WorkshopMotor Learning & Control

Introduction

• Coach since age of 15 (up till U17 and Women)• Bachelor in Sports & Wellness• Uefa C• Coerver Coaching • Internships at Dutch Premier League Clubs:

sv Roda JC & AFC Ajax• Certified Ajax Camps & Clinics Coach• Master Human and Movement Science:

Amsterdam Liverpool #guidoseerdenfc

Content

• Motor skills and cognitive development:- Age-specific characteristics

• Motor learning stages:- Fitts

• Football and motor learning:- Feedback, focus and training

• (Learning process of talented players)

Motor skills and cognitive development

• Schoolperiod (6-12 years)• Adolescence (12-22 years)• Maturity (20/25-55/65 years)

Schoolperiod (6-12 years) Motor skills development

• Flexible• Dynamic• Eye-hand coordination at its optimum• Huge improvement of reactive speed

Schoolperiod (6-12 years) Motor skills development

• Gross motor skills:Increase of elasticity, balance, speed, agility, strength

• Fine motor skills improves as well• 10-12 year peak motor learning age

Schoolperiod (6-12 years)Cognitive development

• More insight• Logical thinking • Seperate fantasy vs reality• Improvement of self-image (environment very

important)built self-esteem• Independancy• Selfishness group thinking (friend to friends)• ‘Work’ age• Process instead of immediate pleasures

Under 9’s

• Flexible and limber• Concentration• Fast fatigueable • Sensitive for coordination training • Egocentric (my ball)

Under 11’s

• Very good motor skill trainability increase of ball control + coordination

• Enthousiastic • Studious • Ego group

• Limited endurance capacity and strength

Under 13’s

• Still good trainability of motor skills good coordination

• Balanced body structure• Growth Spurt • Competitiveness • Group thinking team goals• Critical

Adolescence (12-22 years)Motor skill development

• Early, mid & late adolescence• Puberty = event• Growth Spurt disturbed coordination• Testosteron levels increase powerful• Increase of endurance capacity

• Load vs load capacity/limit

Adolescence (12-22 years) Cognitive development

• Self-image• Very critical• Logical thinking• Hypothetical thinking capacity ‘football

problems’• Experimental thinking variation• Combinational thinking combine ‘football

problems’

Under 15’s

• Early adolescence • Growth spurt decrease in coordination,

speed and flexibility• Bodily disbalance (PHV) decreased physical

load capacity• Less progression in motor skills• Egocentric • Own opinion and self-assertion

Under 17’s

• Mid adolescence• Physical growth back in balance increased

load capacity (strength and endurance)• Increased coordination• Analytical ability• Responsibility• Identity crisis

Under 19’s

• Late adolescence• Optimal age to increase the training load

(=volume x intensity)• Team performamce • Realistic

Maturity (20/25-55/65 years)

• Ready to play in the 1st team/U23• Brain development (±24 years)• Importance of motor learning with 1st/U23?

What is motor learning?

‘Learning and training of motor skills both have to do with a process of practice, which results in experience, whereby permanent changes in one or more skills are expected.’ (translated from Beek, 2010)

Specificity

Sensory information!

Open vs closed loop

Open vs closed skill

• Open:Movement is fixed

• Closed:Unfixed movements

• Examples?

Motor learning stages

Fitts´ learning stages:• Cognitive phase• Associative phase• Autonomous phase

Fitts’ learning stagesCognitive phase

• Understanding the movement• Information selection based on conscious decisions cognitive

• Freezing degrees of freedom clumsy look• Verbal instruction• Visual information• No feeling (in the end) • Trial and error• Learning by imitation

Fitts’ learning stagesAssociative phase

• Getting the movement into the body• Associations information and action• Comparing sources of information feeling• Discriminate information• Intrinsic feedback (KPKR)• Timing in time instead of space• Convert in controlled patterns

(DOF and reflexes)• Practice at match speed• Watch out for: perfect error!

Leerstadia van FittsAutonome fase

• It’s all about the goal (e.g. score)• Feedback: only Knowledge of Result!• Knowledge of Performance cognitive phase• Flexible and stable teach tactical skills• Performing under pressure (e.g. Torres (CFC),

C. Ronaldo (Portugal))• Training versus coaching, gain match

experience

Football and motor learning

Football and motor learningFeedback

Intrinsic Extrinsic (augmented)

Re-investment of knowledge hypothesis

Feedback

• False/bad instruction is dramatic for the learning process

FeedbackFrequency

Feedback dependancy

FeedbackTiming

Verbal instructions and visual demonstrations beforehand (talk, show, action)

KR not immediately after the exercise

KP as quick as possible

2/3 aspects at a time

Intrinsic feedbackStrategies

• Visual• Auditive• Proprioceptive• Tactile

Extrinsic feedbackStrategies

• KP or KR

• fading frequency• bandwidth feedback• self-selecting feedback• summative feedback• average feedback• video feedback

KIS principle:Keep It Simple

Extrinsic feedbackStrategies

• KP or KR

• fading frequency• bandbreedte feedback• zelfselecterende feedback• summatieve feedback• gemiddelde feedback

KIS principe:Keep It Simple

Practice performance vs motor learning

Guided discovery learning

FocusSmal Wide

Intern Is my knee of my supporting leg flexed enough when I’m taking a free kick

I need to shorten my body explosively just before I hit the ball

Extern Aim 20 cm to the right of the wall

Aim at the goal or watch for a teammate who’s in a scoring position near the goal

Motor learningPractical apllication

Form groups of 2/3 persons

Think of an exercise for one of the three learning stages:1. Cognitive phase2. Associative phase3. Autonomous phase

Pick an age group and describe what kind of feedback and focus you’ll be using.

Pick a skill you want them to learn.

What about talented players?

• What is talent? • “A talented youth player is a player who performs

better than peers during training and competition AND has the potential to become an elite player in the future.” (Howe et al., 1998; Helsen et al., 2000; Elferink-Gemser et al., 2004, 2007)

• Ambiguity in literature: “Talent = superior mastery of systematically developed abilities (competencies) in any field of human activity to a level that the individual belongs to the top 10% of peers active in that field.” (Gagné,1999).

Most important aspects according to coaches (n=195)

• Mentale fitness (17,1%)• Natural ability (17,0%)• Physical fitness (17,1%)• Training volume(11,6%)• Sport specific motor skills (11,4%)• Tactical skills (9,2%)

(van Rossum)

Gagné's Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent (2004)

How do ‘talented’ players learn then?

• With the same or less amount of training hours Faster development (Elferink-Gemser and Visscher, 2011)

• Differences in self-regulation, multi-tasking, sport-specific knowledge, insight & viewing habits and perception- & action time

Questions?

• More info: info@guidoseerdenfc.com

• www.facebook.com/guidoseerdenfc

@guidoseerden #guidoseerdenfc

• Online soon:www.guidoseerdenfc.com