Embracing Turbulent Waters: Enhancing Athlete Self-Regulation Using the PoST Framework for Performance Preparation at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games

Embracing Turbulent Waters: Enhancing Athlete Self-Regulation Using the PoST Framework for Performance Preparation at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games (Morris et al., 2022)

                                                    Photo by Josh Wedgwood on Unsplash

🚀 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.
• A coach may help promote the athletes ability to actively perceive and problem solve by guiding their attention through constraint manipulations.
• The coaches role is the facilitation of an evolving and reciprocal relationship in the athlete environment system
• Training with a clear purpose and understanding what constraints are influencing the athlete-environment system allows us to manipulate the level of representativeness & complexity to allow us target specific adaptations
• Specifying information needs to be present during practice so an athlete can become perceptually attuned more efficiently and effectively.
• The coaches interactions with the athletes are so important. In this preparation phase the interactions were heavily influenced by the motor learning principles within an Ecological Dynamics rationale.
• Influence of theoretical foundations on coaches interactions, decision making and reflections. Co-design had a big influence on athlete autonomy and motivation towards practice

🥇Top Quotes

💡 Thus, self-regulation from an ecological perspective has been conceptualised in a broad behavioural framework, referring to an individual’s capacities to use actions, perception, cognitions and emotions to enhance learning and performance when interacting independently with the environment (Guignard et al., 2020)

💡 Individuals learn to self-regulate in sports performance by being given the opportunity to become increasingly attuned to a wider range of specific informational variables in their practice and performance environments 

💡 Observing the affordances paddlers utilise for good or ill in relation to performance problems, invites a coach to consider how to facilitate the broadening or narrowing of a field of affordances through manipulating task constraints, whilst maintaining action fidelity

💡 In identifying timelines and purposes of key blocks of practice, athletes and support staff can calibrate intentions, manage physiological and psychological load, optimise skill adaptation and prioritise athlete health and wellbeing 

💡 Specific intentions would be used to provide a frame of reference with which to anchor the role of the athlete and coach in practice 

💡 Coaching interactions throughout preparation were highlighted as being guided by motor learning principles within an ecological dynamics rationale, centred upon individual athlete intentions

💡 Indeed, as lead coach, my ability to quickly reference individual plans when preparing for sessions gave clarity in processes, such as practice design, manipulation of constraints and the nature of dialogue with athletes

Link to detailed notes

https://www.notion.so/mrtenniscoach-researchreview/Embracing-Turbulent-Waters-Enhancing-Athlete-Self-Regulation-Using-the-PoST-Framework-for-Performa-7291feb80f70434698c2406c07d95b41

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