In this podcast I talk with Dave Collins, PhD (Rugby, Martial Arts and former Royal Marine) about their recent paper about some concerns about Ecological Dynamics in Applied Practice and about his forthcoming book about Sport Skill Acquisition. Professor of Human Performance Science at Edinburgh and Elite Performance at Dublin City University. Director of Grey Matters Performance Ltd. As an academic, Dave has over 450 peer review publications and 90 books/chapters. As a practitioner, he has worked with over 90 World or Olympic medallists plus professional teams and performers. Dave has coached to national level in three sports, is a 5th Dan Karate, Fellow of the Society of Martial Arts, BASES and the ZSL, Associate Fellow of the BPS and an ex Royal Marine.
Topics
Introduction to Dave and His Work.
Growing attention to ecological dynamics and initial concerns about its limitations.
Critical Appraisal of Ecological Dynamics
Inconsistencies within and between authors, disregard for other fields like cognition, and claims of novelty.
Challenges in skill refinement and the limitations of ecological dynamics for this purpose.
Cognition and Decision-Making in Sports. The role of cognition, internal representations, and decision-making models.
Quote: “Cognition and internal representations are crucial in decision-making. Not everything can rely on direct perception alone.”
Practical examples of constraints-led coaching methods and their integration with other techniques.
Quote: “I’d use constraints but also question athletes afterward to tease out why they acted a certain way. That’s key for learning transfer.”
Broader Reflections on Theoretical Approaches
Comparing ecological dynamics with other models like predictive processing and active inference.
Resilience in Sports and Beyond
The concept of resilience and its application in different contexts. Quote: “Resilience is an important construct, but it’s often overstated. It’s crucial to understand how it works and when it’s needed.”
Five Quotes from Dave
“Everything works sometimes, but nothing works everywhere.”
“The best coaching comes from choosing a method that fits the outcomes you want to achieve.”
“We’re not saying ecological dynamics is wrong, just insufficient as a sole guide for applied practice.”
“Criticality is essential—not just on their ideas, but on ours too.”
“Mechanistic and parsimonious explanations are what science and coaching need to drive progress.”
Three Call-to-Actions for Coaches
Embrace a Multifaceted Approach
Use a variety of methods tailored to the athlete’s needs, goals, and context. Recognize the value of combining ecological dynamics with other approaches like cognitive strategies and predictive processing.
Foster Reflection in Athletes
Engage athletes in questioning and reflecting on their actions to deepen learning and improve skill transfer.
Stay Critical and Open-Minded
Continuously evaluate new theories and methods critically while remaining open to adapting and integrating what works best in practice.
Video of the podcast
The paper
Dave his new book!
https://www.human-kinetics.co.uk/9781718225794/sport-skill-acquisition/
Audio of the podcast