Skill

Skill can be defined as the capacity of the sportsperson to realise a technique in actual motor action — in other words, the automatisation of motor action. Skill is sport-specific: it exists in all sports, but each sport needs different skills. A skilful movement is a coordinated action of a group of movements executed consistently and smoothly, and it is a learned and practised ability, not something a person is simply born with.

Two definitions bring this out:

• Galligan — "an organised, coordinated activity in relation to an object or situation, which involves a whole chain of sensory, central and motor mechanisms."
• Prof. G.P. Meredith — "excellence of performance — the successful integration of a hierarchy of abilities appropriate to a task under given conditions."

How a skill is actually learned

Motor-learning research generally describes skill acquisition in three broad stages. In the cognitive stage, the learner is thinking consciously about every part of the movement and makes frequent, large errors — a beginner hitting a badminton serve, for instance, is thinking hard about grip, stance and swing all at once. In the associative stage, the separate parts start linking together and errors become smaller and more consistent. In the autonomous stage, the movement needs almost no conscious thought at all, freeing the athlete's attention for tactics, the opponent, and the match situation — this final stage is what "skill" really means in competition.

A basketball player's jump-shot begins as a rough action; after long practice the player can rise, shoot and score consistently even under pressure. The movement has become efficient, accurate and repeatable — technique refined into skill.

Why this matters for a coach …