TOVO Tuesday 190

Are you skillful?

?I guess?that depends upon what you consider skill.?

Consider the following?assertion.?

"Skill involves interpreting?the needs of the situation and making the right decisions as well as carrying out the necessary movements. In games, decision-making is a vital part of skill."??(Knapp, 1963 referenced by Ovens, Smith)?

Or the following idea by Avon and Smith, that skill is a combination of...?

1. Technical competence

2. Performance outcome

3. Perceptiveness of environment

4. Appropriateness of tactics and strategy

5. Adaptability and/or creativity??

Are you skillful now???

A bit more daunting to answer.??

You know this.??

You understand?that you do not act in utter isolation. You are a complex?creature in a complex environment. You negotiate your way through the challenges of your personal and professional life on a daily basis.?

So do your students, your athletes, and our children.?

Perhaps the way you define skill will be the way your athletes define themselves.??

By merely embracing an expanded definition of skill, you engage your athletes in a holistic process of finding solutions to the challenges presented. There is no one way to accomplish that task, but for certain it will require intelligence, skill and character to do so.

You, the coach, determines how to spend the time together as a team. You create the training sessions. The moment you celebrate that being skillful is more than kicking a ball is the moment your trainings improve. It is that simple. You then provide nutrient rich activities that explore solutions in context. You will nurture skillful athletes.??

Skillful, in every sense of that word.??