Why Play Games?
Games Sense
A Model
Playsport (TOP play TOP sport) and
Teaching Games for Understanding,
equals Games Sense
There is no right way to coach
But we are able to identify coaching
approaches that are inappropriate.
 Some approaches, and particularly the
traditional ones, often do not produce the
outcomes we require.
 Often methods that produce short term
results are in the longer term
disadvantageous.
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My Football (Soccer)
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Scoring the winning goal in the FA Cup
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How did I learn to play football?
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How did you learn to play RL?
A change in the way we educate
our coaches.
Learners
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Coaches only help that process, sometimes
learn
Traditionally great nations
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Football (Soccer) – Brazil
 The UK premier leagues – who are the play
makers?
Basketball – USA
Cricket – Sri Lanka/Australia
Hockey – Australian Women (designer games)
Rugby Union – New Zealand
Sailing – UK
Play or situational practice
Observational Learning
Incidental observational learning
(Different from the demonstration)
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Which models work best?
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Structuring sessions
Some thoughts on the young. Why
did we change the way we taught
and coached.
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Technical model suited average – talented wasting their
time, less able convinced ‘yet another sport they could not
do’.
Frustration – when can we play a game?
Technique did not occur in the game – little development.
Youngsters did not know why they were doing things – no
challenge in the game.
We were producing players who did not understand the
game they played and did not make good decisions
1994 Year of the Coach
(Australia)
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We (Australia) are beating you (Poms) at most
things so please come and talk to us about the
areas where you think we have got it wrong.
Documented shift in NZ coaching. (Kidman)
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Games Sense was developed over a number of
interactive workshops.
Games Sense (Australia recognised
the value of the approach, quickly
followed by the New Zealanders)
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It makes sense to play games – playsport –
TOPplay/TOPsport – consider this for the
entry coach/teacher!
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Making sense of games – teaching games
for understanding (TGfU)! As confidence is
gained the coach can start to accelerate the
learning in the game.
Why might it be useful for
community coaches? Why now?
The community coach is faced with many
of the problems of the teacher
 - large mixed ability groups,
 - players who do not yet understand the
reasons for intensive skill practice.
 - players who value interacting with their
friends.
 - players who just want to play.
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Why might it be valuable for
performance coaches now?
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Coaches of performance players realise –
-we have worked very hard to improve the
machine; conditioning, TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
nutrition, massage, physio, etc. GREAT
-BUT have we spent enough time on perception
and decision making that are key in some sports.
-we know that much of our isolated technical work
does not transfer to the game,
-we know the truly greats are self motivated.
-we know a great performance on competition is
the amalgam of many things
So what is Teaching Games for
Understanding (TGfU) – does it help?
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Following an appropriate warm up, the players enter a
game, selected for a particular learning effect. GAME
FORM
The coach ensures the players ‘really’ understand what
they are trying to do. GAME APPRECIATION
Questions are posed to challenge players ability to assess
options. TACTICAL AWARENESS
The player then has to decide What To Do and How To Do
It. DECISION MAKING
The individual movement, for that individual occurs.
SKILL, not technique. (The performance can be assessed)
Key aspects
Does the game challenge (appropriately)?
 Learning outcomes, this is not just playing a
game (valuable as that is!).
 Let the game ask questions. If you ask the
question, use – SHOW ME don’t tell me.
 Principles of Games (Space/time)
 The common answer – ‘It depends’.
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So what is ‘playsport’ TOP play TOP
sport
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It was said TGfU is too difficult for the Level 1
coach or non-specialist teacher.
Key at this stage is management and motivation.
A series of ‘progressive games that children can
almost set up themselves.
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LET’s GO AND SEE
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PRACTICAL
So why does it work?
Let us see how it fits what we know
about ‘skill and game development’
A bit of science
Some thoughts from the researchers
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To become good at something you have to
do it a lot.
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Key is why would you do it a lot? What are
the motivations?
Observation of ‘traditional’
technique dominated lessons underlying motivations not met
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Affiliation
Competence
Sensation
THE GOOD TEACHER/COACH COULD
OVERCOME SOME OF THESE ISSUES, EVEN
WITH TRADITIONAL COACHING
Many youngsters are taught by less experienced
teachers and coaches.
Some thoughts from the
researchers
Transfer from the practice to the game.
more well learned the skill
greater similarity between practice and play
used in the same way – conditions similar.
Bob Christine Un of North Carolina
? Can the skill be learnt in a game.
Technique and Skill – Barbara Knapp
Why are Skill Acquisition scientists
interested in Games Sense TGfU
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Dynamic systems/ coupling
(Dynamics of Skill Acquisition; a
constraint led approach Keith Davids, et
al 2007)
What do researchers tell us about
decision making?
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To think or not to think!
The limited concentration channel.
 (autonomous action)
 When the body knows what to do – disrupt
it at your peril. Care with the very skilled.
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Key aspects when coaching
Allow thinking time. Handling information.
 – simplify the technical demand (volleyball
- badminton, tennis)
 -simplify the tactical demand – rugby
rounders
 - use waiting players particularly in team
games.
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Don’t be flattered by the great
session!
The Basketball Experiment.
 Performance or Learning?
 Challenging memory
 Delay
 Interference
CONDITIONED GAMES.
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In the UK now
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Children have most of their experiences in adult
organised/controlled environments.
Because we know more than them we want to TELL them
everything. (Parents expect this!!! Educate them)
Coaches of junior sides are often judged by the success of
that team – not by their production of adult players.
We have to let children play and we need to step back.
The Cricket DVD
Robson (NZ) 2005
With our community coaches it seems
logical to use a Games Sense (TGfU)
approach in our weekly sessions, because
we can make progress in the development
of the game fairly quickly.
 Couple this with giving the youngsters back
the backyard games, that encourage them to
have lots of goes at the skills.
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New Zealand Rugby- Guardian
Saturday July 2nd 2005 Darren Shand
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‘… in the past nine months …. ethos … a more
formal shift than in the whole of the preceding
century’
‘..austere, narrow minded, coach dominated
regimes have gone the way of the dodo’
.. in 1999 and 2003 … inability on the field to
make correct decisions at the correct times’
Wayne Smith – a PE teacher
A Change in the Way we ‘train’
coaches.
We spent too much time on how to deliver –
demonstration, clarity of voice, technical
analysis, etc.
 ‘We’ told and showed too much
 We neglected how people learnt (VARK),
also what motivated them.
 We failed to challenge
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Revisit motivation
Working it out together – AFFILIATION
 I can play this – playing well (tactically)
appropriately for me (technically) – is it bad
if it is right for the individual? –
COMPETENCE
 Game can be exciting (if you like
competition), tiring (if you play to be
active), frustrating (if you play golf) SENSATION
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Thoughts for further enquiry
Winston Churchill Fellowships <WCMT.org>
www.tgfu.org
Lynn Kidman’s books – Decision Making
Athlete Centred Coaching,
The INNER GAME - Gallwey