Techniques in Sport

Good body control and awareness is essential in all sports as they enable individuals to develop sensory skills. Individuals can “…perform fundamental movements better…because our general level of coordination is improved,” . Body control allows people to control the use of body parts when completing an action which improves movement skills; for example, kicking, throwing, catching, dodging and running can be developed.

Body awareness is a crucial element in successfully exercising body movements. This is associated with the functions of the brain and the specific motor neurons involved in moving specific body parts. Moreover, individuals are capable of assessing their movement in relation to previous executions and expectations. Many skills such as body position, balance, flexibility, technique and strength are achieved through body awareness. In addition, good body awareness enables people to be conscious of body proportions. This permits us to “…a level of body awareness that allows us to perform safely and within our limitations” .

The role of good body control is demonstrated in the period (3mins 56secs – 3mins 59 seconds) in the Youtube clip, Basketball. In this segment, the shooting player receives the ball from a teammate by means of a chest pass. The shooter must demonstrate bodily awareness before and during the pass. Before receiving the pass, the receiver positioned his hands in front of his body so that he was in the “firing-range” of the passer; he was preparing to receive the ball. In order to successfully catch the ball, the receiver also maintained eye contact with the ball from the time it was thrown by the passer to the time he received it. Had he not positioned his hands in front of his body and maintained eye contact, he may have dropped the ball which would be an example of poor body control.

Good body control and awareness is also vital for shooting in basketball. This is also evident in the above clip.To ensure shooting successfully, the player maintains good body control by taking two direct steps and turning around in the process. He must then be aware of his feet position so that his right foot is in front of him (right handed) and his left foot is behind; both feet are shoulder-width apart. This allows for balance throughout the execution of his body movement. His hands must be controlled such that that one hand is on the bottom of the ball and one on the side. His mind begins timing his movements and shoots when the time is optimal, thus resulting in a “good” shot. Had he not demonstrated the above positions through body control and awareness, he would have failed to shoot accurately.

By analysing Basketball, the role and importance of body control and awareness were analysed.

To perform a skill successfully, control over an object is required. Through the object manipulation, control and by utilising a high degree of skill, the relationship between the brain and various body parts is strengthened; “…senses of sight, sound and touch relay messages to the brain about where the object is in relation to our body” .

The object – a basketball – during the time period of 4mins 24secs – 4mins 28secs, requires considerable object manipulation. In this scene, the dribbler is manipulating the basketball in a dribbling motion to successfully execute the skill of “dodging” a defender. Through years of practice, he has developed his kinesthetic sense to a point where he is able to eye the defender and dribble the ball simultaneously. The dribbler maintains control over the ball and performs a “trick” with the ball which involves swinging the ball in between his legs “…to prevent the ball being taken away be an opponent” (Active Outcomes 2, 2005). If the basketball player had not controlled the ball, he would either have fumbled with the ball or had it stolen by the opposition. Through the use of successful object manipulation and control over an object, a skill can be successfully executed.

Anticipation and timing give individuals an advantage in all sports. They are two major factors that enable one to develop their movement skill.

Anticipation is “our ability to respond to an object…”. It is stimulated through a variety of factors including the size, distance, speed, colour contrast, brightness and sound of an object. Additionally, our reaction time – the ability to process information and respond in a given time – and positioning ourselves using the information that we have arranged are also aspects that influence anticipation. Good anticipation is advantageous because individuals are able to foresee a movement, giving them time to position their bodies for an effective response to the situation. It enables individuals to prepare and establish a good body position in preparation of a movement.

This is seen at 4mins 24secs where the player with the basketball uses both anticipation and timing to “beat” the defensive player in scoring. He predicts that the size of the basketball that he is dribbling will remain unchanged; that there is around one meter of distance separating him from the ball with each bounce and that the ball is travelling in a fast bounce. Moreover, he anticipates that a thudding sound would be produced with each bounce, there will be pressure from the defence and that the basketball is a dull brown colour. By doing all the above, the player uses good anticipation to dodge the defender and shoot.

Skillful timing provides a player an edge when playing sports because it enables them to “…adapt what we know to the new situation”. When a skill is practiced, it becomes easier to execute and the quality of it is increased. If these skills are put into a game situation, timing develops into a major and decisive factor in executing it. Also, the skill is challenged in a game situation because the environment is varied. These variations include pressure exerted by defenders, players “calling” for the ball and the weather.

Timing is also beneficial because it lets people successfully perform a movement. If the movement is carried out correctly, it would be aesthetically appealing. To make the movement aesthetically appealing, the sub-skills must flow together with each being of the utmost quality. “If one or more of the linking sub-skills is poorly performed or rushed, it will adversely affect the performance of the skill”.

The advantages of skillful execution are evident at 3mins 20secs of the film. In this clip, the player passes the ball to a teammate from a long distance. Throughout this movement, the player receiving the pass has adapted to his situation consisting of other players who are trying to steal and call for the ball. There are numerous sub-skills involved as the player reaches to catch the ball. He focuses his eyes on the basketball, softens his hands, widens his foot stance and guides the ball into his hands. By allowing the sub-skills to flow, the player’s movement looks aesthetically appealing when he catches the ball and he does not fumble or drop the ball.

Correct technique is important in the performance of the main skills. This is evident as it makes moves “economically friendly” (no waste of energy) when performed; for example, in basketball, marking a man for the purposes of defence does not require wasting precious energy as running aimlessly around the court would. Correct technique ensures that the correct muscles are used to perform an action; for example, when catching, the waist is not used in the movement and this is achieved through correct technique. Correct technique generates aesthetically appealing skill executions. In basketball, lay-ups involve good technique to guarantee consistency. Good technique also increases confidence; the shooter at 1min 18secs has confidence and can apply his skill execution to a game situation.

Correct technique is essential in the performance of the main skills as mechanical principles and efficiency are required. These principles make a movement safer to execute, meaning if a basketballer was to dribble the ball with sound mechanical advantage, his level of injury would be significantly reduced. Mechanical efficiency also enables a skill to be performed without any energy being uselessly wasted on movements not contributing to the skill.

In basketball, the execution of a basketball shot varies from one person to another. This is evident when the lay-ups of two different people are seen at 1min 20secs and at 3mins 19secs; the technique of each lay-up is individualised. Both the players’ techniques are dependent on the differences between their heights, body shape, muscular power and agility. Dribbling is a skill required in basketball. A technical fault, such as mishandling or losing control of the ball would make dribbling difficult in basketball. It also leads to mechanical inefficiency and could lead to the loss of possession.

Feedback is good in refining skills as it enables a person to gather an understanding of what he/she is performing correctly or incorrectly. With this knowledge, we are given feedback either from inner feeling or visually seeing the skill execution.

As individuals practice, they are constantly provided feedback. With this information, they are able to notice whether they performed a skill correctly. If it is performed correctly, the individual would attempt to replicate the manner in which it was done. If they are almost successful, he/she would make minor modifications and if they get it wrong, he/she would make major changes. Feedback is also evident when a professional sports player performing a skill is viewed. In basketball, if a professional performs an aesthetically appealing skill, the viewer would usually try and replicate his/her actions.

Practice has an important role in improving performance. People undergo four distinctive phases of competence: (i) unconscious incompetence; (ii) conscious incompetence; (iii) conscious competence; and (iv) unconscious competence.

In stage (i), a player is not competent in a particular area and is unaware of their incompetence at a conscious level; for example, when a beginner is just learning the basics of dribbling a basketball and has no experience in it. Another example is a beginner beginning to learn how to do a lay-up.

A player in stage (ii) would begin to become aware of their mistakes and errors made when doing a particular skill; for example, when dribbling a ball, a player would now be able to identify their basic errors and incompetence at the skill. He will now be able to bend his knees and bounce the ball on the spot. Similarly, a player learning to do a lay-up would be able to pinpoint their mistakes.

In conscious competence, a player would have gained “…a certain level of comfort with a body of knowledge or have developed a certain amount of skill”. When dribbling a ball, the player would have become fluent in performing the skill and would begin to show more confidence in executing the skill. The player may now occasionally “dodge” a defender and be able to dribble with both their dominant as well as subdominant hand. They may occasionally eye the ball when dribbling it at pace. When doing a lay-up, the player would now do it with speed, getting the majority of them in.

The final stage of unconscious competence involves a skill being performed without conscious thought. A player’s kinesthetic sense has been developed to such an extent that if they were dribbling a ball, the hand and ball would work as one. The player will be fluent with both hands and may perform “tricks” when dribbling. When performing a lay-up, the player will be able to get the ball in the hoop practically every time and can use it in a game situation.