ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses a number of the contemporary approaches in motor learning that can be used by practitioners to help design and implement skill practice sessions for developmental level athletes. It highlights the intention to create an athlete-centred learning environment that not only promotes the acquisition of individualised coordination patterns, but also highly adaptable athletes who are capable of achieving success in the demanding environment of elite level sport. The application of the constraints-led approach in coaching typically involves the manipulation of one or more categories of constraints in an attempt to encourage the natural emergence of a desired movement behaviour. The concept of 'functional variability' suggests that the variability that typically occurs during the execution of a skill may often play an important role in helping to facilitate adaptability. Clearly, the role of the sports practitioner is pivotal in creating suitable practice activities to enhance motor learning.
