The Teaching and Learning of Decision Making in Team Sports

Abstract

In team sports, playing well means choosing the right course of action at the right moment and performing that course of action efficiently and consistently throughout the match. Research on decision making in sports indicates that although experts make more accurate decisions based on earlier occurring information, they tend to have speed, rather than accuracy, context-specific advantage in decision making. In light of the key notion of configuration of play, elements underlying its perception and interpretation and the ensuing anticipation and decision making are discussed. In connection with teachinglearning settings, observation and verbalization are presented as key strategies for eliciting critical thinking and the development of strategic and tactical knowledge. Finally, the authors present a dynamic model exploiting (a) action settings. (b) observation settings, and (c) debate-of-idea settings for the ultimate goal of conshucting strategic and tactical knowledge in team sports.