Practice Structures
Classify a skill on Edexcel's three continua, then choose how to practise it - massed or distributed, fixed or variable. Learn to match the practice to the skill, and to avoid another board's classifications.
Learn it by doing, the way you will be assessed
Free and interactive, so you can rehearse the thinking away from the workshop or studio.
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Classify first, then practise
Before a coach can improve a skill, they have to classify it - where does it sit, and how should it be practised? Edexcel gives you three continua for classifying a skill and four practice structures for training it. A warning up front: this board has only three continua. If you have met "gross and fine" or "self-paced and externally-paced" skills, those belong to a different exam board - here they earn nothing. Stick to the three you are about to learn.
The three continua
A continuum is a sliding scale between two extremes; a skill sits somewhere along each one. These are the only three Edexcel uses.
Open or closed?
A netball player takes a free shot from the same spot in an empty gym, with no defenders. What kind of skill is this?
- A closed skill, because the environment is stable and predictable
- An open skill, affected by opponents and a changing environment
- A complex skill, because shooting is always complex
- A low-organisation skill, because it has no separate parts
Match each skill to its type
- Open skill
- Closed skill
- Simple skill
- Complex skill
- A pass in a fast-moving hockey game
- A free throw in an empty gym
- Jogging in a straight line
- A gymnastic vault with a mid-air twist
Three, not four
The grade-9 trap is borrowing from another board. Edexcel classifies skills on exactly three continua: open-closed, basic-complex, and low-high organisation. There is no gross-fine continuum and no self-paced or externally-paced classification on this specification. Write them and you spend words on marks that do not exist. Three continua - learn them, and only them.
Break it into parts?
A golf swing flows as one smooth movement and is very hard to split into separate stages. How is it classified on the organisation continuum?
- Highly organised, because the parts are closely linked and hard to separate
- Low organisation, because it splits easily into distinct parts
- Open, because golf is played outdoors
- Simple, because it is a single movement
Massed or distributed?
The first practice choice is about rest. Massed and distributed practice differ only in whether you build in breaks.
Fixed or variable?
The second practice choice is about variation - do you repeat the skill identically, or change the situation? Fixed practice rehearses the *same* skill the same way, over and over - a drill. It suits closed skills, like grooving a set shot from one spot. Variable practice rehearses a skill across *changing* situations - different angles, defenders and speeds. It suits open skills, building the adaptability a game demands. The rule of thumb: closed and simple skills lean on fixed and massed practice; open and complex skills need variable and distributed practice.
Spot the closed skill
Select the TWO features that describe a CLOSED skill.
- It is performed in a stable, predictable environment
- It tends to be performed the same way each time
- It is constantly changed by opponents and the environment
- It can never be practised with a drill
Match each practice to when you would use it
- Massed practice
- Distributed practice
- Fixed practice
- Variable practice
- Grooving a simple, closed skill through non-stop repetition
- Giving a beginner rest breaks while learning a complex skill
- Drilling the same closed skill the same way each time
- Rehearsing an open skill across changing game situations
The coach's plan
Put a coach's decisions into a sensible order, from understanding the skill to running the session.
- Classify the skill on the three continua
- Judge the performer's level and fitness
- Choose massed or distributed practice, based on rest needs
- Choose fixed or variable practice, based on how open the skill is
- Run the practice session
Coach the skill
Three coaching decisions. Each time, choose the practice that best fits the skill and the performer.
- A beginner is learning a complex trampoline routine. Which practice is safest and most effective?
- A netball coach wants a player's set shot to become automatic from the free-throw line. Which practice suits it?
- A footballer must learn to pass well under match pressure from many positions. Which practice builds this?
Where each skill sits
Edexcel classifies skills on _____ continua: open-closed, basic-complex and low-high organisation. A skill done in a stable, predictable setting is a _____ skill. For practice, _____ practice has no rest and suits simple closed skills, while distributed practice adds rest for complex skills. _____ practice drills a skill the same way, and _____ practice changes the situation to suit open skills.
Classify the serve and the hand-over
A coach is teaching two skills: a tennis serve and a simple relay baton hand-over. For each, classify it on the three continua and recommend a practice structure, giving a reason.
- Classify each skill as open or closed, simple or complex, and low or high organisation
- Recommend massed or distributed practice for each, with a reason linked to the performer
- Recommend fixed or variable practice for each, linked to how open the skill is
- Use only Edexcel's three continua - do not mention gross/fine or paced skills