The Adaptable Athlete Podcast Why Athletes Don’t "Acquire" Skill—They Adapt it w/ Duarte Araújo
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What is skill, really? And what if it’s not something athletes acquire — but something they continuously adapt?
In this episode, Duarte Araújo joins us on the pod to unpack one of the most fundamental questions in sport: what does it truly mean to be skillful? Duarte breaks down why “acquisition” is the wrong metaphor, and how coaches can design environments that bring intelligence and creativity to the surface.
Together, we explore:
- The difference between being and becoming in sport performance
- Why skill should be viewed as potential, not possession
- How intentionality, perceptual attunement, and calibration shape learning
- What cognizant action means — and why movement itself is intelligent
- How coaches can design tasks that challenge athletes to find their own solutions
Whether you’re a coach, practitioner, or simply curious about how humans learn, this conversation reframes skill as an ongoing relationship between athlete and environment — not a product stored inside the brain.
Have any questions form the Episode? Hit me up on social @thecoachjav or send me an email at Javier@emergentmvmt.com
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Episode Resources
Credits: Song- "Starstruck" by Freebeats.io
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Twitter: @thecoachjav
IG: @thecoachjav