Reference

Moy, B., Renshaw, I., & Gorman, A. D. (2024). Applying the constraints-led approach to facilitate exploratory learning of the volleyball serve. Journal of Sports Sciences, 1-8.

🚀 Article in 3 Sentences

1. The paper explores how the constraints-led approach (CLA) can enhance exploratory learning in volleyball serves by manipulating task constraints.
2. By introducing a second serve opportunity in a game setting, participants were encouraged to explore more complex and faster serve techniques.
3. This facilitated exploration led to increased confidence, relaxation, and a broader repertoire of serve strategies, highlighting the efficacy of the CLA in promoting motor skill development in volleyball

🤝Impressions

This was a fantastic article that explored utilising the CLA in coaching the serve in Volleyball. Exploration is essential for mastering motor skills, yet certain game rules can hinder this process. In volleyball, for instance, the rule allowing only one serve attempt may prevent players from experimenting due to fear of losing points. This study investigated whether introducing a second serve in volleyball can motivate players to use their first serve to explore and expand their action capabilities. They found that the addition of a second serve did in fact promote more exploration during the study.

👨‍🏫Who should read this?

Any person that is interested in the development of skill utilising a CLA

🎾How Article will influence my coaching

• Searching is the process of learning to focus on specific information to support the emergence of functional relationships between perception and action.
• Also vital to the CLA learning design is the identification of rate limiters (i.e., factors that can limit an individual's exploration and learning of motor skills) and the manipulation of constraints aimed at reducing their influence. The authors described them as ‘handbrakes’ which is a really nice way to describe them

📃Takeaways for coaches

• Game rules, such as having only one chance to serve in volleyball, could hinder exploration because players might be afraid to make a mistake and lose a point.
• In simple terms, exploration is a continual, active process where an individual tries different things to see what works and what doesn't, involving some trial and error
• The exploratory process results in more variability in movements and/or outcomes, leading to the emergence of more functional movement solutions. The individual also gains the opportunity to become more adaptable, a characteristic of highly skilled performers
• Central to the CLA learning design is the detection of affordances or opportunities for action provided to an individual by the environment, dependent on one's abilities to exploit the landscape of affordances.
• Also vital to the CLA learning design is the identification of rate limiters (i.e., factors that can limit an individual's exploration and learning of motor skills) and the manipulation of constraints aimed at reducing their influence. The authors described them as ‘handbrakes’ which is a really nice way to describe them
• Even when an opportunity (affordance) is present, the performer needs to have the required skills and the intention to use that opportunity.