find solutions.

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* There’s less focus on learning the ‘right techniques’ as less gifted students’ realise via reinforcement what they ‘can’t do’ which affects self-esteem (Griffin & Butler, 2005). Technique learned in a games sense environment comes more naturally as its’ interrelated with tactics and skills. Mastery isn’t required however it can be developed through playing the game.

* The games sense approach offers a fairer and less intimidating games environment for students’ through modified versions of games and simple rules (Currie, 2013). An example of these features would be using smaller fields and less players for invasion games such as touch rugby and soccer. By modifying games and simplifying rules, it’s less demanding for students (Light, 2006).

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* The teacher, in a games sense setting, can ask questions to the students’ that provoke mindful thought about solving problems, developing tactical awareness and implementing approaches (Currie, 2013). Throughout a lesson, the teacher would get students’ to think about possible solutions to different scenarios or potential modifications to games for training and skill development.

* Overall, I believe the games sense approach promotes inclusivity, enjoyment, creativity, collaboration and empowerment in a fun and productive environment. Children of all levels can learn playing modified games which develop the necessary skills to play more formal games later in their schooling years and beyond.

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REFERENCE LISTCurrie, J (2013). Teaching Primary Education in Primary School: An Integrated

Health Perspective, ACER Press, Camberwell, Victoria, Australia.Griffin, L & Butler, J (2005). Teaching Games for Understanding: Theory,

Research and Practice, Human Kinetics, Champaign, Illinois, USA. Honeybourne, J (2006). Acquiring Skill in Sport: An Introduction, Routledge,

Taylor & Francis Group, Wolverhampton, UK. Light, R. (2013). Game sense for physical education and sport coaching. In

Game sense: Pedagogy for performance, participation and enjoyment (pp. 37-47). London, UK: Routledge.

NSW BOSTES (2014), Personal Development, Health and Physical Education K-6 Syllabus, Sydney, Australia, Retrieved from http://k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/go/personal-development-health-and-physical-education-pdhpe

Towns, J (2002), About Games Sense, University of Wollongong. Retrieved October 1, 2016 from http://www.activehealth.uow.edu.au/gamesense/index.html

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