Page 11 - Jim Stone Book Beginner

believes that to the acquisition of advanced skills, the training must include these components.

1. Deliberate practice requires a teacher who can provide practice activities designed to help
students improve their performance.

2. Near maximal effort, continually being taken out of your comfort zone by a teacher or coach.
Practices are not always "fun."
3. Well defined, specific goals, not aimed at "overall improvement."

4. Full attention and conscious action, no autopilot.
5. Feedback and constant little improvements, modifying efforts in response to feedback

6. Building and modifying mental representations
Focusing on building and improving specific skills by focusing on aspects of those skills and
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improving them.
One of the critical components of developing expertise is for the athlete to learn to deal with the
frustration that is a by-product of accepting a new challenge. The coach should assist the athlete
when the frustration periods come to the forefront in the learning process. When things go perfectly
in practice, it may be a sign that the content does not challenge your athletes.

Reason #2- A checklist is a tool to record the progress of each student. Many coaches will keep
statistics on player performance in competition. These stats have value for performance evaluation.
However, a checklist will provide details as to the various aspects of the athlete's skills. Often, the
progress a student is making with technique may not immediately manifest itself in wins at the
weekend tournament. The ongoing checklist allows for a systematic program of growth both for the
current season and long-term.

Reason #3- A checklist helps the coach and athlete focus on the critical areas of skill. The skills of
volleyball attack, set, block, pass, serve, and defend are composed of parts. For example, it's hard
for a setter to be proficient if they possess poor footwork. Proper footwork is a critical aspect of
correct skill execution requiring significant practice to efficiently move around the court. Ultimately,
correct footwork will result in increased setting accuracy. Another example might be the importance
of correct armswing mechanics being critical to proficient serving. If the athlete executes the
components of skill correctly, the full skill will develop properly.

Reason #4- A checklist will encourage the players to focus during practice. When the athlete is
asked to think, analyze, and provide feedback during a training session, it is my experience that they
develop the desired focus to facilitate skill development. The precise term for this process is
metacognition. Metacognition is thinking about one's thinking. More precisely, it refers to the
methods used to plan, monitor, and assess one's understanding and performance. The key to
metacognition is to encourage students to manage their learning instead of passively absorbing
material. Donna Wilson and Marcus Conyers use the phrase "drive your brain" as a metaphor to
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explain to students how they can become more aware of their learning. Can a coach establish this
without eliminating the fun of play? Of course, they can! But it takes planning and expertise.

Reason #5- A checklist will provide a framework for the daily practice plan. The practice plan should
reflect the critical items on the checklist. If the checklist is composed of essential aspects of skills,