Motor Skills Development
MOTOR SKILL ACQUISITION
The development of a motor skill, from skiing a technical slalom course to playing the piano, will progress in levels of achievement. An individual will begin by struggling through attempts to perform the skill. In time, success and improved confidence will take place. With enough practice, a person can become an expert in the performance of the desired skill. It has been described that this progression occurs through four steps. From the raw beginning, through to mastery, a person will move from:
This entire phenomenon is coordinated by our nervous system. The potential to acquire extremely high levels of motor skill performance is contained within all of us. Aptitudes toward certain skills may be inherent in our biological make-up, and if we are lucky enough to stumble upon these aptitudes, extremely high levels of function can be achieved. Other people have the nervous system "hard-wiring" to be able to pick many, and various motor skills. This concept does not refer to genetic physiological tendencies such as size and strength. That is, big, strong people do not any advantage in learning motor skills. These skills are neurological in nature and in fact, may be very delicate. The motor skills involved in playing musical instruments are a good example of this concept. Playing the drums, for example, requires a significant amount of neuromuscular coordination, but not high levels of strength.
The following is a guideline to assist in accomplishing a higher level of motor skill development. However, don’t limit yourself to one or two of your favorite activities. The more you try and learn to develop skills, the better athlete you’re going to be.
Basketball
Soccer
Tennis
Racquet Ball
Volleyball
Tumbling
Gymnastics
Dance (Ballet)
Trampoline
Ice Skating
Rollerblading
Karate
Motor cross/Dirt Bike Riding
Water-Skiing
Wake Boarding
Wind Surfing
Rollerblade slalom/GS (highly specific)
Any of the Footwork, Agility, Speed & Quickness Drills (see section of Footwork Agility, Speed & Quickness)
Slide board
The development of a motor skill, from skiing a technical slalom course to playing the piano, will progress in levels of achievement. An individual will begin by struggling through attempts to perform the skill. In time, success and improved confidence will take place. With enough practice, a person can become an expert in the performance of the desired skill. It has been described that this progression occurs through four steps. From the raw beginning, through to mastery, a person will move from:
Unconsciously Incompetent
to
Consciously Incompetent
to
Consciously Competent
to
Unconsciously Competent
Described further, a person can begin the learning of a skill with no concept about it, and no ability to perform it. With some teaching and/or practice, the individual becomes aware of skill and its goal, but still cannot perform the skill with any significant success. With more teaching and practice, the skill is acquired and can be performed well, with high levels of concentration. More practice brings the person to the highest level of function in which the skill can be performed with great success and without the need to concentrate intently. At this point the skill has become very repetitious. There are a great number of examples to illustrate the point. A young child learning how to walk is an obvious case. At the earliest stages, the child will rise to their feet, soon to fall with the first attempt to move. They do not know how to perform the skill, and have no knowledge of what to do to improve. They are unconsciously incompetent. With more attempts, the child begins to realize to potential to walk or move, but is unable to perform the skill to any significant extent. With still more practice, the child can move about, but only with significant concentration. If they are distracted from their intent, they will quickly topple over. In time, the skill becomes second nature to them and can be performed without conscious intent. They have become unconsciously competent. New skills are added in progressions. The child will begin to run only to be met with a new series of challenges. Over the course of motor skill acquisition, the child will learn to run while catching and throwing, followed by more and more complex skills. At the highest level, very skilled athletes perform seemingly impossible tasks with relative ease. This same progression can be seen in ski racing and the advanced techniques an athlete will encounter. Remember, the dryland process is one that will prepare you in this progressive fashion allowing the athlete to mastery of the movements in that sport.to
Consciously Incompetent
to
Consciously Competent
to
Unconsciously Competent
This entire phenomenon is coordinated by our nervous system. The potential to acquire extremely high levels of motor skill performance is contained within all of us. Aptitudes toward certain skills may be inherent in our biological make-up, and if we are lucky enough to stumble upon these aptitudes, extremely high levels of function can be achieved. Other people have the nervous system "hard-wiring" to be able to pick many, and various motor skills. This concept does not refer to genetic physiological tendencies such as size and strength. That is, big, strong people do not any advantage in learning motor skills. These skills are neurological in nature and in fact, may be very delicate. The motor skills involved in playing musical instruments are a good example of this concept. Playing the drums, for example, requires a significant amount of neuromuscular coordination, but not high levels of strength.
The following is a guideline to assist in accomplishing a higher level of motor skill development. However, don’t limit yourself to one or two of your favorite activities. The more you try and learn to develop skills, the better athlete you’re going to be.
Basketball
Soccer
Tennis
Racquet Ball
Volleyball
Tumbling
Gymnastics
Dance (Ballet)
Trampoline
Ice Skating
Rollerblading
Karate
Motor cross/Dirt Bike Riding
Water-Skiing
Wake Boarding
Wind Surfing
Rollerblade slalom/GS (highly specific)
Any of the Footwork, Agility, Speed & Quickness Drills (see section of Footwork Agility, Speed & Quickness)
Slide board
