Methods of Practice – for developing skills
There are several methods of practice that can be used to develop skills. Some
methods can be used in a variety of activities such as conditioned games, which can
be used for basketball, football, badminton, hockey, volleyball etc. There are
however some methods of practice that suit certain activities. Whole-part-whole
is an example of a method that is particularly well suited to swimming. You can
practice certain aspects of a stroke such as leg work in isolation and then practice
the whole stroke later to see if there has been any improvement.
Method of Practice
Reasons for using method
Shadow Practice
To work on footwork/movement skills in
isolation.
To focus on one particular aspect of
the skill.
To gain a feeling for the action as the
candidate is new to the performance.
To groove the movement.
To find a weakness in the whole skill.
To develop one part of the skill.
To improve the whole skill by improving
one particular weakness.
To develop a skill without the pressure
of competition.
To repeat small parts of the skill over
and over/to groove the skill.
To work on difficult/complex skills.
To control the level of difficulty of the
practice.
To introduce a level of competition into
the practice.
To maintain/increase motivation.
To make the practice more difficult.
To control the level of difficulty of the
practice.
To make the practice more game like.
To be able to perform the skill in a
game without my technique breaking
down.
Whole-part-whole
Cooperative
practice
Pressure Drills
Suggested Activities
Badminton – overhead
clear.
E.g. move from base
position to play a clear
then return to base – no
shuttle-cock
Swimming – any stroke
E.g. practice whole
stroke, then legs only,
then whole stroke.
Basketball
While practising a lay-up,
add in a passive defender
to help develop the skill,
when adding a fake &
drive.
Badminton.
When developing a smash
– have 2 feeders. 1 feed
a high serve, the other
feed a net shot. Worker
has to recover from the
smash and play a net.
Method of Practice
Reasons for using method
Suggested Activities
Small-sided games
To practice in a game situation but be
able to control aspects of the game.
To work in a game situation but
increase the number of times that skill is
performed.
To improve decision making skills.
To improve problem solving skills.
To work in a game situation but focus
on specific skills.
To improve decision making skills.
To improve problem solving skills
To increase motivation/confidence to
perform the skill in a game.
Skills can be learned progressively.
Each part of the skill is introduced,
practised and mastered before a new
part is introduced.
The complexity of the skill can
gradually be increased.
Any team game.
Reduce the size of teams
to include all players. E.g.
volleyball 3 v 3.
Conditioned games
Gradual Build up
Any team or individual
game.
In badminton – one
person attack, the other
defend. Football – only 2
touches allowed.
Basketball.
While practising the lay
up, start by just running
and throwing the ball, add
in dribbling then finally
add in a passive
defender.