Practice Structures

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 🔗

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 🎯

The coach's plan 🪜

An interactive activity.

Coach the skill 🧭

An interactive activity.

The summary 📝

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.

Your turn ✍️

An interactive activity.