GAME SENSE COACHING &

DECISION-MAKING

RAY BREED (HIGH PERFORMANCE COACH)RAY BREED (HIGH PERFORMANCE COACH)Rayzor Edge Sports (Rayzor Edge Sports (www.rayzoredgesports.com.au))

Email: raybreed5@gmail.comEmail: raybreed5@gmail.com

UNIT 2 VCE PE (2012)

GAME SENSE COACHING &

DECISION-MAKING

RAY BREED (HIGH PERFORMANCE COACH)RAY BREED (HIGH PERFORMANCE COACH)Rayzor Edge Sports (Rayzor Edge Sports (www.rayzoredgesports.com.au))

Email: raybreed5@gmail.comEmail: raybreed5@gmail.com

UNIT 2 VCE PE (2012)

Exerpts from the book:Breed & Spittle (2011):“Developing Game Sense through Tactical Learning – a resource for teachers and coaches”.Cambridge University Press(copy link below in to browser)http://www.cambridge.edu.au/education/teacher/title.php?s=secondary&n=Title&a=viewTitle&bid=300893#.UJoCL80UKKY

TEAM SPORTSG

RE

AT

CO

AC

HE

SG

RE

AT

PLA

YE

RS

(1) Can you name the coaches and players above?(2) What do all of their sports have in common? (think ‘tactics’)

4

TGFU (UK) or “Tactical” approach

Teaching/coaching that uses games to develop tactical/strategic thinking

Modification for exaggeration

Technique + Pressure = Skill

GAME SENSE

Caption: Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU): The Curriculum Model (Bunker & Thorpe, 1982)(From: Bunker, D., &Thorpe, R. (1986). Is there a need to reflect on our games teaching? In R. Thorpe, D. Bunker, & L.Almond (Eds.), Rethinking games teaching (pp. 30). Loughborough, UK: Loughborough University of Technology.)

What is ‘skill’?

5

+ Pressure

Skill = Technical skill Tactical skill+

Features of Game Sense drills:1.‘Open’ skill drills (repetition of a skill in variable situations)2.Implicit learning3.Questioning4.Repetition of tactical scenarios5.Variable conditions

“Great players are NOT born – they are developed through practice and hard work!”

(Jordan)

DM involves:

TACTICAL KNOWLEDGE: What to do if…..? (game understanding/rules/team plans/probabilities)

READING PLAY: Pattern recognition/movement cues

The DM process:

6

1. SCANNING

2. PERCEPTION

3. ATTENTION

4. RESPONSE SELECTION

5. SKILL EXECUTION

INSTRUCTIONVS

“INATTENTIONAL BLINDNESS”

Training involves 3 main areas of improvement:

IMPLICIT: learning through experience without direct instruction

EXPLICIT: learning through direct instruction

(1) Technical skill

(2) Tactical skill**

(3) Style of play

•Eg. Kick to adv, cont marking, set shots

•Improve DM•Skill eff under pressure•EG: ‘Game Sense’!

•Framework within decisions are made•Team plays/structures•EG: ‘Game Plan’!

•High reps/low pressure•Explicit & implicit•Indiv/small-sided drill

•High reps/pressure•Implicit/variable•Small-sided games

•Low reps/pressure•Large-sided games•Explicit & implicit•Structured scenarios

Why implicit game-based training?

Elite players have better DM skills

“Open” skilled game i.e., techniques executed in variety of situations

Well-rehearsed techniques can break down under fatigue & pressure

Research strongly supports implicit training is more effective in transferring to performance than explicit (structured drills) methods

Implicit games are more durable in terms of player learning

Features of implicit game-based training:

Player-centred – coaches guide/facilitate players to explore options

Coach asks questions

Emphasis on DM in tactical situations that can occur in a match

Implicit learning – learn sub-consciously/‘learning from mistakes’

Indirect learning through problem solving

8The Coach is a FACILITATOR

How does Game Sense work?

1. Techniques (movement patterns) can break down in competitive situations with ‘distractions’

2. Practicing with variety of scenarios can improve attention to only ‘relevant’ cues

3. Improve DM skills through ‘experience’ i.e., learning from good and poor decisions

4. Repetition – small-sided games

5. DM becomes automatic (sub-conscious)

6. ‘Need to make mistakes to learn!’

9

“A poor performance is not failure, it is feedback!”

10

COACHING GAME SENSE

1. Aim or theme (expected outcomes?)

2. Small-sided (2-6)

3. Replicate typical scenarios

4. Length – time for repetition

5. Main rules & area

6. Variations of game

7. Prepare questions

8. Block or Random/variable practice?

GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPING GAMES/TRAINING

12

1. (Explain purpose)

2. Brief explanation of rules/limitations

3. Let game ‘play’ & observe (evaluate)

4. Is it working? Modifications?

5. Vary pressure/difficulty

6. Ask individual questions during game

7. Teachable Moments

8. Freeze play – ‘walk through’ demo

9. Feedback on decisions

10.Turn FB into questions

GUIDELINES FOR TEACHING THE GAME

COACHING GAME SENSE

13

1. TIME – when should you…….?

2. SPACE – where should you…….?

3. RISK – which option…….?

4. EXECUTION – how should you……?

QUESTIONING

Coach’s role to assist players in solving tactical problems

4 concepts:

Turn feedback into questions: when, what, where, why, how?

COACHING GAME SENSE

Use open-ended questions

14

1. Level of pressure/tackling

2. Size/shape of area

3. No of players (def/att)/size of teams

4. Rules

5. Time in possession

6. Method of scoring/points eg. 3 pt

7. Positions/zones

COACHING GAME SENSE

CONSTRAINTS-LED APPROACH

15

1. Stay in A or D role for time of no. of turns

2. Give one gp a task

3. Set scenarios

4. Observation

5. Experienced v inexperienced

PRESENTING GAMES:To develop strategy we can:

COACHING GAME SENSE

16

1. Did game address aims?

2. Could game be modified?

3. Sufficient repetition of skills?

4. Player involvement maximised?

5. Game progressions?

EVALUATING THE GAME

COACHING GAME SENSE

PART 2: GAME SENSE IN ACTION

SMALL GROUP PEER COACHING

(1)3 Teams of 6-8

(2)You will have 3 roles throughout the session:(1) Player within a team

(2) Observation of opposition team tactics

(3) Observation of coaching strategies/styles

(3)Play 3-4 games:(1) 2 teams play

(2) 1 team observes opposition and coaching methods eg. questioning, feedback, changing game constraints

17

PART 2: GAME SENSE IN ACTION

SMALL GROUP PEER COACHING

Teacher to select from the following games (play each game for 20-30 minutes) using a variety of balls/rules.

(1)Warm-up game – 2v1 tag (variation 4v2 tag)

(2)2v1 Gauntlet (variation 3v2 gauntlet)

(3)Team tag

(4)Prison Break

NB: see Breed & Spittle (2011) book for game descriptions

18

19

20