Deliberate practice is focused on deliberate and repeated practice of specific
skills. Deliberate practice is a powerful tool to help players improve faster
It's not just about putting in the hours, it's about purposeful practice with full
focus and attention. Players develop faster by setting clear goals, feedback
to receive and critically reflect.
“A training where everything works effortlessly is at too low a level.”
Effective training should be challenging, with enough resistance, so that players can
be encouraged to push their boundaries and improve.
5 Tips for Coaches on Deliberate Practice:
- Set Specific Goals
Have players focus on one skill per session and make sure the goal is clear and
is measurable. - Use Direct Feedback and reflect.
Provides quick and targeted feedback, focused on what is going well and what could be improved. Let
players also give each other feedback. This is exciting at first but after that you have
suddenly a lot of trainers. Reflect with your players their development. - Keep the intensity high
Deliberate practice requires concentrated effort. Create short, intensive
practice moments where players focus their full attention on improving
their technique. - Process Competition Elements
Incorporate competitive elements such as time pressure or competition to create realistic challenges
simulate and let players practice in match situations. - Allow for Variation in Repetition
Repetition is key, but prevent players from automatically acting without
think. Gradually increase the difficulty or change the context slightly,
such as adding an extra challenge or game variation. This keeps the concentration
sharp and prevents players from clinging to routine. This keeps the exercise
goal-oriented and effective, while maintaining motivation to continue learning.
With this approach, coaches can help young people to develop in a structured and effective way
way to develop their skills, which ultimately makes them better athletes.
Sources:
- InnerDrive-DeliberatePractice: What sets elite athletes apart from the rest.
Description of deliberate practice and how it improves elite performance.
https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/blog/deliberate-practice-athletes/ - Kessels&Smit-Deliberate Practice: The art of deliberate practice.
Explanation of the principles of deliberate practice and how it aims at improvement through
reflection and feedback.
https://www.kessels-smit.com/nl/deliberate-practice-de-kunst-van-doelbewust-oefenen - Premier Sport Psychology-The Importance of Deliberate Practice.
Emphasizes the importance of deliberate, purposeful practice for athletes.
https://premiersportpsychology.com/2016/12/20/the-importance-of-deliberate-practice/ - National Institutes of Health NIH Article on deliberate practice and expertise development.
Academic overview of the theory and application of deliberate practice.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7461852/ - Scottish Athletics – Coaching Conference on deliberate play and deliberate practice.
Discussion on combining play and purposeful practice in the development of
athletes.
https://www.scottishathletics.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Scottish-Coaching-Conference-Deliberate-Play-and-Practice-2016.pdf - Player Development Project – Article on deliberate practice.
Discusses how deliberate practice is applied in youth sports development.
https://playerdevelopmentproject.com/deliberate-practice
