An examination of learning design in elite springboard diving

The overarching aim of this programme of work was to evaluate the effectiveness of the existing learning environment within the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) elite springboard diving programme. Unique to the current research programme, is the application of ideas from an established theory of motor learning, specifically ecological dynamics, to an applied high performance training environment. In this research programme springboard diving is examined as a complex system, where individual, task, and environmental constraints are continually interacting to shape performance. As a consequence, this thesis presents some necessary and unique insights into representative learning design and movement adaptations in a sample of elite athletes. The questions examined in this programme of work relate to how best to structure practice, which is central to developing an effective learning environment in a high performance setting. Specifically, the series of studies reported in the chapters of this doctoral thesis: (i) provide evidence for the importance of designing representative practice tasks in training; (ii) establish that completed and baulked (prematurely terminated) take-offs are not different enough to justify the abortion of a planned dive; and (iii), confirm that elite athletes performing complex skills are able to adapt their movement patterns to achieve consistent performance outcomes from variable dive take-off conditions. Chapters One and Two of the thesis provide an overview of the theoretical ideas framing the programme of work, and include a review of literature pertinent to the research aims and subsequent empirical chapters. Chapter Three examined the representativeness of take-off tasks completed in the two AIS diving training facilities routinely used in springboard diving. Results highlighted differences in the preparatory phase of reverse dive take-offs completed by elite divers during normal training tasks in the dry-land and aquatic training environments. The most noticeable differences in dive take-off between environments began during the hurdle (step, jump, height and flight) where the diver generates the necessary momentum to complete the dive. Consequently, greater step lengths, jump heights and flight times, resulted in greater board depression prior to take-off in the aquatic environment where the dives required greater amounts of rotation. The differences observed between the preparatory phases of reverse dive take-offs completed in the dry-land and aquatic training environments are arguably a consequence of the constraints of the training environment. Specifically, differences in the environmental information available to the athletes, and the need to alter the landing (feet first vs. wrist first landing) from the take-off, resulted in a decoupling of important perception and action information and a decomposition of the dive take-off task. In attempting to only practise high quality dives, many athletes have followed a traditional motor learning approach (Schmidt, 1975) and tried to eliminate take-off variations during training. Chapter Four examined whether observable differences existed between the movement kinematics of elite divers in the preparation phases of baulked (prematurely terminated) and completed take-offs that might justify this approach to training. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of variability within conditions revealed greater consistency and less variability when dives were completed, and greater variability amongst baulked take-offs for all participants. Based on these findings, it is probable that athletes choose to abort a planned take-off when they detect small variations from the movement patterns (e.g., step lengths, jump height, springboard depression) of highly practiced comfortable dives. However, with no major differences in coordination patterns (topology of the angle-angle plots), and the potential for negative performance outcomes in competition, there appears to be no training advantage in baulking on unsatisfactory take-offs during training, except when a threat of injury is perceived by the athlete. Instead, it was considered that enhancing the athletes' movement adaptability would be a more functional motor learning strategy. In Chapter Five, a twelve-week training programme was conducted to determine whether a sample of elite divers were able to adapt their movement patterns and complete dives successfully, regardless of the perceived quality of their preparatory movements on the springboard. The data indeed suggested that elite divers were able to adapt their movements during the preparatory phase of the take-off and complete good quality dives under more varied take-off conditions; displaying greater consistency and stability in the key performance outcome (dive entry). These findings are in line with previous research findings from other sports (e.g., shooting, triple jump and basketball) and demonstrate how functional or compensatory movement variability can afford greater flexibility in task execution. By previously only practising dives with good quality take-offs, it can be argued that divers only developed strong couplings between information and movement under very specific performance circumstances. As a result, this sample was sometimes characterised by poor performance in competition when the athletes experienced a suboptimal take-off. Throughout this training programme, where divers were encouraged to minimise baulking and attempt to complete every dive, they demonstrated that it was possible to strengthen the information and movement coupling in a variety of performance circumstances, widening of the basin of performance solutions and providing alternative couplings to solve a performance problem even when the take-off was not ideal. The results of this programme of research provide theoretical and experimental implications for understanding representative learning design and movement pattern variability in applied sports science research. Theoretically, this PhD programme contributes empirical evidence to demonstrate the importance of representative design in the training environments of high performance sports programmes. Specifically, this thesis advocates for the design of learning environments that effectively capture and enhance functional and flexible movement responses representative of performance contexts. Further, data from this thesis showed that elite athletes performing complex tasks were able to adapt their movements in the preparatory phase and complete good quality dives under more varied take-off conditions. This finding signals some significant practical implications for athletes, coaches and sports scientists. As such, it is recommended that care should be taken by coaches when designing practice tasks since the clear implication is that athletes need to practice adapting movement patterns during ongoing regulation of multi-articular coordination tasks. For example, volleyball servers can adapt to small variations in the ball toss phase, long jumpers can visually regulate gait as they prepare for the take-off, and springboard divers need to continue to practice adapting their take-off from the hurdle step. In summary, the studies of this programme of work have confirmed that the task constraints of training environments in elite sport performance programmes need to provide a faithful simulation of a competitive performance environment in order that performance outcomes may be stabilised with practice. Further, it is apparent that training environments can be enhanced by ensuring the representative design of task constraints, which have high action fidelity with the performance context. Ultimately, this study recommends that the traditional coaching adage 'perfect practice makes perfect", be reconsidered; instead advocating that practice should be, as Bernstein (1967) suggested, "repetition without repetition"

Development of an automated tracking system for analysis of human movement

Only the abstract was published in the proceedings. There is no full text.To understand the mechanisms underlying a successful team, one must first understand the circumstances leading to successful performance outcomes (i.e., point/goal scoring events). However, tracking player performance in team sports is difficult as games involve quick, agile movements, with many unpredictable changes in direction and frequent collisions between players. Manual tracking can be a subjective and an often laborious process which has arguably discouraged researchers from conducting more detailed analyses of the multiple players’ interactions within games. The current challenge is to obtain appropriate video sequences that can robustly identify and label people over time, in an indoor environment containing multiple interacting players. Therefore the aim of this investigation is to develop an automated, motion detection system capable of tracking the global movements of two basketball teams and the ball on an indoor court. A basketball playing court was recorded using one static overhead camera and player movements were identified by automated motion detection software. This software provided the x, y coordinates of each individual player and the ball, and players were assigned to one of two teams using colour recognition of team uniforms. Individual player coordinates were then tracked over time and used to provide spatio-temporal trajectories (maps) of player movements and event frequencies. The analysis of these variables can be used to compare playing sequences (i.e. throw in to scoring opportunity; or turnover to scoring opportunity) to determine if common movement patterns exist in team behaviour.PublishedNon Peer Reviewe

Do the kinematics of a baulked take-off in springboard diving differ from those of a completed dive

Consistency and invariance in movements are traditionally viewed as essential features of skill acquisition and elite sports performance. This emphasis on the stabilization of action has resulted in important processes of adaptation in movement coordination during performance being overlooked in investigations of elite sport performance. Here we investigate whether differences exist between the movement kinematics displayed by five, elite springboard divers (age 17 ± 2.4 years) in the preparation phases of baulked and completed take-offs. The two-dimensional kinematic characteristics of the reverse somersault take-off phases (approach and hurdle) were recorded during normal training sessions and used for intra-individual analysis. All participants displayed observable differences in movement patterns at key events during the approach phase; however, the presence of similar global topological characteristics suggested that, overall, participants did not perform distinctly different movement patterns during completed and baulked dives. These findings provide a powerful rationale for coaches to consider assessing functional variability or adaptability of motor behaviour as a key criterion of successful performance in sports such as diving

Development of an automated tracking system for analysis of human movement

Only the abstract was published in the proceedings. There is no full text.To understand the mechanisms underlying a successful team, one must first understand the circumstances leading to successful performance outcomes (i.e., point/goal scoring events). However, tracking player performance in team sports is difficult as games involve quick, agile movements, with many unpredictable changes in direction and frequent collisions between players. Manual tracking can be a subjective and an often laborious process which has arguably discouraged researchers from conducting more detailed analyses of the multiple players’ interactions within games. The current challenge is to obtain appropriate video sequences that can robustly identify and label people over time, in an indoor environment containing multiple interacting players. Therefore the aim of this investigation is to develop an automated, motion detection system capable of tracking the global movements of two basketball teams and the ball on an indoor court. A basketball playing court was recorded using one static overhead camera and player movements were identified by automated motion detection software. This software provided the x, y coordinates of each individual player and the ball, and players were assigned to one of two teams using colour recognition of team uniforms. Individual player coordinates were then tracked over time and used to provide spatio-temporal trajectories (maps) of player movements and event frequencies. The analysis of these variables can be used to compare playing sequences (i.e. throw in to scoring opportunity; or turnover to scoring opportunity) to determine if common movement patterns exist in team behaviour.PublishedNon Peer Reviewe

The Role of Skill Acquisition Specialists in Talent Development

This chapter provides insights into the roles and impacts of Skill Acquisition (SA) specialists embedded across the Talent identification and Development (TiD) pathway in Australia. Applied insights across Paralympic, Olympic and professional sports pathways provide coaches, SA specialists and National Sporting Organisations (NSOs) with examples of the value and impact an SA specialist can have on the development and refinement of their programs. Readers will gain insights across a range of themes, including the importance of immersion in performance contexts, application of SA principles in high-performance environments, as well as challenges and opportunities in test design.This chapter provides insights into the roles and impacts of Skill Acquisition (SA) specialists embedded across the talent identification and development pathway in Australia. It overviews the roles and skills of the SA specialist, and provide multiple 'applied insights' across Paralympic, Olympic and professional sports pathways. The chapter provides coaches, current and future SA specialists, as well as National Sporting Organisations with some examples of the value and impact an SA specialist can have on the development and refinement of their programs. Then the chapter highlights areas of research for specific stages of the pathway and provide a series of applied insights by providing short research summaries. While more is known about the SA specialist's role in high performance, there has been little discussion of their potential role in talent identification. [Publisher's website]

The role of psychology in enhancing skill acquisition and expertise in high performance programmes

Our research programme with elite athletes has investigated and implemented learning design from an ecological dynamics perspective, examining its effects on movement coordination and control and the acquisition of expertise. Ecological dynamics is a systemsoriented theoretical rationale for understanding the emergent relations in a complex system formed by each performer and a performance environment. This approach has identified the individual-environment relationship as the relevant scale of analysis for modelling how processes of perception, cognition and action underpin expert performance in sport (Davids et al., 2014; Zelaznik, 2014). In this chapter we elucidate key concepts from ecological dynamics and exemplify how they have informed our understanding of relevant psychological processes including: movement coordination and its acquisition, learning and transfer, impacting on practice task design in high performance programmes

Olympic and Paralympic coach perspectives on effective skill acquisition support and coach development

The role of skill acquisition specialists within sport systems has become more prominent and imbedded in daily training environments with coaches; however, literature pertaining to their role and contributions to effective coach development is very scant. The objective was to extend our understanding of the coaches’ perception of the role of, and relationship with, a skill acquisition specialist to identify key factors of effective support that shape coach behavior and ultimately enhance athlete performance. Semi-structured interviews with two National coaches with experience and podium success in multiple Olympic/Paralympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and World Championships was conducted. Three distinct narratives were identified: representing various experiences of the coaches in their sport (‘the unplanned journey’), their relationship with the skill acquisition specialist (‘more than just a skill expert’), and how this impacted athletes’ development (‘keys to success’). As part of the relationship development process, aspects of coaches’ philosophy were challenged. In addition, the skill acquisition specialists had to display a wide range of skills in the pursuit of shaping coaching behaviors that could further enhance athletes’ performance. Required skills included, but were not limited to, bridging the gap between scientific literature and practical application, ensuring knowledge was logical and aligned with the specific needs of the coach and cultural context, demonstrating trust and accountability, displaying personal and social skills and an ability to engage athletes and obtain their approval. Crucially, while overlapping themes occurred, the skill specialists needed to be adaptable to each unique working relationship and this emerged over time

Enhancing skill acquisition and expertise in high performance programmes

Our research programme with elite athletes has investigated and implemented learning design from an ecological dynamics perspective, examining its effects on movement coordination and control and the acquisition of expertise. Ecological dynamics is a systemsoriented theoretical rationale for understanding the emergent relations in a complex system formed by each performer and a performance environment. This approach has identified the individual-environment relationship as the relevant scale of analysis for modelling how processes of perception, cognition and action underpin expert performance in sport (Davids et al., 2014; Zelaznik, 2014). In this chapter we elucidate key concepts from ecological dynamics and exemplify how they have informed our understanding of relevant psychological processes including: movement coordination and its acquisition, learning and transfer, impacting on practice task design in high performance programmes

Representative learning design in springboard diving: Is dry-land training representative of a pool dive?

Abstract Two distinctly separate training facilities (dry-land and aquatic) are routinely used in springboard diving and pose an interesting problem for learning, given the inherent differences in landing (head first vs. feet first) imposed by the different task constraints. Although divers may practise the same preparation phase, take-off and initial aerial rotation in both environments, there is no evidence to suggest that the tasks completed in the dry-land training environment are representative of those performed in the aquatic competition environment. The aim of this study was to compare the kinematics of the preparation phase of reverse dives routinely practised in each environment. Despite their high skill level, it was predicted that individual analyses of elite springboard divers would reveal differences in the joint coordination and board-work between take-offs. The two-dimensional kinematic characteristics were recorded during normal training sessions and used for intra-individual analysis. Kinematic characteristics of the preparatory take-off phase revealed differences in board-work (step lengths, jump height, board depression angles) for all participants at key events. However, the presence of scaled global topological characteristics suggested that all participants adopted similar joint coordination patterns in both environments. These findings suggest that the task constraints of wet and dry training environments are not similar, and highlight the need for coaches to consider representative learning designs in high performance diving programmes