Misunderstanding of Self-Organization

The term self-organization is often misunderstood in the coaching and movement science community. This confusion arises from the word 'self' and its implied connotations of explicit, top-down control. Some interpret self-organization as athletes figuring out motor programs and mental models on their own, without guidance from coaches. This misconception leads to two problems: the belief that self-organization means completely hands-off coaching, and the assumption that athletes will always optimize their movements relative to externally defined outcome criteria. In reality, self-organization occurs under constraints, optimizing behavior relative to the constraints imposed on the athletes rather than strict performance criteria.