Psychopedagogical Foundations in Sports Training and Athlete Motivation

Posted on Aug 30, 2024 in Physical Education

Psychopedagogical Foundations in Sports Training

Basics of Teaching and Learning

Teaching

Set of actions used to guide students towards achieving proposed learning goals.

Education

Formative guide for alternative learning provided by the professor.

Learning

Modification of student conduct.

Psychopedagogical Characteristics by Age

Children (3-6/7 Years – Golden Age of Children)

  • Curiosity, enthusiasm, and participation in many activities.
  • Developing social relations.
  • Low concentration.
  • Significant morphological transformation due to high growth at the end of this stage.

They learn through play, have poor retention (therefore, tasks should be repeated and varied with rest periods), and gross motor skills must be developed.

Primary (6-10 Years – Golden Age of Learning)

  • Interest in other sports.
  • Good body proportions.
  • Learn quickly but retain little.
  • Improved coordination and gestural repertoire.

Multidisciplinary training and creating tasks that are not too difficult to ensure success. Learning is enhanced when the percentage of success is higher.

Puberty (Starting at 10 Years – Morphological Changes Begin)

Increased strength and agility. With adequate and consistent work, concrete gestures can be mastered, but not everything.

Pubertal Stage 1 (2nd Morphological Mutation) – Women (11-13 Years), Men (12-14 Years)
  • Significant increase in size and weight.
  • Appearance of secondary sexual characteristics.
  • Hormonal instability leading to psychological conflicts with adults and authority figures.
  • Major changes in the peer group and the emergence of values like “abandonment” (which should be avoided).

Increase motivation, communicate with respect, take their opinions into account, respect their autonomy, and adjust training based on individual capacities.

Coordination decreases due to changes in size and weight. Maximum capacity for physical fitness training. Improved intellectual level leads to better learning.

Pubertal Stage 2 (2nd Golden Age of Learning) – Women (13-18 Years), Men (14-19 Years)

Increase in width and strength. Improved coordination and performance. Balancing between psychic and physical development. Supports a high training load.

Motivating Athletes

Motivation is what drives us to do something. It depends on attitude and is one of the causes of our behavior.

It’s important to offer something valuable to the athlete, either through external stimuli or by changing their attitude and values.

Types of Motivation

  • Internal: Attitude. Arises from within the self.
  • External: Potential environment and external stimuli.

Why Kids Play Sports

  • To feel part of a group.
  • For fun and emotions.
  • To improve fitness.
  • Competitiveness compared to others (ratings).
  • Best brand.

Reasons for Leaving Sports

  • Lack of fun and emotions.
  • Not feeling part of a group.
  • Pressure and anxiety from competitive situations.
  • Defeats and low involvement.
  • Antipathy towards the coach.

Motivational Orientation of Staff

Ego-Focused

  • Demonstrated superiority.
  • Recognition.
  • Skill with minimum effort.

Task-Focused

  • Doing things (mastering skills).
  • Personal effort and involvement.
  • Learning new things.

Motivational Climate

Climate for Completion

  • Winning is what matters.
  • Results-oriented.
  • Social comparison.

Climate for Mastery

  • Demonstrate ability.
  • Do my best.
  • Self-improvement.

Motivations from the Trainee’s Point of View

  • Utilitarian: Income/benefit type: physical, psychological (stress-free), social (group activity), labor.
  • Recreational: Fun, game.
  • Educational: Physical education, philosophy of life.
  • Competitive: Victory or seeking to improve performance.

Motivation and Coaching Style

Personal Goals of the Coach

  • Livelihood.
  • Recognition.
  • Love of sport.
  • Showmanship.
  • Travel, etc.

Objectives Pursued by the Coach

  • Winning team.
  • Helping athletes have fun.
  • Educating athletes.

Types of Coaches

  • Authoritarian: Command = Results
  • Democratic: Collaboration = Goal
  • Permissive: Laissez-faire = Do as you please

Communication Process

Communication is the transfer of knowledge, information, etc., to others, and is a key factor in the teaching and learning process.

Features of Effective Communication

  • Objective: Say what should be done = Truthful
  • Amount: Provide the right amount of information (not too little or too much)
  • Graduation: Disclose information gradually
  • Adapted: Adjust to the student’s level

Dimensions of Attention

  • External/Internal: The athlete can focus on issues of task, context, and feelings.
  • Wide/Narrow: Indicates the amount of stimuli the athlete can handle.

Ways to Enhance Attention

  • Rubrics
  • Short exercises
  • Cognitive involvement and search
  • Variations on tasks
  • Seeking key moments

Communication Channels

1) Visual: Fast and Direct

  • Demonstration (by Professor):
    • Advantage: Fast, full implementation
    • Disadvantage: May not be suitable for all, imitation of style may be limited by age, etc.
  • Partial Demonstration: Focuses on a part of the task, allowing for better explanation.
  • Drawings/Sketches: Graphic representations.
  • Videos/Films: For analyzing movements.

2) Auditory (Words)

  • Descriptions: Focus on a specific moment.
  • Explanations: Why the task is performed.
  • Sounds: To set the pace, counting, etc.

3) Kinesthetic/Tactile

Using hands to guide the student’s actions. Can create dependency.

Feedback

Information received about the athlete’s performance; promotes self-regulation for the acquisition of skills and self-confidence.

Phases of Communication with Feedback

  • Before Execution: Initial, prepares for learning and performance.
    • Objectives: Inform, relate tasks, avoid errors.
  • During Execution: Affects the task while it’s being performed.
    • Objectives: Mark task details, increase concentration.
  • After Execution: Feedback or knowledge of results. Can be:
    • Procedural: Knowledge of the implementation.
    • External: Knowledge of results.

Types of Feedback

By Time:

  • Immediate
  • Delayed
  • Continuous
  • Consecutive

By Intention:

  • Evaluative
  • Explanatory
  • Interrogative
  • Affective-Encouraging

Motor-Learning Theories

1) Basic Model

Stimulus = Neurophysiological Process = Action

2) Association Model

Stimulus = Neurophysiological Process = Action = Positive Reinforcement/Reward or Negative Reinforcement/Punishment

  • Relational Theory – Conduct
    • Details of Education: Teacher-centered, many repetitions, result-oriented, rote learning.
    • Learning Styles: Management, very technical sports, competitive sports (Martial Arts).

3) Cognitive/Global Model

Stimulus = Neurophysiological Process = Action = Feedback

  • Cognitive Theory / Global
    • Details of Education: Learner-centered, focus on the process, significant learning.
    • Learning Styles: No direct instruction, decision making, experimental/cognition, sports education/creative.

Phases of Motor Learning

Initial or Primary Phase

Characteristics of Learning:

  • Little coordination
  • High effort
  • Lack of precision
  • Feedback on what to do
  • Selection of basic structure and movements of implementation
  • Practice and knowledge of results

Teacher’s Action:

  • Give clear and simple information
  • Frequent and localized corrections
  • Many resources and help

Middle Phase

Characteristics of Learning:

  • Overcoming errors
  • Fluent performance
  • Movement becomes automatic

Teacher’s Action:

  • Selective information
  • Transmission of what is good
  • Suitable stop conditions for success = Motivate

Final or Autonomous Phase

Characteristics of Learning:

  • Very good coordination
  • Automation of motion
  • Focus on other situations and not on the movement
  • Stability and consistency

Teacher’s Action:

  • Advanced search
  • Precise small corrections
  • Total automation approach

Factors Affecting Learning

  • Motivation and aspirations of athletes
  • Adaptation of activities for athletes to evolve
  • Adequate information
  • Proper feedback
  • Frequency = Time practicing performance
  • Different situations and activities

Learning Plateaus: Fatigue, low motivation, poor approach to training (poorly targeted feedback).

Organization of Practice (Performing Tasks)

Types of Practice

By the Age of Practice:

  • Massed/Intensive: Without rest or very short breaks
  • Distributed: With breaks

Distributed practice is generally better, alleviating fatigue and allowing for assimilation of new tasks.

By the Actions of Students:

  • Individualized
  • Small Group: Pairs or the same level
  • Large Group: All at once

Methods of Practice (Proposed by the Teacher)

Global

Performing complete tasks after the teacher’s information while ensuring correct implementation. These conditions may be modified (speed, duration, etc.) or by paying attention to a specific part.

Analytical

Conducting the task by splitting it into subtasks to analyze and facilitate performance. Can be:

  • Pure: Practice by order of importance
  • Sequential: Practice in order
  • Progressive: The 1st subtask and adding the rest

Joint

Combination of two:

  • 1st – Global: Capture the essence of the task
  • 2nd – Analytical: Study of the hardest parts
  • 3rd – Global: Application in a real situation

As a rule, the global method is better because it respects the characteristics of the movement, but it’s better to use:

  • Complex tasks without connection between them = Joint or Analytical
  • Without opponent or static = Analytical
  • Tasks with movement or moving opponent = Global/Joint
  • Simple tasks or movements = Global

Progressions: Set of exercises for achieving a target on high-level assignments and not broken down into parts.

Positions and Training

Ways to make practice easier by facilitating control, monitoring, and correction of executions.

Location

Reference to start and explain the exercises.

  • Initial/Item: Free or specific
  • Enforcement/Description: Title of the exercise, pace, speed, strength, etc.
  • Final: Indicates if the task continues or ends

Training

Distribution of students on the field.

Fixed:

  • Front: Students facing the professor = Control, discipline
  • Non-Front: Circles, dispersed, square, etc. = Contact between the teacher and students, one student can see and correct another

Mobile: Students moving around the field while performing the task.

  • Front Mobile: Rows, columns, round trip = No break in training
  • Waves: In one direction across the field, returning to the starting point upon reaching the end
  • Dispersed: Free movement around the field
  • Circuits: Stations, circuit tasks

Learning Styles

Used to vary the practice.

Direct Styles

Direct Control:

  • Behavior control
  • Rigid structures in practice
  • Cultural transmission
  • Optimization of space/time
  • Professor makes decisions
  • Student obeys
  • Explanation = Demonstration = Enforcement = Correction
  • Does not respect individual student differences

Allocation of Tasks:

  • Freely available in the room
  • Student makes decisions on tasks
  • Teacher observes and evaluates
  • Professor programs and evaluates
  • Groups based on performance level
  • Stations with only one task

Reciprocal Teaching:

  • Professor explains observation tasks and criteria
  • One student performs, another assesses
  • Changing roles
  • Teacher observes and provides feedback
  • Socialization, self-esteem, and responsibility
  • Execution errors are addressed

Individualized Education:

  • Same decision as reciprocal but in “self” mode
  • Student self-assesses
  • Self-esteem and personal autonomy
  • Professor = Program, Student = Execute, Professor = Help and Fix
  • Personal respect for differences
  • Low socialization

Non-Direct Styles

Based on the student’s active participation in the education process. The professor chooses the topic and sets up the problem or task for the student. The student is responsible for:

  • Performance
  • Evaluation
  • Way to do the exercises

Discovery Learning:

  • Professor guides the student to find the solution with a series of questions or signs.
  • Professor prepares questions, answers, and expects them to be implemented until the solution is selected by the students.
  • Reasoning tasks
  • Improves decision making
  • Cognitive development
  • Sports equipment
  • Reduces practice time

Problem Solving:

  • Similar to guided discovery but increases the number of possible solutions.
  • Creativity, motivation, and student involvement
  • Professor helps to find the solution by saying yes or no
  • Respects individualization
  • Problem of general form = Sought from possible solutions by the group

Programming

Detailed work plan for a given time, allowing educators to design, guide, and evaluate practice.

Types of Programming

  • Long Term: Annual season
  • Medium Term: Quarterly, monthly
  • Short Term: Cycle, training unit
  • Immediate: Session

Training Session

The fundamental unit of teaching/learning. Determines objectives, tasks, learning styles, equipment, etc.

Structure of the Session

  • Initial Information Phase: Session objectives, organization to adopt, media
  • Warm-up Phase: Physiological readiness and preparation for activities to follow
  • Key Stage: Focus of the session, and secondary objectives
  • Cool-down Phase: Defuse accumulated tension
  • Evaluation Phase: Results, analysis, final information = Provides credibility

Evaluation

Trial of value, or value of something we are interested in. Objectives of the evaluation are for the student/teacher knowledge, personal attitudes, skills, etc., and the process are the goals = content, criteria.

Meta: Comparisons of assessments and previous results.

Evaluation Process

  • 1-Setting Goals
  • 2-Collecting Data: Test application and registration
  • 3-Measure (Reference/Criterion): There is never an absolute value and should be compared using an external reference to issue a trial of value.
  • 4-Decisions

References

  • Legal: Statistical comparison with the media
  • Criterial: Comparison approach by the coach
  • Criterial of own players: Same player

Example: Criterion: Chilean, Relative: Hugo Sanchez

Why Evaluate?

  • Athlete/Student: Knowledge, attitudes, motor skills
  • Coach/Teacher: Knowledge, behaviors
  • Process: Objectives, content, teaching strategies, facilities, materials, evaluation criteria

When to Evaluate?

  • Initial Evaluation: Starting point to see where you can get
  • Continuous Assessment/Training: Day to day, changes, feedback
  • Final Evaluation/Summative: Progress and achievement of objectives

How to Evaluate

  • Subjective Evaluation: Coach/Teacher
  • Objective Evaluation: Standard tests: Maximum results, review awareness, discrimination task, same job for all.
  • Observation Evaluation: Customization, not aware of review, results measured normally, is subjective during training.