Charting the development of sport expertise: challenges and opportunities

This review poses three key issues that will progress our understanding of the sport expertise literature and its translational scientific impact. Primarily relying on research conducted in interceptive sport tasks, and to a lesser extent team sports, we review the perceptual-cognitive skills of sports experts and explore the challenge of designing a sufficiently representative task to examine expertise. We focus on the methodological challenges presented by the reciprocal relationship between players’ action capabilities and their perceptual-cognitive skill. Second, we consider the need for a paradigm shift in the experimental approach used when examining the development of sport expertise. In short, a shift from traditional expert-novice designs to more prospective longitudinal designs that cross-sectionally track the development of expertise is discussed. The final issue considers how the volume of in situ data now collected provides a rich source of information that sport expertise researchers have only begun to consider and integrate with more traditional sport psychology research. We demonstrate how statistical approaches that have described the likely trajectories of expert performers on their journey toward expertise coupled with more traditional qualitative experimental approaches can provide useful insights into the development of psychological performance skills and more broadly sport expertise.     

Influences of population size and density on birthplace effects

Contextual influences on talent development (e.g., birthplace effects) have become a topic of interest for sport scientists. Birthplace effects occur when being born in a certain city size leads to participation or performance advantages, typically for those born in smaller or mid-sized cities. The purpose of this study was to investigate birthplace effects in Portuguese volleyball players by analysing city size, as well as population density – an important but infrequently used variable. Participants included 4062 volleyball players (M_age = 33), 53.2% of whom were men. Using Portuguese national census data from 1981, we compared participants (within each sex) across five population categories. In addition, we used ANOVAs to study expertise and population density. Results indicated that men and women athletes born in districts of 200,000–399,999 were 2.4 times more likely to attain elite volleyball status, while all other districts decreased the odds of expert development. For men, being born in high-density areas resulted in less chance of achieving expertise, whereas there were no differences for women. The results suggest that athletes’ infrastructure and social structure play an important role in talent development, and that these structures are influenced by total population and population density, respectively.     

Does slow motion impact on the perception of foul play in football?

Objectives: Slow-motion replays of foul play situations are now used in the education and training of sports officials. We investigated the impact of video speed on the decision-making process of association football referees and how this interacted with expertise. Methods: Three different groups of referees, varying in level of expertise, assessed video clips from an in-game perspective. Video clips represented corner kick and open play situations in which a foul occurred or not. For these foul/no foul situations, the referees had to make a technical (no foul; indirect free kick; direct free kick; or penalty kick) and a disciplinary decision (no card; yellow card; or red card), under both slow-motion and real-time viewing conditions. Accuracy scores were determined by comparing participant’s responses with the decisions of an expert panel. Results: Significant differences were observed across groups for foul/no foul situations, suggesting that the experts were able to process the available information more effectively than their less expert colleagues. The accuracy scores for the technical decision were higher in slow motion (67%) compared to a real-time viewing condition (56%), particularly for corner kick situations. No differences were found between real time and slow motion for the disciplinary decision. Conclusions: Slow-motion footage results in higher accuracy scores for complex technical decisions. These findings have implications for the use of slow-motion replays in the decision-making process of referees.     

Analysing expertise through data mining: an example based on treading water

Abstract

A classification system of treading water based on a conceptual typology was first established and then verified empirically. The typology was established on two concepts: the nature of the forces created within the water and the type of inter-limb coordination used. Thirty-eight participants were videotaped while treading water. Multivariate statistics were used to understand how the different behavioural types related to expertise. Three distinct groups of coordination patterns were adopted during treading water. A support vector machine procedure was used as a confirmatory procedure. The data mining process provides a methodological framework to analyse expertise in sports activities, and in this context suggests that a taxonomy can be established among the numerous coordination solutions that allow humans to create stabilising forces in the water.     

Expertise and expert performance in sport

We review contemporary research focusing on expertise and expert performance in sport. The deliberate practice theoretical framework is presented, and the level of investment in purposeful practice needed to reach the elite level in sport is illustrated. We highlight some of the adaptations that occur as a result of extended engagement in practice and training, with particular reference to perceptual-cognitive skills, such as anticipation and decision-making. These psychological adaptations are explained through reference to long-term working memory theory. Finally, the expert performance approach is presented as a guiding framework for studying expertise in sport, and some suggestions for future research are proposed. The study of expertise and expert performance in sport offers a unique source of data that help promote understanding of the factors that constrain human achievement and the extent to which these may be overcome by systematic engagement in practice and training.     

High-performance sport,learning and culture: new horizons for sport pedagogues?

Background: Research in sport coaching and sport pedagogy including studies published in this special issue bring to the fore the relationship between learning and culture in contexts of high-performance sport. This paper acknowledged that how learning, culture and their relationship are conceptualised is a crucial issue for researchers and professionals in high-performance sport.

Purpose and approach: This paper arises from a theoretical analysis of the research studies presented in this special issue. The analysis undertaken focused on the understanding and representation of the concepts of learning and culture and critically examined the methodological application of particular conceptualisations. The intention was to extend insight into both theoretical and methodological issues associated with understanding and researching athlete and coach learning, and high-performance sport settings.

Findings and discussion: This paper identifies tendencies for separatist and reductionist thinking about learning and culture in high-performance sport settings. A relational perspective is identified as critical to extending research and professional practice that is directed towards learning and/or culture. Researchers are urged to avoid identifying either athlete or coach learning (only) with specific events or experiences, and similarly avoid positioning culture as something that sits apart from athletes’ and coaches’ participation and learning in elite sport settings. The dual notions of ‘learning practices as cultural practice’ and ‘cultural practice as pedagogical practice’ are proposed as a basis for holistic thinking about learning and culture in high-performance sport settings. The extent to which such thinking is reflected in the various contributions to the special issue is considered. Attention is then directed to the methodological challenges that researchers face if they are to reflect a conceptualisation of learning as both embedded and embodied in cultural practices. Challenging and extending the underlying vision of learning that researchers, coaches and athletes have is revealed as a critical consideration in regard to research design, data collection and ways in which participants are variously positioned, represented and ‘involved’ in research. Embodied perspectives are identified as particularly worthy of greater attention in contemporary research that seeks to extend understanding of athlete and/or coaches’ learning and lived experiences within and amidst elite sporting cultures. Recent scholarship focusing on the body and lived experience is identified as providing theoretical and methodological insights that can extend future research and practice.

Conclusions: Foregrounding a relational perspective is fundamental to extending the understanding of learning and culture in high-performance sport. Future research also needs to clearly embrace the methodological challenges presented by new conceptualisations.     

Expert-Novice Differences in Cognitive and Skill Execution Components of Youth Baseball Performance

Abstract

Previous research has shown that experts exhibit superior response selection and skill execution during performance in youth sport. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in cognitive and skill execution components of game performance in young baseball players (N = 159) with, varying levels of expertise. Three levels of expertise (low-, average-, and high-skilled players) were identified at each age level (7, 8, 9, and 10 years of age). Game performance was videotaped, and measures of skill execution (throwing accuracy, throwing force, fielding, catching, batting average, and batting contact) and cognitive components (positioning, decisions) were developed from observational analysis. The results indicated that baseball skill execution during game play maximally discriminated expertise levels.     

体育赛事对山东体育旅游与政治的互动研究

通过文献资料法、逻辑分析法、对比法等方法,试述体育赛事对山东体育旅游与政治的良性互动。认为大型体育赛事的成功举办能够在促进山东城市环境建设、提供各方面专业人才施展才华的机会、提升山东半岛城市政治形象和提供政治展现的平台四方面极大提高山东政治知名度和促进山东旅游文化的交流。     

Parameterising expertise in coaching: Past,present and future

Abstract

Research into expertise is increasing across a number of domains pertinent to sport. Whilst this increase is particularly apparent in coaching, a key question is how to identify an expert coach? Accordingly, this paper draws upon existing studies into expert coaches to address this issue; in particular, the criteria used to select expert coaches for research purposes and the methods used in expert coach research. Based on these data, we contend that the elements of expertise are not fully reflected within currently accepted criteria which, in turn, results in expert coaching research not necessarily identifying the appropriate individuals to study. The paper concludes with recommendations for more rigorous criteria for selecting expert coaches and highlights the associated implications for the future training and development of expert coaches.     

Explaining outsourcing in health,sport and physical education

Outsourcing is a complex, controversial and pervasive practice that is increasingly becoming a matter of concern for educational researchers. This article contributes to this literature by examining outsourcing practices related to health, sport and physical education (HSPE). Specifically, it reports data on specialist health and physical education (HPE) teachers', principals' and external providers' reasons for participating in outsourcing arrangements. These data were obtained from a collective case study of six schools and the external providers that they outsourced HSPE to over a 12-month period, using semi-structured interviews and overt participant observations. The findings illustrate the ways in which the informants explained their outsourcing practices using a variety of educationally and organisationally oriented reasons. Educational value, human resources (e.g. expertise), physical resources (e.g. facilities) and symbolic resources (e.g. status) were reasons for outsourcing HSPE that were commonly cited by principals and specialist HPE teachers. Among external providers, educational value, income generation and promotion/advertising were frequently cited to explain their work with and for schools. These findings illustrate the ways in which outsourcing practices in HSPE articulate with, and are implicated in, broader educational privatisations. They also highlight the boundaries that outsourcing practices trouble or reinforce, such as those marking the purview of markets, membership of the HPE profession and the constitution of expertise.     

运动中专家表现的研究述评

在回顾运动专家表现研究的基础上, 指出了运动专家表现研究的发展趋势, 即运动专家表现研究将更加重视纵向研究和性别差异研究; 研究内容将关注专家表现的保持; 运动专家表现的评估将转向模拟运动情境或真实运动情境。此外, 运动专家表现的研究有必要从操作方法上弥补专家———新手研究范式不足, 探索新的研究范式, 并对运动专家表现的获得作重新解释。     

Oculomotor dynamics in skilled soccer players: The effects of sport expertise and strenuous physical effort

The ability to quickly locate objects within the visual field has a significant influence on athletic performance. Saccades are conjugate eye movements responsible for the rapid shift that brings a new part of the visual field into foveal vision. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of sport expertise and intense physical effort on saccade dynamics during a free-viewing visual search task in skilled soccer players. Two groups of male subjects participated in this study: 18 soccer players and 18 non-athletes as the control group. Two sessions of visual search tasks without a sport-specific design were employed. Eye movements during the visual search tasks were recorded binocularly. Between pre- and post-test sessions, athletes performed a maximal incremental treadmill test. Cardiorespiratory parameters were measured continuously. Capillary lactate samples were collected. Pre-test findings indicated that athletes, in comparison to non-athletes, achieve higher values of the following characteristics of saccades (1) average acceleration, (2) acceleration peak, (3) deceleration peak, and (4) average velocity. An increase in post-test saccade duration and a decrease in post-test saccade velocity was observed in athletes due to the strenuous physical effort in relation to the pre-test state. Athletes may transfer high saccadic function efficiency to non-specific visual stimuli. The findings partially confirm that physical exertion can reduce oculomotor efficiency in athletes.     

从注重“治已病”到聚焦“治未病”的科学训练体系研究

随着《体育强国建设纲要》的战略任务明确指出:提升竞技体育综合实力,增强为国争光能力。构建科学合理的训练体系受到学术界和体育工作者的广泛关注。同时,还面临备战东京奥运会和北京冬奥会时间紧任务重的巨大挑战,更需要依靠科学理论指导下进行科学训练。本研究主要从训练与恢复携手并进、构设中国特色现代化体系竞赛体系与学校体育的衔接体系、构建训练理论与训练实践衔接体系、搭建体医融合的健康科学训练体系等方面进行研究;并建议:以跨界跨项选材为基础;以青少年的梯队建设为起点;以核心队员的培养为重点;以运动员的训练过程跟踪为途径;延长运动生涯。为我国构建竞技体育的科学训练体系,但是在借鉴、摸索和创新过程中仍需要进一步加强科学性和系统性,以便为我国竞技体育训练科学化和奥运备战工作的开展提供实践和理论依据。     

Media,digital technology and learning in sport: a critical response to Hodkinson,Biesta and James

Background: In their 2008 paper, Hodkinson, Biesta and James draw on the sociological theories of Pierre Bourdieu to construct what they claim is a ‘holistic’ theoretical framework for understanding learning. While not an attempt to dissolve the long-standing opposition between ‘cognitive’ and ‘situated’ theories, the authors claim that thinking about learning and learners in ‘cultural’ terms via Bourdieu's theories allows us theoretically to integrate individuals and learning contexts. The result, they claim, is a ‘scalable’ theory of learning that overcomes the dualisms – such as structure/agency and individual/society – that dog learning theory. We welcome both Hodkinson et al.’s ideas and overall goal. However, we were struck by the absence of any mention of communications media or digital technology in their theoretical framework. Does this mean that media and digital technology can straightforwardly be mapped onto Hodkinson et al.’s theory? Or is this a serious oversight?

Purpose: Given the large amount of recent theorising about the transformative educational potential of media and digital technology – admittedly much of it speculative and hyperbolic – there appear to be some grounds for troubling some of Hodkinson et al.’s ideas by prioritising the effects of media and digital technology on learning.

Methods: We used two examples of learning in sports, one historical and the other contemporary, to consider the theoretical implications of media and digital technology's role in sports learning. The first explores the ways professional footballers learned to produce displays of emotion during the 1950s and 1960s. Our second example presents data from semi-structured interviews with downhill longboard skateboarders and focuses on how these young people use and think about digital technology as they learn their sport.

Findings: While not rejecting Hodkinson et al.’s preference for Bourdieu's sociological theories, we draw on other theories that do not see the relationship between the ‘individual’ and ‘society’ as their conceptual starting point. To this end, we touch on Actor Network Theory (ANT), ‘connectivism’ and the theoretical work of Deleuze and Guattari in order to at least question whether Bourdieu's ideas are sufficiently flexible or dynamic to account for learning in media- and technology-saturated environments. Most obviously, rather than the individual/society dualism which Hodkinson et al. simultaneously question but also rely on, are there advantages in using ‘flatter’ metaphors such as the ‘network’ to understand learning?

Conclusions: We agree with Hodkinson et al.’s point that theories are tools for thinking with and that their metaphorical power can and should be harnessed to improve the way we teach. It is for this reason that we question Hodkinson et al.’s claim to offer a ‘holistic’ theory of learning. All theories, like metaphors, have real-world limitations and this is why we should always be suspicious of theories that claim to be able to ‘see’ the world from all angles and, perhaps more fundamentally, to dissolve the dualisms that they are built on. Theories are always a partial view from somewhere and just as they help us to see some things, they do so by demanding that we not see others.     

我国竞技体育与高校竞技体育互动发展之关系

在界定高校竞技体育定义的基础上,从竞技体育可持续发展科学体育观视角,论述我国竞技体育与高校竞技体育互动发展的内涵,即两者相互依存、相互补充、相互促进、相互制约、相互交叉、相互渗透、相互融合和相互提升的过程及关系,竞技体育为高校竞技体育的发展提供指导,高校竞技体育为竞技体育的发展提供服务。     

Youth sport policy: the enactment and possibilities of ‘soft policy’ in schools

Youth sport policies are increasingly driven by health concerns and social issues, and focus on broad participation outcomes. Given the significant financial investment in, and critique of, such policies internationally, this study aimed to examine the implementation of Sporting Schools (SS), a $100 million programme intended to increase children’s sport participation in Australia. In addressing the limited research in this area in the Australian context, we draw on the notion of policy as process [Penney & Evans, 2005 Policy, power and politics in physical education. In K. Green, & K. Hardman (Eds.), Physical education: Essential issues (pp. 21–38). London: SAGE] and Fullan's [Fullan (2015) The new meaning of educational change (5th ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press] work on educational change. This analysis employed a qualitative methodology. Data collection included interviews with 32 sporting organisation (SO) representatives, coaches, and teachers involved in the implementation of SS. Data were analysed using a combination of inductive and deductive approaches, and the trustworthiness of the findings was supported using several strategies. Findings indicated divergent understandings of the need for the SS programme by stakeholders, as well as a lack of clarity of the policy aims and the means for realising them. There was little indication that SOs, coaches and teachers were engaged in a meaningful, working relationship to accomplish the reform objectives of SS; however, each saw benefit in the programme. Youth sport policy implementation in schools is a complex process. The dynamic interplay among the various factors influencing such policies makes realising their stated intentions nigh on impossible. While working to enhance the enactment of SS as intended is important, we propose that youth sport policies written for enactment in schools need to be viewed as ‘soft policies’. The simplicity and limited accountability associated with ‘soft policies’ can be viewed as an opportunity to recognise the expertise of those who work, learn and move in schools, and trust them to use resources effectively and reconcile tensions based on their unique knowledge of their local school contexts.     

普通高校体育舞蹈体育选项课学生学习满意度的调查分析

采用问卷调查、访谈等方法,以南京4所大学部分学生为调查对象,旨在了解普通高校体育舞蹈体育选项课学生学习满意度。结果显示体育舞蹈体育选项课学生学习满意度由高到低依次为学生个人、教师、学习环境、教学内容;在获得学习乐趣方面,女生的学习满意度显著高于男生;在对教师动作示范水平满意度上,有显著性别差异;在教学内容方面,女生的学习满意度显著高于男生。     

Personal development of disadvantaged youth through community sports: a theory-driven analysis of relational strategies

Abstract

Participant–practitioner relationships in community ‘sport-for-development’ practices are seen as central in working towards broader developmental outcomes. Using Noddings’ Ethics of Care as an analytical framework, we investigated relational strategies of practitioners in three community sport practices (Belgium) to understand the personal developmental potential of these relationships. Based on the data (participatory observations, interviews, focus groups), we identified the following themes that are viewed as fundamental in building relationships that hold the potential to instigate personal development for young people in disadvantaged situations: (a) time demanding interactions, (b) authenticity of practitioners, (c) equalizing expertise, (d) non-judgmental approach, (e) practitioners’ cultural capital, (f) co-organizing activities, (g) a ‘thousand chances’ philosophy, and (h) providing individual support. The identified themes can be used to develop youth-centred and qualitative evaluation methodologies that are more congruent with the daily work of community sport workers and, by doing so, go beyond a narrow quantitative ‘outcome-fixated’ evaluation dogma.