Question- “Discuss the differences between skill, ability and technique and explain how you would structure practices to enhance these components of fitness” As I have found there are many different definitions and explanations of these 3 terms. Here are a few I have found. SKILL- The ability to select the correct technique on demand. The performance of a function when under pressure from another player. The perfecting of a foot-balling function whether with or without an opponent. The application of correct technique on demand.
Organised co-ordinated activity in relation to an object or situation, which involves a chain of sensory, central and motor mechanisms. The learned ability to bring about pre-determined results with maximum certainty, often with the minimum outlay of time or energy or both (Knapp, 1963) TECHNIQUE- How a single performance is performed The method of performance The correct performance of a foot-balling technique A single performance ABILITY- Building block of skills. These are described as people being born with them or developed from a young sporting age (just starting to learn about sport).
These include hand/eye co-ordination, flexibility and speed. I can see that to have very good skill you need to be born with or gain at a young age, certain talents. So the basis of sport is built on ability- the basis of a sporting skill. The ability of a performer to sense what is going on and transmits that to the body. Technique is the other part of skill. If you combine technique and ability you get good skill. Technique is the talent to present the decided choice of motion from ability into movement that makes the best possible outcome.
SKILL = ABILITY + TECHNIQUE So skill is a combination of both the above. So it means you think of the right choice of movement taking into account the environmental factors and carry out the choice of motion in a continuing and perfect motion. This creates a skilful player if he/she can do it in exactly the right way everytime. I. e. to put your foot in the right place and kick a ball into exactly the position you want it in again and again. Practices With very young players you have to develop ability from a young age. This can be done with very basic coaching.
You could start by building up hand eye co-ordination by doing firstly practises like catching a ball. This increases hand eye co-ordination it helps you if you enjoy cricket. It builds up confidence when you succeed in catching the ball. You can then begin to advance these practises and throw the ball to the sides, which means the players have to move to get the ball. This increases movement and awareness. It also helps if you like to play racket games because it isn’t a lot different if you have to do the same thing but hit the ball/shuttlecock back with a racket.
If you have to move it helps balance as well because this you not only have to move but you have to stay on your feet so you can throw or hit the ball back quickly. If you want to increase technique you do a more specific practise for the sport you need the ‘skill’ for. If you take football for example. You can become proficient at passing and control by constantly practising it. You start opposite each other and using just one foot you pass the ball straight to the player opposite. They control it with one touch and pass it back.
As you increase in the ‘ability’ to do this you can increase the speed in which you pass the ball. Then as you become proficient at this you start to put bounce on the ball, which makes it harder to control. This also increases passing ability because you have to control a different type of pass (i. e. still make it go to the other player. ) This can be advanced so you pressure the other player, which means once they can still do the same thing under pressure. This means they are ‘skilled’. Now take badminton for example. If you start with one player on each side of the net.
You start by hitting the shuttle over the net to each other. You can then start to change this practise by using limitations. You could say you are only allowed to hit the shuttle to a certain part of the court with the other player still hitting to any part. This increases movement to hit the shuttle back to the same spot. Now if you teach the players how to play other types of shot. I. e. long shot and drop shot you can persuade them to vary their returns and this increases pressure to hit the shuttle back, not only to the other side but also where the other player isn’t.
This increases spatial awareness because you see the space the player isn’t in and this also increases the technique. If you keep having to hit types of shot eventually you get used to most types of shot available and when they are used so you are now practising a set number of shots. This increases technique. For an individual sport I have chosen to do cricket. If you go into the cricket nets and have a certain type of ball (e. g. leg spin) bowled at you, with a coach telling you how to return it with the right technique then you become proficient at doing the shot.
As you become more proficient at the shot you canvary the position you return the ball to. This increases technique of the specified shot and also increases reaction time and preperation for the shot. I. e getting the bat in the right place to return the ball. These all improve becaused you have been in the situation lots of times before. Analyse and Evaluation Overall ‘SKILL’ is made up of abilities built at an early sporting age and techniques which come from regally practising the same things over and over until you are proficient at them and can produce the practised techniques in a game.
This is why you get the equation of skill Skill = Technique + Ability. Skill can be taught but you have to build on abilities learnt from an early age. There are practises available to enhance the separate components of technique and ability. These include structured games, specific technique practises (i. e. passing), specific ability practises (i. e. catching a ball to improve hand eye co-ordination. ) and pre-set pressure practises to improve the skill under pressure.