The Impact of Educational Methods, Deliberate Practice and Deliberate Play on Motor Skill Development in Young Athletes
Subject Areas : Sports Science and Healthy
Mahdi Fahimi
1
*
,
Khalil Alavi
2
1 - Department of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Letters and Humanities, University of Qom, Qom, Iran
2 - Department of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Letters and Humanities, University of Qom, Qom, Iran
Keywords: Educational Method, Deliberate Practice, Deliberate Play, Motor Skill.,
Abstract :
Introduction: The process of acquiring sports skills is far more complex than studying controlled laboratory tasks, as it involves a dynamic interplay of physiological, psychological, and environmental factors. Recent research by Wolf and Shea (2020) distinguishes between effective learning, which focuses on factors that enhance motor skill acquisition, and efficient learning, which emphasizes minimizing the physical and psychosocial costs associated with training. While effective learning prioritizes skill improvement regardless of potential drawbacks such as burnout or injuries, efficient learning seeks to optimize long-term athletic development by reducing these negative consequences. Ericsson’s concept of deliberate practice (2023) serves as a prime example of effective learning, involving highly structured, effortful training sessions designed to target specific weaknesses. This approach, though demanding and often lacking inherent enjoyment, is believed to accelerate expertise by fostering deliberate skill refinement. However, early specialization in a single sport, often driven by deliberate practice, has been linked to increased risks of burnout, injuries, and dropout rates among young athletes (Baker et al., 2023). In contrast, deliberate play, as proposed by Côté (2022), promotes unstructured, enjoyable activities that enhance intrinsic motivation, creativity, and overall motor competence.The debate between early specialization and diversified sports participation remains unresolved. Some studies advocate for early specialization, citing faster skill acquisition and competitive success (Ericsson et al., 2023), while others highlight the benefits of multi-sport engagement, including improved motor adaptability and reduced injury risk (Baker et al., 2023). Given these conflicting perspectives, this study aims to determine whether deliberate practice or deliberate play is more effective in developing motor skills among 10-12-year-old boys in soccer, volleyball, and basketball, while also considering the broader implications for long-term athletic development.
Materials and Methods: The study employed a quasi-experimental design to compare the effects of deliberate practice and deliberate play on motor skill development. Participants included 120 boys aged 10-12 from Qom, Iran, who were randomly assigned to one of four groups: a soccer deliberate practice group, a volleyball deliberate practice group, a basketball deliberate practice group, and a deliberate play group that engaged in mixed-sport activities. Each group underwent a 16-week training program consisting of three 90-minute sessions per week. The deliberate practice groups followed structured, sport-specific training regimens designed to improve technical skills such as passing, dribbling, and shooting, while the deliberate play group participated in varied, game-based activities across all three sports. Motor skills were assessed using the AAHPERD test, a validated tool for measuring sport-specific competencies in soccer, volleyball, and basketball. The test evaluated key skills such as ball control, serving accuracy, and defensive footwork, ensuring a comprehensive assessment of each participant’s progress. Statistical analyses included paired t-tests to examine within-group improvements and a two-way MANOVA with Tukey’s post-hoc test to identify between-group differences. The significance threshold was set at p < 0.05, and all analyses were conducted using SPSS software to ensure robust and reliable results.
Results: The findings revealed distinct patterns of skill development across the four groups. Within-group analyses showed that the volleyball deliberate practice group significantly improved in volleyball-specific skills such as serving and spiking, as well as in some basketball and soccer skills like dribbling and defensive footwork. Similarly, the soccer deliberate practice group demonstrated notable gains in soccer-related abilities but showed no significant improvement in volleyball or basketball skills. The basketball deliberate practice group excelled in basketball-specific tasks but did not exhibit cross-sport transfer effects. In contrast, the deliberate play group displayed marked improvements across all three sports, suggesting that diversified, play-based training enhances overall motor competence. Between-group comparisons further highlighted the superiority of deliberate play in fostering multi-sport proficiency. For instance, both the volleyball deliberate practice and deliberate play groups outperformed others in volleyball skills, while the basketball deliberate practice and deliberate play groups led in basketball performance. However, the deliberate play group consistently ranked high across all domains, underscoring its broad applicability.
Conclusion: The results underscore the advantages of deliberate play in promoting holistic motor skill development. Unlike sport-specific training, which tends to yield isolated improvements, deliberate play fosters adaptability and transferable skills, likely due to its emphasis on varied, engaging activities. This aligns with previous research indicating that diversified training enhances motor coordination, intrinsic motivation, and long-term athletic engagement (Fransen et al., 2022; Vink et al., 2015). Moreover, the study highlights potential risks associated with early specialization, including burnout and injury, which can undermine an athlete’s long-term potential. The deliberate play approach mitigates these risks by prioritizing enjoyment and reducing the psychological pressures often linked to structured training. These findings support the Developmental Model of Sports Participation (DMSP), which advocates for early diversification before specialization to optimize both performance and retention in sports. In conclusion, deliberate play emerges as a highly effective method for developing motor skills in young athletes, offering comparable or superior benefits to sport-specific training while minimizing associated risks. By fostering a fun, adaptable, and multi-sport environment, deliberate play not only enhances immediate skill acquisition but also promotes sustained athletic participation. Coaches and parents are encouraged to prioritize diversified play in early stages of development, gradually introducing specialized training as athletes mature. Future research should explore the long-term impacts of these approaches on elite performance and athlete well-being to further refine training paradigms for young athletes.
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