Coaching – Skill v Ability

As coaches we are primarily concerned with the acquisition of skill, by this I mean our athletes, clients and patients need to acquire/ develop their motor skills.

Skill and the notion of ability are sometimes used interchangeably; however, it is very important to note that skill is a definable, changeable and a trainable quality. Ability on the other hand, for want of a better word is ’god given’, in other words ability is “stable, with enduring traits that for the most part are genetically determined and that underlie a person’s skilled performance”(Schmidt and Wrisberg 2004)…a nice sound bite that sums it up pretty well.

How athletes, clients and patients acquire these skills is in a large part down to us the coaches and as such, how well we understand the basic learning models. We can spend hours talking about Fitts and Posner’s, cognitive, associative and autonomous stages of learning, Schema theory etc etc…. but in essence as coaches we need to be able to deliver appropriate cues and feed back at the appropriate times. Instructions come before or during physical practice where as feedback comes during or after.

So verbal instructions need to be concise phrases and should either bring direct attention to task relevant cues e.g. setting stance for a back squat; ‘feet shoulder width, shoulders down’ etc. In addition they can be used to prompt individual movement patterns e.g. ‘hips’ as the athlete moves toward the top part of the squat movement.

But beware, too much instruction can stifle or erode inherent ability i.e. over coaching can screw up natural performers and in the long run could lead to reinvestment i.e. over thinking movements and ignoring what comes naturally.