Play Practice. Engaging and Developing Skilled Players from Beginner to Elite

Description

Play Practice: Engaging and Developing Skilled Players, Second Edition, provides an alternative to traditional sport instruction. This innovative and authentic approach to teaching sports combines contemporary theory with the experience of practical and reflective work in real sport environments.

Coauthors Alan Launder and Wendy Piltz, both with wide-ranging experience as players, teachers, and coaches, expand and update the play practice approach they presented in the first edition and show how it can be used to help improve sport skills for players of all ages and abilities. This flexible model of sport pedagogy can be applied as a whole or one element at a time. It covers a wide range of team and individual sports, including archery, table tennis, flag football, snow skiing, cricket, and track and field. Plus, you’ll find a wealth of field-tested ideas for working with diverse learners in schools and communities.

The second edition highlights the significance of key terms such as games sense, technique, resilience, and fair play. It also provides new information relating to the complexity of learning and addresses the difficulties beginners face in the learning process. The second edition of Play Practice integrates a thorough analysis of skilled performance with an understanding of the conditions under which people best learn. It also shows how the strategies of simplifying, shaping, focusing, and enhancing can help you create situations to maximize learning and positively influence the attitudes of learners.

Over 130 illustrations and photos demonstrate specific approaches, ideas that can work for multiple sports, and ways to apply the approach with beginners through elite players. Summary sections in each chapter help you quickly identify and review key topics. And two bonus chapters about the origins, evolution, and theoretical bases for Play Practice are available free for download at www.HumanKinetics.com/PlayPractice.

Play Practice is based on the idea that an individual’s commitment to achieving mastery is a powerful motivator for learning. Learn to harness these motivators and create enjoyable practice situations in which learners young and old, whether resistant beginners or highly motivated professionals, are encouraged to strive for excellence.

Contents

Part I. Fundamentals of Play Practice

Chapter 1. Approaches to Teaching and Coaching Sport
Traditional Approaches to Teaching Games and Sport
Teaching Games and Sport Effectively
Origin and Evolution of Play Practice
Precepts of Play Practice
Differences Between Play Practice and TGfU
Summary

Chapter 2. Elements of Skilled Performance
Games Sense
Playing Skillfully With and Without the Ball
Integrating Games Sense and Technical Ability
Understanding the Rules
Understanding Tactics
Understanding Strategy
Fair Play
Resilience and Mental Toughness
Agility
Endurance
Physical Courage
Communication
Summary

Chapter 3. The Process of Playing Skillfully
Differences Between Beginner and Expert Players
Complexity of the Total Skill Process
Summary

Chapter 4. Strategies for Teaching Play Practice
Simplifying Activities
Shaping Practices
Focusing Practices
Enhancing Play Experiences
Summary

Chapter 5. Teaching Specific Elements of Skilled Performance
Developing Fair Play and Resilience
Improving Technical Ability
Developing Games Sense
Reading the Play
Developing Communication
Summary

Chapter 6. The Ps of Perfect Pedagogy
Plan
Prepare the Learner
Prepare a Protected Learning Environment
Present the Task Effectively and Efficiently
Pretest
Provide Opportunities for Practice
Provide Feedback
Praise Performance
Project Poise, Patience, and Passion

Part II. Play Practice in Action

Chapter 7. Teaching Field Invasion Games
Soccer
Field Hockey
Lacrosse (Noncontact)
Australian Football

Chapter 8. Teaching Invasion Games
Touch
Rugby Sevens
American Flag Football

Chapter 9. Teaching Court Invasion Games
Basketball
Netball
Korfball
Team Handball
Futsal

Chapter 10. Teaching Court-Divided Games
Table Tennis
Badminton
Tennis
Volleyball

Chapter 11. Teaching Striking and Fielding Games
Bowling and Pitching
Cricket
Softball and Baseball

Chapter 12. Teaching Target Games
Archery
Golf
Ten Pin Bowling
Lawn Bowls

Chapter 13. Teaching Individual Sports
Cross Country Running
Track and Field Athletics
Swimming
Skiing

Chapter 14. Sport for All
Talent Versus Opportunity
Identifying Talent
Developing Elite Athletes
Summary

References
Index
About the Authors