The Perception & Action Podcast

What are the different types of information sources for controlling action and how should we be manipulating them in practice? Do we absolutely have to stick to the mantra: "make sure they are using specifying information"?   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web page Podcast Facebook page (videos, pics, etc)   Subscribe in iOS/Apple...

How should we plan our practices so that we are working on the right things at the right times? Is it better to let our coaching curriculum just emerge? How should we be getting the athletes involved in co-designing practice?   Articles: Representative co-design: Utilising a source of experiential knowledge for athlete development and performance preparation   More information: http://perceptionac...

Does thinking about movement always hinder performance? If so, is the solution to stop thinking and rely solely on automatic processes? Or is it possible to reach a state where consciousness remains on the surface, but our body leads the way?   Articles: Letting the body find its way: Skills, expertise, and Bodily Refection   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pd...

Should we be striving to make everything in practice as close to the game as possible? What is the difference between specificity and representativeness?   Links: https://www.spreaker.com/user/thetalentequation/representative-learning-design-twitter-s   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web page Podcast Facebook page (videos, pics, et...

Does the kinetic chain link in the expected proximal to distal order? Does it link in the same way with each execution of a movement? To foreshadow- NO and NO. A look at work on kinematic sequencing in throwing.   Articles: Kinematic sequence patterns in the overhead baseball pitch Kinematic Sequence Classification and the Relationship to Pitching Limb Torques   More information: http://perception...

What is the difference between an action capacity and a skill? How can we better connect the two through Affordance Theory?   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web page Podcast Facebook page (videos, pics, etc)   Subscribe in iOS/Apple Subscribe in Anroid/Google   Support the podcast and receive bonus content   Credits: The Flamin' Gr...

I am joined by Elina Nijmeijer and Anne Benjaminse from the University of Groningen to talk about their interesting new work on implicit training to reduce injury risk in athletes.     Articles: Optimal and suboptimal video instructions change movement execution in young talented basketball players   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU...

What is the best way to train multiple movements, like the serve, set and pass in volleyball, in parallel? Are the effects we see when interleaving different movements more consistent with an information processing or ecological approach?   Articles: Learning Multiple Movements in Parallel—Accurately and in Random Order, or Each with Added Noise? More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My R...

An interview with Julia Blau and Jeff Wagman about their new Introduction to Ecological Psychology textbook.   Articles and Links: Introduction to Ecological Psychology   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web page Podcast Facebook page (videos, pics, etc)   Subscribe in iOS/Apple Subscribe in Anroid/Google   Support the podcast and re...

Is creativity in sports rooted in divergent thinking – the cognitive ability to generate a lot of ideas or in having a diverse set of motor skills? And a preview of the 2022 Baseball Skill Acquisition Summit.   Articles and Links: Creative actions in team sports are rooted in motor skills rather than in a divergent thinking ability https://floridabaseballarmory.com/summit/   More information: http...

How do different S&C training methods support injury prevention. For example, which is better for learning a squat – external focus of attention instructions, self-controlled feedback or differential learning?   Articles: Comparing the Effects of Differential Learning, Self-Controlled Feedback, and External Focus of Attention Training on Biomechanical Risk Factors of Anterior Cruciate Ligament (AC...

How can we use data from movement analyses to aid the design of S&C activities and skill practice? Data-driven training for soccer goalkeeping.   Articles: Data-driven strength and conditioning, and technical training programs for goalkeeper's diving save in football   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web page Podcast Facebook page (...

A case study in how we should be doing theoretically-based task analyses of practice activities: the Rondo in soccer. Will the activity achieve its goals? Is it representative? Will it transfer to competition? Does it foster creativity and functional variability? My interview with Karl Marius Aksum.   Links: https://twitter.com/aksumfootball/status/1555122997433774080 https://www.linkedin.com/in/k...

How do motor synergies develop when we learning to catch a ball? How is this development shaped by the constraints imposed on the performer such as the information available during practice, the actions catching is nested within like postural control, and disorders like DCD ?   Articles: One more time about motor (and non‑motor) synergies Manipulating Visual Informational Constraints during Practi...

What is hysteresis in movement coordination? How can it be use to explain how the sequence of events influence an athlete's performance – without the need to bring in memory or inference processes?   Articles: Baseball Catching Patterns Differ According to Task Constraints The application of co-ordination dynamics to the analysis of discrete movements using table-tennis as a paradigm skill More in...

Is there one ideal gaze strategy for performing a sports skill as has been suggested by the quiet eye research? My interview with Ben Franks from Oxford Brookes University looking at some of his research taking an ecological, individualized view of the quiet eye.   Articles: A Descriptive Case Study of Skilled Football Goalkeepers During 1 v 1 Dyads: A Case for Adaptive Variability in the Quiet Ey...

Can athletes perceive which balls, sticks, bats, racquets, etc afford the greatest opportunity for hitting, throwing, etc? What information do they use for this and how does it relate to Gibson's concept of dynamic touch? How can we use this better design and fit sports equipment?   Articles: Perceiving the sweet spot Learning to throw to maximum distances Attunement to haptic information helps sk...

So, by now we all know movement variability is good!  But it's not all good. A look at a framework for categorizing different types of movement variability and how it might allow us to better design training to enhance the good.   Articles: A Proposed Framework to Describe Movement Variability within Sporting Tasks: A Scoping Review   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate...

How do instructions about task constraints influence how a performer searches for a movement solution? Is movement variability still beneficial even when you guide a performer towards the optimal solution?   Articles: Instructions on Task Constraints Mediate Perceptual-Motor Search and How Movement Variability Relates to Performance Outcome More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Researc...

What are the combined effects of manipulating practice variability (for example, blocked vs random) and errorful versus errorless practice, which know influence implicit learning.   Articles: An Examination of the Contextual Interference Effect and the Errorless Learning Model during Motor Learning More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU We...

My interview with James Vaughn discussing his recent case study of the role of social and cultural constraints on skill development in team sports.   Articles: Social and Cultural Constraints on Football Player Development in Stockholm: Influencing Skill, Learning, and Wellbeing More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web page Podcast Faceb...

Do external focus of attention instructions promote more movement variability? Do we have to prescribe the fundamentals to an athlete before we allow athletes to explore movement solutions?   Articles: Female Athletes Exhibit Greater Trial-to-Trial Coordination Variability When Provided with Instructions Promoting an External Focus Is Prescription of Specific Movement Form Necessary for Optimal Sk...

How can we apply the principles of ecological dynamics to coaching ice hockey goaltenders? What has research shown about skill acquisition in goalkeeping?   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web page Podcast Facebook page (videos, pics, etc)   Subscribe in iOS/Apple Subscribe in Anroid/Google   Support the podcast and receive bonus co...

My interview with Harry Ramsey and Matt Dicks to discuss their interesting new paper - Maximising Grip on Deception and Disguise: Expert Sports Performance During Competitive Interactions. How can we understand deception in an ecological approach? How should we be studying these phenomena?   Articles: Maximising Grip on Deception and Disguise: Expert Sports Performance During Competitive Interacti...

My interview with Tyler Yearby and Shawn Myszka about their new paper looking at an ecological approach to practice design in American football.   Articles: Applying an ecological approach to practice design in American football: some case examples on best practice   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web page Podcast Facebook page (vi...