Case Study in Determining Practice Schedule
Mohammed was the newly appointed coach of the high school track team. He had plenty of experience as a runner, having
competed at the international level, but very little experience in performing or coaching field events, he was concerned about his lack
of knowledge of weight events, particularly the shot put. he had read books about the skill but wanted to take a scientific approach
that incorporated all that he had learned in kinesiology dasses. He reflected on what he had learned in motor learning and
performance, biomechanics, and exercise physiology to come up with a basic practice plan. Brining his analytical ability to bear,
Mohammed recognized that the shot put is a closed skill (see chapter 3) that requires improvement in both physical performance
capacity (strength, mainly) and skill developments (specifically, a coordinated series of perfectly executed movements). He reviewed
his notes from his classes and believed that he now had a good handle on the mechanics of the event and understood the best way
to develop athletes' strength. The question of how to arrange practices, however, remained unanswered.
Please answer the following questions:
How would you design practice for this event? Would you vary the practice conditions by changing the distance and direction of the
athletes' throws? Would you have the athletes perform the movements without the shot during early trials? Would you have the
athletes perform the movements without the shot during early trials? Would you have them practice the skill repetitively- say, at least
25 successive trials in each practice session?