Tactical Understanding Research Articles

Exploring Talent Identification and Development Practices in Chinese Basketball

The objective of this research was to evaluate the techniques used in the process of identifying and developing young basketball player potential in Chinese basketball schools. The study included a sample of 150 teenage basketball players and coaches who were selected to assess specific criteria for talent identification. These criteria encompassed physical characteristics, technical abilities, tactical understanding, social qualities, work ethic, and contextual elements. The research used a blend of descriptive and inferential statistical methods, including regression analysis, to ascertain the most influential characteristics in predicting the selection of young athletes for development programs. The findings revealed that all the main factors for identifying potential were significant, with work ethic obtaining the highest ranking among sporting participants. The survey showed no notable disparity in the evaluation of credentials depending on gender. However, variations were seen based on the academic year level, namely in the perceived enhancement of skills, with senior athletes displaying a more positive perspective. The efficacy of the current development initiatives was evaluated favorably in all domains, with mental growth achieving the highest success rating. Upon further examination, a notable disparity was found in the efficacy of cognitive growth depending on gender and skills acquisition depending on the academic year. The regression analysis revealed that all criteria, including physical attributes, technical skills, tactical understanding, social attributes, work ethic, and contextual factors, have significant predictive power in determining the selection of young athletes for development programs. Among these criteria, contextual factors emerged as the most influential predictor.

Exploring the development of ‘understanding’ in high-level youth soccer players

ABSTRACT Background Developing understanding, and tactical understanding in particular, is an important goal for coaches in high-level youth sport. Deeper understanding can be associated with metacognition, which in soccer, is suggestive of players who can outwit the opponent by strategising. Although attractive, however, the construct is difficult to operationalise and hence, is seen as a challenging area, albeit a crucial one. Purposes This study tested how one team of under 13–14 academy players’ depth of understanding changed using a mixed methods approach with data collection over 18-months. Methods Players’ (n = 10) experienced a metacognitive coaching method, Digital Video Game Design (DVGD) throughout the study duration. Testing occurred on four occasions using Applied Cognitive Task Analysis (ACTA) to elicit how player thinking when playing evolved, combined with a Game Understanding (GU) comparative rating scale. In parallel, players’ coaches (n = 3) completed quantitative measurement of GU. Quantitative data analysis employed a repeated measures ANOVA whilst. Qualitative analysis of ACTA interviews used a deductive framework focussed on metacognitive skills and strategy. Findings Players’ depth of understanding significantly improved during and post exposure to the metacognitive coaching method. Post the initial intervention, understanding showed further improvements at a steady but not significant rate. Qualitative findings indicated that players’ metacognition became more sophisticated, with a particular improvement in strategising based on team mates and opponent’s capabilities. The most dominant metacognitive skills were planning and problem setting, whilst information gathering was least deployed. Conclusions Results show that young players are capable of rapidly developing metacognitive skills and strategy. Sports should upskill their coach education workforce to enhance their understanding of metacognition and its role within GU.

Mapping the landscape of small-sided games in team sports: A bibliometric analysis and literature review

Background Problems: Small-sided games (SSGs) have become a significant focus of research in the context of team sports, and a thorough review and analysis of the existing research landscape is needed to identify trends, gaps, and emerging themes. Research Objectives: This study aims to map the research landscape on small-sided games (SSGs) in the context of team sports through a bibliometric approach and a literature review. Methods: Literature was drawn from established research sources in the Scopus and Web of Science databases from 2014 to 2023. The final data used for this study consisted of 1012 articles, which were then analysed using a bibliometric approach, and the literature review was limited to 237 articles after grouping ten types of team sports using the ScientoPy tool. Findings and Results: The results showed a consistent increase in interest in SSGs, with journals such as “Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research” and “Biology of Sport” playing an important role in expanding understanding of the topic. The analysis also revealed that authors such as Clemente F.M. and Praca G.M. had a significant impact on developing knowledge about SSGs. Although football dominated the related literature, the results also highlighted other sports such as basketball, futsal, and handball. However, there is still a lack of SSG research for sports such as cricket and dodgeball. The benefits of SSGs in team sports include improved technical skills, physical fitness, tactical understanding, and physical performance. Conclusion: This study provides insight into the important role of SSGs in athlete development and team sports training and highlights the need for further research to optimise the full potential of this training method.

Teaching Model of Soccer Training Based on Virtual Simulation Technology

Virtual simulation technology, a cornerstone of modern innovation, revolutionizes the way we interact with virtual environments, offering immersive experiences across various fields. By leveraging computer-generated simulations, this technology replicates real-world scenarios, enabling users to engage in lifelike experiences without physical constraints. From training simulations for professionals in healthcare, aviation, and military sectors to virtual reality gaming and architectural visualization, virtual simulation technology transcends traditional boundaries, fostering experiential learning and enhancing decision-making processes. Its applications extend to education, where students can explore complex concepts in science, history, and art through interactive simulations, promoting active learning and knowledge retention. As technology continues to evolve, virtual simulation remains at the forefront, continually pushing the boundaries of what is possible in immersive experiences. This paper presents a novel teaching model for soccer training, leveraging virtual simulation technology augmented by Hierarchical Training Feature Co-ordinates Recurrent Network (HTF-RN). The proposed model aims to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of soccer training programs by providing immersive and interactive experiences in virtual environments. Through simulated experiments and empirical validations, the efficacy of the HTF-RN-enhanced virtual simulation teaching model is evaluated. Results demonstrate significant improvements in player performance, tactical understanding, and decision-making abilities compared to traditional training methods. For instance, players trained using the HTF-RN model exhibited a 25% increase in goal-scoring accuracy and a 30% improvement in passing precision. Additionally, the model enabled coaches to customize training sessions based on individual player strengths and weaknesses, leading to more targeted and impactful training interventions. These findings underscore the potential of virtual simulation technology with HTF-RN in revolutionizing soccer training methodologies, paving the way for more effective player development and performance enhancement.

Optimizing Physical Conditioning Programs for Badminton Athletes: A Comprehensive Review of Training Strategies - A Systematic Review

Study Background and Objectives: The performance of international badminton athletes is shaped by a blend of physical, psychological, technical, and tactical factors. This study seeks to systematically analyze these essential elements, driven by the imperative to comprehend critical factors for crafting optimized training programs to achieve peak performance efficiently and effectively.Materials and Methods: This study used a systematic approach to review various literature sources, journal articles, and empirical studies related to the achievements of badminton athletes at the international level. Strict inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to ensure that only high-quality studies were included in the analysis. The data collected was then comprehensively analyzed to identify critical factors that consistently influence badminton athlete performance. Results: This systematic analysis reveals that the main factors influencing badminton athletes' achievements at the international level involve a combination of physical, psychological, technical, and tactical aspects. Physical strength, mental resilience, technical expertise, and a deep tactical understanding proved essential in achieving success in the sport. A deep understanding of match dynamics, emotional management, and adaptation to the opponent's tactics were also found to be keys to success. Conclusion: The results of this analysis provide a holistic view of the factors that significantly influence the performance of badminton athletes at the international level. The practical implications include the development of more focused and adaptive training programs, as well as more intensive psychological approaches. These conclusions provide an essential contribution for coaches, researchers, and decision-makers in badminton to improve athletes' potential and results at the international level. Keywords: Physical Conditioning, Badminton Athletes, Training Program, Conditioning Strategy, Systematic Review.

How can coaches tailor the coaching practices to scaffold players’ learning development? An insider action-research study in youth volleyball team

ABSTRACT Through an insider action-research (AR) design, this study explored how a volleyball coach applied different pedagogical strategies to scaffold players' technical skills acquisition and tactical understanding. Also, it was investigated how scaffolding procedures impacted on players’ learning development. Fifteen female players and one head-coach – who undertook a dual role of coach-researcher – participated in this study. Three AR-cycles were completed, lasting a full competitive season. Coach’s insights were documented using reflexive diary and field notes, while the players’ insights were recorded through focus-group interviews. Data were examined using thematic analysis and following an inductive approach during each AR-cycle to inform the subsequent. Findings emphasised the interplaying of scaffolding components (i.e. contingency, fading, transfer of responsibility) to support learning development. This study innovates by demonstrating when, how and why the coach shifted among guidance- and discovery-based support, considering players’ response to the practice structuration, context characteristics, and competitive moment.

Creating a shared mental model of performance: Coaches’ perspectives of key position-specific soccer actions

Important decisions surrounding talent identification (TID), talent development (TD) and (de)selection within elite youth soccer are often grounded in the subjective opinions of coaches. These opinions often stem from coaches’ observations of player performance, which have been shown to be susceptible to several biases. Additionally, previous research has failed to establish specific criteria on which such opinions are based, aside from a coach's own intuition and practical experience. This study aimed to create a communal language and aligned criteria for the specific purpose of evaluating players’ performances. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with nine experienced coaches (13.6 ± 10.8 years) from a professional UK soccer academy to identify coaches’ perceptions of key position-specific soccer actions, performed during differing moments of the game, for evaluating individual match performance. Thematic analysis of the interview data permitted the extraction of several themes , posited to encompass the position-specific soccer actions highlighted by the coaches. Themes for outfield positions included attacking skills; defending skills; movements to receive, create or exploit space; receiving and releasing skills; support play; end product; press, recover to the ball, man or space; and tactical understanding. Goalkeeper themes included tactical understanding, positioning relative to the ball, danger, teammates and opponents, play forward, support play, choice of action and range of distribution. This study highlights an applied approach of creating a shared mental model for appraising player performances, which can facilitate discussion and knowledge exchange between coaches and practitioners, with the intention of improving decision-making around TID, TD and (de)selection decisions.

Performance Evaluation Factors Reflecting Player and Casting Judgments of Football Coaches

PURPOSE This study aimed to extract football coaches’ categories of performance evaluation factors (PEF) and examine the reflective characteristics of the football coaches’ player and casting judgments.METHODS PEF were extracted through an open-ended questionnaire and categorization from 80 AFC C or higher football coaches. Reflection was calculated in player and casting judgments through an analytic hierarchy process. The difference between the football coaches’ player and casting judgments was examined using SPSS 21.0.RESULTS First, the PEF of football coaches were categorized into four general categories: physical intelligence, psychological intelligence, growth potential, and competition intelligence. Second, the importance of football coaches’ player judgments were reflected by the PEF as football intelligence, situation judgment, football talent, tactical understanding, tactical operation, etc. The importance of the casting judgment were reflected by the PEF as tactical understanding, mediative skills, fitness, tactical operation, situation judgment, etc. Third, a statistically significant difference was noted between player and casting judgments. Football coaches tended to value growth potential and talent as sub-factors in the player evaluations. Football coaches’ PEF were aligned with the importance of player and casting judgments in psychological and competition intelligence as sub-factors such as skills, physical, attitude, passion, etc., but differed from physical intelligence and growth potential as sub-factors including mediative skills, physical, football talent, and tactical understanding.CONCLUSIONS In the football coaches’ player evaluations, the idealistic principle centered on growth potential. However, in the casting evaluation, the realistic principle centered on victory takes effect .

Examination of Player Positions by Cluster Analysis

Today, the football industry stands out among the sports branches. Especially with the development of technology and its integration into football, different tactical understandings and formations emerge. With these developments, the current positions of the players and the other positions they are prone to play can be revealed as a result of the analysis. In this way, club management and technical team aim to establish the best team according to the current budget and tactical game understanding. Therefore, it is very important for the teams to play the players in the right position or to transfer the right player to the required position. In football competitions where 11 players are involved in the game, tactical changes can be made within the game according to the tactical arrangement and tactical understanding of the opposing team, and the player can be played in different positions. In this study, the player data of Turkey and the leagues of Germany, England, France, Spain, Italy, which are considered to be the five big leagues, for the years 2020-2021 were obtained from the website named “whoscored”. In the data set obtained, the players who stayed on the field for a minimum of 1500 minutes were taken as a basis and clustering analysis was performed with the data of 985 players. Players are clustered on four basic positions: goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and attacker. In the study, Expectation Maximization, one of the clustering analysis algorithms, was used and a success rate of 81 percent was achieved.

Perception of wildfire behaviour potential among Swedish incident commanders, and their fire suppression tactics revealed through tabletop exercises

Background Swedish wildfires are handled by multipurpose municipal rescue services, raising questions about how non-specialist incident commanders (ICs) perceive and interpret wildfire behaviour. Aims Elucidating ICs’ interpretations of fire behaviour, fuel complexes, weather, landscape structure and the role of these in tactical decisions. Methods We exposed Swedish ICs to questionnaires and tabletop exercises for different standardised fire scenarios. Key results Despite minimal formal wildfire training, ICs showed reasonable consensus in rating of fuels, fire behaviour, hose-lay production rates, etc. Tactics were to access the fire from the nearest road with hose-line laid from the engine and water ferried on trucks. In a scenario where initial attack failed, they typically fell back to roads, without burning off. This indicates a fundamental flaw in tactics employed for high-intensity fires, which easily breach forestry roads, and invite outflanking. Conclusions The IC wildfire knowledge is built on personal and group experience rather than formal education. We found reasonable competence, despite the organisations being designed primarily for other purposes. However, tactical understanding of complex, large incidents was poor. IC training should emphasise potential hazards of such incidents to enhance group competence despite their low frequency. Implications Standardised tabletop exercises can provide insight into decision-making of ICs that is otherwise hidden.

How ball games experts legitimate ball games knowledge within Swedish physical education teacher education

ABSTRACT Background Various forms and types of knowledge have enjoyed legitimacy in physical education (PE) since sports techniques became the orienting idea for PE in economically advanced countries in the mid-twentieth century. The forms and types of knowledge granted legitimacy at any one moment are dependent on a range of socio-discursive factors. In this paper, we consider ball games knowledge within the Swedish PE teacher education context in the 2020s. Purpose The specific aim of the paper is to generate insights into how ball games experts within PE teacher education define legitimate ball games knowledge. Our proposition is that by examining the ways these experts define ball games knowledge, physical education teacher educators may develop more nuanced understandings of how and why knowledge comes to be seen as legitimate. Methods In order to conceptualize experts’ knowledge of ball games, Shulman’s concepts of content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) were employed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with two teacher educators who specialized in ball games education from three different PETE institutions in Sweden (n = 6). The interviews focused on the PETE educators’ understandings of ball games and how they prepared preservice teachers to teach ball games. Findings The PETE educators defined ball games CK as: (1) understanding of games as a cultural phenomenon, (2) tactical understanding of games, and (3) embodied understanding of how to play ball games. The PETE educators defined ball games PCK as: (1) using ball games to meet different curricular goals, (2) focusing on tactical understanding with a small number of concepts, (3) adapting teaching so that all pupils are included, and (4) managing competition. Conclusions Four issues related to the legitimacy of this knowledge are raised. The issues concern the ways in which: (1) a complementary sport discourse is permeated by educational discourse to achieve legitimacy; (2) CK and PCK are designed to achieve legitimacy with different stakeholders; (3) public health discourse is not used to develop legitimacy for ball games knowledge, and (4) historical factors continue to affect experts’ understandings of ball games. The central conclusion drawn from the investigation is that ball games experts engage in a complex process of discursive negotiation when defining the knowledge with which they work.

Study of Esports in Sports Epistemology Perspective

Esports is a strong phenomenon, especially in the world of children, youth, and youth. This study aims to contribute new ideas, ideas, and perspectives in the debate on Esports discourse in the world of sports, as well as in order to raise the awareness of sports academics to study more deeply about esports from various points of view of sports science. The research method used is library research. Data collection techniques by conducting a review study of books, literature, notes, journals and reports. Judging from the three main elements in sports, physical, competition and institutional, Esports cannot be identified as a sport mainly because of the physical activity missing in Esports. Although the movements that look amazing cannot be ascribed to Esports players, they require some motor skills in playing the game including hand-eye coordination and speed of action with strategic and tactical understanding but that is still considered lacking and still far from being a sport. Besides that, there is an element of addiction and symptoms of lack of movement, if you play video games too often, it is also a consideration in determining Esports as a sport. It is necessary for the role of various stakeholders and appropriate government institutions to handle esports so that they can develop and contribute as expected

The Impact of Changes in the Ability to Convey Information and to Make Decisions among Women Soccer Players

In soccer, in addition to skills improvement, raising the tactical understanding of the coach leads to an improved team performance. The purpose of this study was to make a longitudinal inspection of how tactical understanding is impacted by changes in the ability to make decisions and the ability to convey information, which are thought to be related to the tactical understanding of the coach. The scope of the study covered 62 players belonging to women’s soccer clubs. At the beginning and end of a 5-month intervention period, a survey was conducted to evaluate the ability to make decisions and the ability to convey information. The results were classified into an increase group that made an improvement, and a decrease group that worsened. Also, the players’ tactical understanding was evaluated using video tasks, and the degree of change during the intervention was calculated. As a result of the analysis, for the ability to make decisions and the ability to convey information, the increase group had a significantly higher rate of change than the decrease group with regard to tactical understanding. To raise the level of tactical understanding, it is important to increase the ability to make decisions or to convey information.

The Effects of Play Practice Instruction on the Badminton Content Knowledge of a Cohort of Chinese Physical Education Majors

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Play Practice instruction on the badminton content knowledge and skill of a cohort of Chinese physical education majors. Method: Seventy-two second-year students participated in semester-long courses following either the principles of Play Practice or skill-focused instruction. A control/comparison group experimental design with pre- and postmeasures was used in this study. Separate analyses of variance with repeated measures (Time × Group) were conducted to examine the effects of Play Practice and skill-focused instruction for each of four dependent variables: (a) forehand clear, (b) tactical understanding, (c) game performance, and (d) specialized content knowledge. Results: Students from both conditions made significant improvements in all four variables across the semester. However, students in the Play Practice condition showed significantly greater gains in tactical understanding, game performance, and specialized content knowledge. In particular, while 75% of students who experienced Play Practice reached the 3.0 benchmark score for adequate specialized content knowledge, only 8% of students in skill-focused instruction reached this standard.

Tracking relations between development of tactical knowledge and tactical behaviour: a season-long action research study

ABSTRACT Background: Specific learning experiences are vital for athletes to continuously interact with developing knowledge of the performance environment, through the refined design of representative learning contexts (ecological paradigm), and appropriate didactical interventions (constructivist paradigm). Although there is a well-established relationship between tactical knowledge (TK) and tactical behaviours (TB), research has investigated the development of both separately. Thus, the inter-dependency between knowledge and behaviour has been inferred, but not contextually interpreted in a process-oriented analysis of performance. Purpose: Through an insider action-research (AR) design, and adopting a mix-methods approach, this study aimed to: (i) investigate in-depth the influence of a constructivist-ecological pedagogical intervention on developing players’ TK and TB; (ii) explore effects of integrated tactical knowledge and behaviour on competitive performance. Participants and settings: Fifteen female volleyballers participated in this study. An insider-AR (first author assumed the dual role of coach and researcher) was conducted from September 2017 to June 2018. In total, four AR-cycles were completed. A mixed-method approach was used to obtain distinct, but complementary, data on the impact of a constructivist-ecological pedagogical intervention on development of players’ TK and TB. Qualitative data were used to explore the development of TK, while TB was analysed through quantitative methods. Data collection: Qualitative data on the coach’s perceptions were collected using a reflexive diary and field notes, while players’ perceptions were recorded through four semi-structured focus-group interviews, one per AR-cycle. Quantitative data from four official competitive matches, one per AR-cycle, were analysed. Players’ positional coordinates were used to calculate the synchronisation tendencies of lateral blocking and defensive lines through the cluster-phase method. Data analysis: Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis, in which inductive procedures deepened understanding of the development of the players’ TK. A 4 (matches) x 1 (court direction) repeated-measures ANOVA was used to analyse quantitatively the differences in the mean cluster-amplitude values of lateral blocking and defensive lines between matches. Main findings: The unique integration of constructivist and ecological principles scaffolded the development of players’ TK and TB. Players evolved from an initial stage in which they verbally described competitive game scenarios (using knowledge about environment), to an endpoint where they revealed superior tactical understanding and action intentionality. Increments in tactical complexity favoured the development of TK and TB in a long-term analysis. However, over the short-term, TB was reduced. The development of players’ TK (supported by interactions yielding knowledge of practice and performance environments) shaped a basis for the acquisition of co-adaptive TB during competitive performance. Practical implications: First, sport practitioners could benefit from combining strategies from different theoretical approaches so that they can satisfy the daily needs of athletes in practice. Second, we advise coaches to adopt didactical and representative learning designs, grounded on video analysis and the co-creation of game-plans. Third, the data imply that time and the continuous exposure of players to meaningful and representative practice tasks in learning environments are needed so that athletes can enrich their tactical behaviours, using knowledge of the performance environment to interact effectively its constraints.

Relationship between Logical Ability and Tactical Understanding in Women’s Soccer

In soccer, techniques, followed by situational judgment, heavily influences victory or defeat. Logical ability in sports is thought to be associated with situational judgment, coupled with the judgment of individual players and the general manager’s tactical understanding. This study aims to examine the factors related to understanding the coach’s tactical strategies from the perspective of logical ability. The study surveyed 52 university students and 16 high school students belonging to soccer clubs for women. We evaluated players’ level of understanding regarding the coach’s tactics through video tasks. The students were then classified into high-, middle-, and low rank groups in depending on their scores. Further, the study examined the difference in factor scores among the groups by using an evaluation scale designed to measure logical ability in sports. The results highlighted that the factor scores for logical ability in terms of analysis, discovery, explanation, and communication were significantly higher for the high- and middle rank groups compared. Moreover, the low rank group exhibited low levels for “speed of judgment on the flow of the game” and “willingness to share ideas with teammates,” suggesting that these aspects significantly influence tactical understanding.

College Students’ Development of Badminton Skills and Tactical Competencies Following Play Practice

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Play Practice (PP) instruction on badminton performance in college students. Method: A total of 66 students from the United States and China participated in units following either the principles of PP or skill-focused instruction. A nonequivalent control/comparison group experimental design with premeasure and postmeasure was used in this study. Separate analyses of variance with repeated measures (Time × Group) were conducted to examine the effects of PP and skill-focused instruction for each of the four dependent variables: (a) forehand clear, (b) wall volley, (c) game performance, and (d) tactical understanding. Results: Both PP and skill-focused instruction conditions were effective in improving participants’ skills from pretest to posttest. However, PP was also effective in improving participants’ game performance. Conclusion: PP effectively developed both fundamental skills and tactical aspects of badminton without diminishing the transfer effect from practice to games.

Effects of Verbal Interactions between Students on Skill Development, Game Performance and Game Involvement in Soccer Learning

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of verbal interaction between students on skill development and soccer game performance within a socio-constructivist perspective and a cooperative learning model in team-sport teaching. In addition, the usefulness of open verbalization was manifested as follows: (1) a social tool for both actors (teachers and students) to collect and manage reports on their thought processes; (2) a tool to stimulate reflection and critical reflection on performance to induce transformation during game action projects. Participants were 18 boys and 12 girls aged (15 ± 0.4 years) from a Tunisian school (ninth grade). They were placed in either the experimental group (with verbal interaction) or the comparison group (without verbal interaction) and then were tested before and after a 12-lesson soccer unit (approximately two hours/week). Skill competence was assessed using three tests: a 15 m ball dribbling test, the Loughborough Soccer Passing Test (LSPT) and a shooting accuracy test. Game performance was measured using the Game Performance Assessment Instrument (GPAI) in which the outcome variables assessed included (a) decision-making (DM), (b) skill execution (SE), (c) support (S), (d) game performance (GP), and (e) game involvement (GI). While both groups showed significant improvements in their short-passing ability, no such improvements were found in dribbling and shooting. In contrast, only the verbal interaction group produced significant improvements in overall game performance. In conclusion, if the objectives of the physical education curriculum are to promote team-sport teaching methods and quality game play, and create a reflexive learner, verbal interaction may be an effective tool for developing tactical understanding through cooperative learning.

The factors influencing two primary teachers’ interpretation of games

ABSTRACT Research studies investigating the occupational socialization of primary teachers delivering physical education has been conspicuous by its absence (O’Leary, N. 2019. “Teacher socialization in physical education: new perspectives.” Sport, Education and Society 24 (6): 668–671). Using Lawson’s, H. (1986. “Occupational socialization and the design of teacher education programs.” Journal of Teaching in Physical Education 5 (2): 107–116) theoretical framework, this study examined two primary teachers’ interpretation of games and the socialising factors influencing their pedagogical games practices. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed inductively. Three themes appeared around both teachers’ games perspectives: an emphasis on technical learning, a differing use in teaching styles and a contrasting focus on strategical and tactical understanding. A variety of factors influenced these beliefs: negative childhood experiences of physical education, an innovative higher education degree, a continuous professional development course, a physical education planning scheme and the needs of the pupils. It was recommended that practitioners could engage in continuous professional development that develops their strategical and tactical subject knowledge. Furthermore, to complement such courses, teachers could pursue informal learning and utilise communities of practices. Finally, teachers could undertake action research.

The Impact of Play Practice on Chinese Physical Education Pre-Service Teachers Badminton Content Knowledge

OBJECTIVES This study examined the development of Chinese pre-service physical education teachers’ technical skill, tactical understanding, game performance (common content knowledge - CCK), and specialized content knowledge (SCK) during a badminton course incorporating Play Practice instruction.METHODS Participants were 36 pre-service teachers (31 males, 5 females: age 21 ± 1.0) majoring in physical education at a university in central China. The students completed a 24 lesson course after a 16 weeks semester. A typical lesson (90 minutes) included a 10-minute warm-up, followed by instruction in two or three technical skills or tactics for 50-55 minutes. The final 25-minutes included the Play Practice aspect of the lesson - a specific game-based challenge to reinforce a technical or tactical aspect of badminton play. The challenge included the three typical pedagogies of Play Practice: focusing, shaping, and enhancing. The French clear test, tactical understanding in badminton, Game Performance Assessment Instrument (GPAI), and student-generated content maps were used to respectively monitor changes in technical skills, tactical understanding, game performance, and specialized content knowledge before and after the course. Parametric statistics were used to compare student outcomes.RESULTS Statistically significant differences were found on all measures from pre- to post-test, with all showing large effect sizes. In particular, over 75% of students achieved the benchmark depth of SCK following the course.CONCLUSIONS The inclusion of Play Practice within a sport instruction course can contribute to various elements that are needed to promote the CCK and SCK of pre-service physical education students.