Abstract:
This research investigated the effects of training arrangement and focus of attention on skill learning in sports. 40 female high school students (mean age = 16.02 ± 0.88 years) practiced the dart throwing skill with blocked or random practice arrangements while their attention was directed to the skill (dart scores) or to an irrelevant cue (secondary sounds) using dual tasks. Analysis of variance was performed on baseline, training phase, and delayed transfer test. The results showed that all groups had significant score improvements from baseline to the delayed transfer test. In addition, the greatest improvement from baseline to the delayed test, compared to other conditions, was observed in the random practice-attention to irrelevant factor condition. In conclusion, the present study provided new information regarding the interactive relationship between training arrangement and attention focus during the learning of a sports skill.
Machine summary:
For example, Mira and Tani (14) examined practice (80 attempts) of dart throwing from two distances of 300 and 420 cm with two levels of low/high variability in novice individuals and concluded that there was no difference between the performance of the two groups in the transfer test (from a distance of 360 cm).
affect it; therefore, if it is possible to provide conditions by changing the focus of attention that maximize the level of interference in practice, it may be possible to observe the effects of contextual interference in tasks such as dart throwing from different distances, which have similar generalized motor programs, and benefit from its advantages.
Considering the importance of the topic and taking into account the points mentioned, the present research investigated the interaction between practice variability (a constraint related to the task) and attention focus (a constraint related to the environment) in learning a new sports skill (dart throwing).
Multiple comparisons of performance scores of the four groups in the transfer test (N = 40 (Refer to the image on the page) Discussion and Conclusion This study investigated the interaction between levels of practice variability and manipulation of attentional focus on the learning process of a sports skill.
The findings of the research generally support these views and show that changing constraints of the task and environment, respectively including the constraint of high variability in the arrangement of practice from different distances and the constraint of shifting focus of attention in the form of attention to an irrelevant factor, created the best conditions for learning the dart throwing skill.
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