GAME SENSE
COACHING &
DECISION-MAKING
UNIT 2 VCE PE (2012)
RAY BREED (HIGH PERFORMANCE COACH)
Rayzor Edge Sports (www.rayzoredgesports.com.au)
Email: raybreed5@gmail.com
GAME SENSE
COACHING &
DECISION-MAKING
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
RAY BREED (HIGH PERFORMANCE COACH)
Rayzor Edge Sports (www.rayzoredgesports.com.au)
Email: raybreed5@gmail.com
GREAT PLAYERS
GREAT COACHES
TEAM SPORTS
(1) Can you name the coaches and players above?
(2) What do all of their sports have in common? (think ‘tactics’)
GAME SENSE
 TGFU (UK) or “Tactical”
approach
 Teaching/coaching that uses
games to develop
tactical/strategic thinking
 Modification for exaggeration
 Technique + Pressure = Skill
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.)
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What is ‘skill’?
Skill
=
Technical skill
+
Tactical skill
+ Pressure
Features of Game Sense drills:
1.‘Open’ skill drills (repetition of a skill in variable situations)
2.Implicit learning
3.Questioning
4.Repetition of tactical scenarios
5.Variable conditions
“Great players are NOT born – they are developed
through practice and hard work!” (Jordan)
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DM involves:

TACTICAL KNOWLEDGE: What to do if…..? (game
understanding/rules/team plans/probabilities)

READING PLAY: Pattern recognition/movement cues
The DM process:
1. SCANNING
2. PERCEPTION
3. ATTENTION
INSTRUCTION
VS
“INATTENTIONAL
BLINDNESS”
4. RESPONSE SELECTION
5. SKILL EXECUTION
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Training involves 3 main areas of improvement:
(1) Technical skill
(2) Tactical skill**
(3) Style of play
•Eg. Kick to adv, cont
marking, set shots
•High reps/low pressure
•Explicit & implicit
•Indiv/small-sided drill
•Improve DM
•Skill eff under pressure
•EG: ‘Game Sense’!
•High reps/pressure
•Implicit/variable
•Small-sided games
•Framework within
decisions are made
•Team plays/structures
•EG: ‘Game Plan’!
•Low reps/pressure
•Large-sided games
•Explicit & implicit
•Structured scenarios
IMPLICIT: learning through experience without direct instruction
EXPLICIT: learning through direct instruction
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
The Coach is a FACILITATOR
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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!’
“A poor performance is not failure, it is feedback!”
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COACHING GAME SENSE
GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPING GAMES/TRAINING
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?
COACHING GAME SENSE
GUIDELINES FOR TEACHING THE GAME
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
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COACHING GAME SENSE
QUESTIONING
Coach’s role to assist players in solving tactical problems
4 concepts:
1. TIME – when should you…….?
2. SPACE – where should you…….?
3. RISK – which option…….?
4. EXECUTION – how should you……?
Use open-ended questions
Turn feedback into questions: when, what, where, why, how?
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COACHING GAME SENSE
CONSTRAINTS-LED APPROACH
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
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COACHING GAME SENSE
PRESENTING GAMES:
To develop strategy we can:
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
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COACHING GAME SENSE
EVALUATING THE GAME
1. Did game address aims?
2. Could game be modified?
3. Sufficient repetition of skills?
4. Player involvement maximised?
5. Game progressions?
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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
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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
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