In this episode, we dive into one of coaching’s most persistent debates: Should athletes learn through unopposed drills or through messy, opponent-driven, game-like action?

A new paper entitled "The value of opposed and unopposed practice: An ecological dynamics rationale for skill development" argues that if we want athletes to develop skills that actually transfer to competition, we need to rethink traditional ideas about “technique first, game later.”

We discuss how movement isn’t something athletes store and then retrieve, rather it emerges from the problems they’re solving in the moment. And because real sport is alive, unpredictable, and constantly changing, training needs to reflect that.

However, the paper argues that unopposed practice isn’t useless. But instead of perfecting a single “correct” technique, it is suggested that using isolated work is useful to let athletes explore possibilities, experiment, and build confidence. The magic happens when we add aliveness: opponents, information, timing, space, pressure. That’s where athletes learn to become more skilful.

Enjoy!

Link to paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/00336297.2024.2420759?needAccess=true

Revisiting Episode 2: How to Talk to Your Dominant