The Practice Environment-How Coaches May Promote Athlete Learning

Paul Larkin; James Barkell; Donna O'Connor

doi:10.3389/fspor.2022.957086

The Practice Environment-How Coaches May Promote Athlete Learning

Front Sports Act Living. 2022 Jul 22:4:957086. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2022.957086. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Paul Larkin^{1

2}, James Barkell³, Donna O'Connor³

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
² Maribrynong Sports Academy, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
³ Sydney School of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Abstract

The coaching environment is the primary teaching and learning medium for the development of athlete skills. Therefore, by understanding how practice environments are designed to facilitate learning, coaches can make decisions around the structure of specific activities and behavior to promote athlete learning and development. This short review examines the coaching environment literature, with a particular focus on the structure and content within a practice session. The review will highlight the specific activities coaches utilize to develop athletes technical and tactical skills. Further, the coaching behaviors used to promote athlete learning is discussed, and how coach athlete interactions may influence learning. Finally, we provide applied recommendations for coaches, and highlight areas for future coaching science research.

Keywords: coaching; microstructure; talent development; training; youth.

Publication types

Review