MOTOR LEARNING 

* I cannot find this article for the life of me so I cannot provide the source of this info but it is golden!

When you go to footy training you're essentially to learn, pushing your personal boundaries to increase your own bandwidth of skills, if you're doing it properly.

Unfortunately most local/amateur players there to rehash the current skill set and level that they already have and as learning has it, you can actually start to decrease your skill level as your brain shifts to autopilot and during a game you've got the ball and you're left without a physical, technical or tactical solution to get rid of it effectively.

Dump kick down the line or out of a pack.

Missed target.

Incorrect decision making.

Game lost.

Proper motor learning involves repeating the same essential skill but many different ways which increases your skill variability meaning you can perform the same basic skill from a variety of positions, speeds and situations.

I'm positive we all know a teammate who tears it up on the track with no pressure and pre-determined targets but fails miserably  when all those things are cranked up on game day.

Here's a look at how to create the ideal environment for motor learning can ramp up your skill set.

METHOD #1 - BLOCK PRACTICE

- Involves performing 1 exercise variation for a certain volume with all reps being completed before moving to the next variation

Example - 40 stationary kicks into 40 handball receive kicks into 40 running kicks

- During this method of motor learning learning usually occurs fore the first rep/s only with minimal learning from all subsequent sets

METHOD #2 - RANDOM PRACTICE

- Involves tasks following an unpredictable order of multiple exercise variations for 1 rep each

Example - 1 stationary kick into 1 handball receive kick into 1 running kick x pre-determined number of sets per kick variation (10 x 1 per variation)

- Each rep has a different movement solution where the player may take time with each variation with the focus on feel feedback rather than form feedback

- This method involves high level of contextual interference which are interventions included in drills to push the boundaries of your bandwidth (defenders in drills, outnumbers small sided games etc). The most important thing to be aware of is that practice performance will drop, sometimes dramatically, but the learning, retention and transfer of performance is much, much greater over time with consistent exposures. If you want footy training to look pretty, ten you're not learning anything.

METHOD #3 - SERIAL SCHEDULE OF PRACTICE

- Involves moderate amounts of contextual interference which would again be a pattern such as stationary, handball receive and running kicks for a series of rounds but not pre-determined 

Example  - 1 stationary kick into 1 handball receive kick into 1 running kick x pre-determined number of sets per kick variation (10  - 40 x 1 per variation)

METHOD #4 - CHAOS RANDOM PRACTICE

- Involves random practice of all kicking variations not determined beforehand

Example - 1 stationary kick into 1 running kick into 1 stationary kick into 1 handball receive kick into 1 running kick into 1 handball receive kick and so on or game simulation

SESSION PLANNING

- You'll achieve systematic increases in contextual interference in your training using an order of block, serial schedule of practice then random practice

- Block practice is not as good as random practice when it comes to skill retention and transfer of skill

- Neither are as good as serial schedule of practice

- Within a single session start with block practice then introduce blocks of random practice and finish with chaos random practice to have the highest retention of transfer