External Focus in Volleyball.pptx

The ‘Chaotic’ Environment of

Volleyball

Dynamic Systems Theory and External Focus

Hybrid of Class Presentation and Coaching

Journal Krissi Kemper, Sam Moore,

Jordin Ramos, and Malia Shoji

This year’s team was made up of ‘advanced volleyball players, ages 18-23

–3 seniors having 3+ years with WOU

–2 players having 2 years with WOU

–5 players with 1 year with WOU

–5 being first year players.

Background on WOU VB Team

Head Coach, Brad Saindon, has been coaching college volleyball and national level players for over 35 years.

Malia, the assistant coach, has only been at the college level for 3 of the 8 years she has coached volleyball.

Barriers of College VolleyballPressure of Time: 1st day of practice August 19th 18 days of practice before 1st competition

Comparison: Basketball gets 2 months of practice, lifting etc. before their 1st competition

Barriers unique to WOU VB •Myth that external focus meant lack of fundamental focus

•Translation from tradition wording to external wording

•Our next competition came shortly after starting external focus so practice benefits had not even been fully realized.

•Young players lacked experience, fully developed schemas, fundamental excellence and creativity to experiment freely within the given task.

Riddles! Team Pastime -> training method ->final presentation

Benefits: Build problem solving skills and critical thinking

Example Riddle.During WWI sailors got shipwreck and found

their way to an island that is inhabited with cannibals. The sailors adapted to the cannibals lifestyle during this time. They look, talk and act the same, the only difference is that sailors never lie and cannibals always lie. After the war other sailors came to rescue them. When they got to the island, three island inhabitants approached them. in order to take the stranded sailors home they ask questions to see who to kill and who to take home. The rescue sailors asked the first person “are you a sailor” the inhabitant said “oogabuga” they asked the second person “are you a sailor” the next said “he’s lying I’m a sailor” they asked the third “are you a sailor” and he said “they are both lying I’m sailor” . Who do they shoot and why?

TimelineThrough the application of external focus

this past season, we witnessed the relevance of dynamic systems theory

within our learning environment.

Stage 1: Beginning: Individual constraints

Stage 2: Middle: task constraintsStage 3: End: environmental constraints

Beginning of the Season

WOU VB Player Development Process:

Brad has always said to learn how to play using our technique and in our system it takes a full year.

Our path was much more complicated but the development depth of increased

while still achieving the same amount of skill advancement.

Knowledge is Disruptive

Riddle #1 At the start of a new season, two starting setters, who both play equally, were given the exact same drill to do. While in the middle of the drill they are stopped. One player was told to focus on where the ball is landing. The second player was told to focus on where the ball is released. If they were taught the exact same technique, why did the coach give the players different things to focus on?

Distance Effect &The Constrained Action Hypothesis

Setter A: focused on where the set would land, rather than the ball’s release. This is because of the automaticity of her setting technique.

Setter B: focused on the release of the ball, thinking about if her whole hands are covering the ball when she sets;

Training Motor Movement Using External Focus

Paradox of FundamentalsThat fundamentals CAN be taught without using internal focus.

Age isn’t a factor of fundamental development it is experience.

Fundamentals are still the building blocks to get to automaticity so learning to translate fundamental feedback to be external is important.

Riddle #2 Wou hitters were given two different external focuses when attacking the ball. Goal: Hit the ball down the line.External focus A was ineffective for almost all hitters. External focus B was effective for almost all hitters. Why?

Riddle #2 Objective Hit the ball away from middle back because the best defender is there keeping us from killing balls.

Task Complexity

Task Complexity

Shae, Charles H., Wulf, G. 1999. Enhancing motor learning through external focus instructions and feedback. Human movement science, 18, 553-571.

Hit the inside hand of the blocker

Hit the outside hand of the blocker

VideoVideo video

Paradox of Simplicity With the understanding of Schema Theory the idea is to make practice varied and random.

The paradox is that as you increase variability and use of random practice, the task can become vague. Simplicity of the task require external focus that decreases complexity rather than adding to it.

Riddle #3A WOU freshman began practicing to top-spin jump serve. At the beginning random practice was used and success was sporadic. Because of difficulty of task, type of practice was changed and resulted in 12% increase. Why?

Video of Jump serve

Complex Movements in Chaotic Environments

11/4/13 Gentils Square was introduced

11/5/13Started to train jump servers using a sequenced practice methodVideo

In less than 1 month using sequenced jump serve practice, the player increased 12% .

Gentile’s sequencing: a jump serve

machine tosses for you

jump serve off a given toss

ball held in the air

jump serve in game environment

Riddle #3UAF/UAA at home: 10/31/13 and 11/2/13

Total serves: 19 (*8 total sets played)Total errors: 11 Total aces: 2

-0.47

NNU/CWU away:11/21/13 and 11/23/13

Total serves: 12(*7 total sets played)Total errors: 4Total aces: 2

0.167

Paradox of Advanced Players

Varied practice is not always the best method, even with advanced players.

-Player confidence-Success rate-Motivation to continue to be challenged

Hautala, R. M., & Conn, J. H. (2000). “Sequencing for sport-specific skill learning.” - The Physical Educator, 57(4), 202-208.

Conclusion Tools such as external focus must be utilized with a broader understanding of college athletics as a chaotic environment. Understanding the complexities of the environment, the individual and the task, the coach becomes a mediator of system output rather than an instructor of behaviorist response. Grays Anatomy example

Riddle 1: individual constraints Riddle 2: task constraints Riddle 3: environmental constraints

Paradox of Common SenseSimple situations can be solved using common sense.

Coaching, in the behaviorist sense of the term, is paradoxically viewed as simple.

Image References:http://www.humansandnature.org/filebin/images/questions/full/questionLarge_BuildRoad.jpghttp://hqwallbase.com/images/big/road-213456.jpghttp://www.sidewalkbubblegum.com/education-for-a-new-world-order/http://psych-schools-of-thought.wikispaces.com/Behaviorismhttp://www.dmitryvolokhov.info/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/jpg-clock-template_noarrows.jpg

http://www.amarillojrs.com/uploads/images/volleyball.jpg

ReferencesSam Moore: Zarghami, M.,Saemi, E. and Fathi, I. (2012). EXTERNAL FOCUS OF ATTENTION ENHANCES DISCUS THROWING PERFORMANCE. Kinesiology. 1:47-51.Wulf, G. Dufek, J. (2009). Increased Jump Heigh with an External Focus Due to Enhanced Lower Extremity Joint Kinetics. Journal of Motor Behavior. Vol. 51. No. 5. 401-409.Schorer, J. Jaitner, T. Wollny, R. Fath, F. Baker, J. (2012). Influence of varying focus of attention conditions on dart throwing performance in experts and novices. Exp Brain Res. 217:287–297.Wulf, G. Shea, C. Leathwaite, R. (2009). Motor skill learning and performance: a review of influential factors. Medical Education. Vol. 44 Issue 1, p75-84.

ReferencesJordin Ramos: Lindsay, Stephen, and Larry L. Jacoby. "Awareness, Automaticiy, and Memory Dissociations." Studies of Normal and Abnormal Memory in Humans. By Jeffrey P. Toth. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 46+. PrintMovement Science and Sport Psychology. (n.d.). Frontiers. Retrieved November 3, 2013, from http://www.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00591/fullLin, J., Fisher, B. E., & Winstein, C. J. (2009, May). Neural Correlate of the Contextual Interference Effect in Motor Learning: A Kinematic Analysis. NCBI. doi: 10.3200/JMBR.41.3.232-242Marchant, D. (n.d.). Novice Motor Skill Performance and Task Experience is Influenced by Attentional Focusing Instructions and Instruction Preferences. Academia. Retrieved October 30, 2013, from http://www.academia.edu/446673/Novice_motor_skill_performance_and_task_experience_is_influenced_by_attentional_focusing_instructions_and_instruction_preferencesWulf, G., & Hob, M. (2010, April 01). Instructions for Motor Learning: Differential Effects of Internal Versus External Focus of Attention. Taylor and Francis. doi: 10.1080/00222899809601334

ReferencesKrissi Kemper: Wulf, G., McConnel, N., Gartner, M., & Schwarz, A. (2002).Enhancing the Learning of Sport Skills Through External-FocusFeedback.Journal Of Motor Behavior, 34(2), 171.Wolf, G., Chiviacowsky, S., Schiller, E., & Avila, L. (2010). Frequent external-focus feedback enhances motor learning [Abstract]. Frontiers in Psychology. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2010.00190

Caliari, P. (2008). Enhancing forehand acquisition in table tennis: The role of mental practice [Abstract]. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 20(1), 88-96. doi: 10.1080/10413200701790533

Zarghami, M., Saemi, E., & Fathi, I. (2012). External focus of attention enhances discus throwing performance [Abstract]. Kinesiology, 44(1), 47-51.

Guillot, A., Desliens, S., Rouyer, C., & Rogowski, I. (2013). Motor imagery and tennis serve performance: The external focus efficacy [Abstract]. Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, 12(2), 332-338. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.wou.edu:2105/pmc/articles/PMC3761826/

ReferencesMalia Shoji: Mastos, M, Miller, K, Eliasson, AC, & Imms, C. 2007. Goal-directed training: linking theories of treatment to clinical practice for improved functional activities in daily life. Clinical rehabilitation, 21, 47-55.

Freedman, S, Maas, E, Caligiuri, M, Wulf, G, Ronin, D. 2007. Internal versus external: oral-motor performance as a function of attentional focus. Journal of speech, language, and hearing research, 50, 131-136.

Wulf, G. 1989. The effect of type of practice on motor learning in children. Applied cognitive psychology, 5, 123-134.

Moore, Lee J., Vine, Samuel J., Cooke, Andrew, King, Christopher and Wilson, Mark K. 2012. Quiet eye training expedites motor learning and aids performance under heightened anxiety: The roles of response programming and external attention. Psychophysiology, 49, 1005-1015.

Wulf, G. 1991. The effect of type of practice on motor learning in children. Applied cognitive psychology, 5, 123-134.

Shae, Charles H., Wulf, G. 1999. Enhancing motor learning through external focus instructions and feedback. Human movement science, 18, 553-571.

Masters, RSW, Maxwell, JP, Poolton, JM and Roab, M. 2006. Benefits of an external focus of attention: common coding or conscious processing? Journal of sports science, 24.1, 89.

Conn, James H, Hautala, Robert M. 2000. Sequencing for Sprots-specific skill learning. Physical Educator, 57, 4, 202. (check the bib)

Hautala, R. M., & Conn, J. H. (2000). “Sequencing for sport-specific skill learning.” - The Physical Educator, 57(4), 202-208.

Soyer, F. (2011). The relation between success motivation and self-esteem in sports: A study on elite athletes. International Journal of Academic Research, 3(6), pages 41-46.

Bart, O., Emanuel, M., Jarus, T. (2007). Effects of focus of attention and age on motor acquisition, retention, and transfer: A randomized trial. Journal of the American Physical Therapy Association, 88, 251-260.