Defining Skill & Ability (AQA GCSE Physical Education (PE))

Skill & Ability

• Sports performance is dependent on an individual's skill and ability level

Skill

• Skill can be defined as follows:

A learned action that can be improved with practice

• An effectively mastered skill will consistently result in a successful outcome with minimal effort

• Skills in sport are usually physical, e.g. the ability to pass the ball successfully in football, or an efficient breaststroke technique in swimming

• Skills can also be related to thought processes, e.g. the habit of mentally rehearsing a movement, or carrying out positive self-talk

Ability

• Ability can be defined as follows:

Innate traits that determine performance

• An innate ability is determined by an individual's DNA, meaning that it is stable throughout life and is not influenced by learning

• Examples of traits for which innate ability plays an important role include:

  • Coordination

  • Balance

  • Agility

  • Muscular endurance

• Ability can determine the ease with which an individual can acquire new skills

  • E.g. having a small build with powerful muscles, excellent balance, and flexibility will increase the likelihood that someone can acquire the skills of a successful gymnast

• Note that while it can be argued that traits such as coordination, balance and agility can be improved with training, these particular fitness components are more difficult to improve than others so are classified as abilities rather than skills

Classifications of Skill

• Skills can be classified as follows:

  • Basic/complex

  • Open/closed

  • Self-paced/externally-paced

  • Gross/fine

• Each category exists on a continuum

  • E.g. skills are not all either basic or complex, but fall on a continuum between these two levels

The basic/complex skills continuum

• This continuum is about the difficulty level of the skill itself

• This may be determined by the movements involved, or by the decision making processes required to carry out the skill effectively in a real-life situation

Basic/complex skills table

Basic/complex continuum examples

Skills can be placed on a continuum according the how basic or complex they are

The open/closed skills continuum

• This is about the extent to which the surrounding environment affects the success of the skill

  • It is sometimes referred to as the environmental continuum

• The presence or absence of other people is an important environmental factor, e.g.

  • Teammates

  • An opponent

  • An opposition team

• Open skills are affected by the environment, meaning that the way a skill is carried out may need to be adjusted to take environmental factors into account

• Closed skills are not affected by the environment, meaning that a skill carried out in a particular way will meet with the same level of success every time

Open/closed skills table

Open/closed continuum examples

Skills can be placed on a continuum according to the extent to which they are affected by environmental factors

The self-paced/externally paced skills continuum

• This is about the decision making involved with:

  • When to initiate a skill

  • The pace at which a skill is carried out

• The timing and pace of a self-paced skill is determined entirely by the performer

• The timing and pace of an externally-paced skill is affected by external factors, such as the receipt of a pass from a teammate or opponent

Self-paced/externally paced skills table

Self-paced/externally paced continuum examples

Skills can be placed on a continuum according to the extent to which their initiation and pace are determined by external factors

The gross/fine skills continuum

• This is about the size of movement and the precision required for a skill to be carried out successfully

• A gross skill does not require precision and involves large groups of muscles in the body

• A fine skill requires a high level of precision and uses small muscle groups

Gross/fine skills table

Gross/fine continuum examples

Skills can be placed on a continuum according to the size of the muscle groups involved