ABSTRACT
The attainment of sporting expertise and stable performance at an elite level are assumed to depend upon a variety of physiological, physical, sociological, and psychological skills. An important question to initially consider when thinking about perceptual-cognitive skill training is what causes the experts' superiority revealed in perceptual-cognitive skill tests. Evidence from the motor learning and control domain, for instance with regard to scheduling practice or the provision of feedback, has inspired scientists to examine whether the concepts revealed may also apply to training of perceptual-cognitive skills. According to the motor skill literature, blocked practice is less beneficial for motor skill acquisition compared to random practice. Besides the training environment and stimuli being close to the natural performance situation, perceptual-cognitive skill training may demand representativeness in the responses required from learners. Hence, athletes' perceptual-cognitive skills may be improved through specific training, provided that certain prerequisites are met.
