Reference

Morris, C. E., Otte, F. W., Rothwell, M., & Davids, K. (2022). ‘Embracing turbulent waters’: Enhancing athlete self-regulation using the ‘PoST’framework for performance preparation at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Asian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology

🚀 Article in 3 Sentences

1. Introduces the key ideas of coaching within an Ecological Dynamics Framework
2. Discusses the benefits of periodising skill development & the PoST Framework is introduced
3. A fantastic case study-The preparation for the Tokyo Olympics and how they applied the PoST framework

🤝Impressions

I love reading applied papers and Craig and colleagues do an incredible job in this paper. It’s not often you get insights into the preparation of elite athletes in the Olympic Games, especially adopting an Ecological Dynamics rationale.

👨‍🏫Who should read this?

Any coach that has a knowledge of Ecological Dynamics that would like to know how to practically apply the ideas in their own practice

🎾How Article will influence my coaching

• From an Ecological Perspective self regulation refers to “an individual’s capacities to use actions, perception, cognitions and emotions to enhance learning and performance when interacting independently with the environment”
• Really like the concept of perceiving affordances for good or for ill
• Wayfinding is a journey through a performance landscape .
• Coaches and athletes can focus too much on performance outcomes prior to competition which can be a barrier for learning.
• Athletes were introduced to the ideas behind the approach and they were involved in discussions around how it would be implemented. The athletes then co-created an individualised development plan in an adapted version of the framework as seen above.
• It’s very interesting to see the different roles that Craig took during the different phases of learning. Worth reading through this in more detail
• The ability to reference development plans gave the coach lots of clarity when designing tasks, manipulating constraints, interacting with athletes and setting intentions for practice

📃Takeaways for coaches

• Giving players the opportunity to become more sensitive or attuned to the specifying information in their environment will help them learn to self-regulate. An athlete is self regulating effectively if they are adapting their behaviours to solve emergent problems.