Nicola J. Hodges

Bio: Nicola J. Hodges is an academic researcher from University of British Columbia. The author has contributed to research in topics: Motor learning & Motor skill. The author has an hindex of 39, co-authored 135 publications receiving 6546 citations. Previous affiliations of Nicola J. Hodges include University of Michigan & McMaster University.

Team Sports and the Theory of Deliberate Practice

Abstract: Two studies tested the theory of deliberate practice (Ericsson, Krampe, & Tesch-Romer, 1993) and contrasted results with the sport commitment model (Scanlan, Carpenter, Schmidt, Simons, & Keeler, 1993a, 1993b). In Part I, international, national, and provincial soccer and field hockey players recalled the amount of time they spent in individual and team practice, sport-related activities, and everyday activities at the start of their career and every 3 years since. In Part II, these activities were rated in terms of their relevance for improving performance, effort and concentration required, and enjoyment. A monotonic relationship between accumulated individual plus team practice and skill level was found. In contrast with Ericsson et al.’s (1993) findings for musicians, relevant activities were also enjoyable, while concentration became a separate dimension from effort. The viability of a generalized theory of expertise is discussed.

Practice, instruction and skill acquisition in soccer: Challenging tradition

Abstract: The acquisition of soccer skills is fundamental to our enjoyment of the game and is essential to the attainment of expertise. Players spend most of their time in practice with the intention of improving technical skills. However, there is a lack of scientific research relating to the effective acquisition of soccer skills, especially when compared with the extensive research base on physiological aspects of performance. Current coaching practice is therefore based on tradition, intuition and emulation rather than empirical evidence. The aim of this review is to question some of the popular beliefs that guide current practice and instruction in soccer. Empirical evidence is presented to dispel many of these beliefs as myths, thereby challenging coaches to self-reflect and critically evaluate contemporary doctrine. The review should inform sports scientists and practitioners as to the important role that those interested in skill acquisition can play in enhancing performance at all levels of the game.

Skill Acquisition in Sport : Research, Theory and Practice

Abstract: Preface - NICOLA HODGES and MARK WILLIAMS I. PRESENTING INFORMATION 1. The roles and uses of augmented feedback in motor skill acquisition - RICHARD MAGILL and DAVID ANDERSON 2. Mixing it up a little: How to schedule observational practice - NICOLE ONG and NICOLA HODGES 3. Attentional focus affects movement efficiency - KEITH LOHSE, GABRIELE WULF and REBECCA LEWTHWAITE 4. Advances in implicit motor learning - RICHARD S. W. MASTERS and JAMIE POOLTON II: OPTIMIZING PRACTICE CONDITIONS 5. Scheduling practice - TIMOTHY LEE 6. Mental imagery, action observation and skill learning - AIDAN MORAN, MARK CAMPBELL, PAUL HOLMES and TADHG MACINTYRE 7. Ecological dynamics and motor learning design in sport - KEITH DAVIDS, DUARTE ARAUJO, ROBERT HRISTOVSKI, PEDRO PASSOS AND JIA YI CHOW 8. The representation, production, and transfer of simple and complex movement sequences - CHARLES SHEA and DAVID WRIGHT 9. Physical guidance research: Assisting principles and supporting evidence - NICOLA HODGES and PAUL CAMPAGNARO III: ISSUES IN MOTOR LEARNING 10. Motor learning through a motivational lens - REBECCA LEWTHWAITE and GABRIELE WULF 11. Motor skill consolidation - MAXIME TREMPE and LUC PROTEAU 12. Critical periods, readiness and skill learning - DAVID ANDERSON, RICHARD MAGILL and REGIS THOUVARECQ 13. Mechanisms of skilled joint action performance - TERRY ESKENAZI, ROBRECHT VAN DER WEL and NATALIE SEBANZ 14. Motor skill learning and its neurophysiology - KATIE WADDEN, MICHAEL BORICH and LARA BOYD IV: SKILLED PERFORMANCE 15. The development of skill in sport - JEAN COTE, JENNIFER MURPHY MILLS and BRUCE ABERNETHY 16. Experts have all the time in the world - BRUCE ABERNETHY, DAMIAN FARROW, ADAM GORMAN and DAVID MANN 17. Perceptual expertise: what can be trained? JOE CAUSER, CHRISTOPHER JANELLE, JOAN VICKERS and A. MARK WILLIAMS 18. Embodied cognition: from the playing field to the classroom - CARLY KONTRA, NEIL ALBERT and SIAN BEILOCK 19. Especial skills: generality and specificity in motor learning - GAVIN BRESLIN, RICHARD SCHMIDT and TIMOTHY LEE V: RESEARCH, THEORY & PRACTICE: CHALLENGES & SOLUTIONS 20. Translating Theory into Practice: Working at the 'Coal Face' in the UK! - A. MARK WILLIAMS, PAUL FORD, JOE CAUSER, OLIVER LOGAN and STAFFORD MURRAY 21. Working in the field: A Southern hemisphere perspective - CHRIS BUTTON and DAMIAN FARROW

The roles of talent, physical precocity and practice in the development of soccer expertise.

Abstract: Here we consider the potential contributions of talent, physical precocity and deliberate practice in the development of soccer expertise. After presenting a working definition of ‘talent', we examine how coaches perceive and select potential talent. Our findings suggest that much of what coaches see as early talent may be explained by physical precocity associated with a relative age advantage. Finally, as a test of the model of Deliberate Practice, we review the results of studies that assessed the progress of international, national and provincial players based on accumulated practice, amount of practice per week and relative importance and demands of various practice and everyday activities. A positive linear relationship was found between accumulated individual plus team practice and skill. Various practical suggestions can be made to improve talent detection and selection and to optimize career practice patterns in soccer.

The road to excellence: deliberate practice and the development of expertise

Abstract: The relative contribution of domain‐specific and non‐domain‐specific activities to the development of soccer expertise was examined using a retrospective cross‐sectional design. Elite and sub‐elite players aged between 9 and 18 years of age completed a participation history questionnaire under supervision. Weekly and accumulated hours spent in soccer team practice most consistently discriminated between skill levels across age cohorts. Elite players spent more time in decision‐making activities during team practice, possessed higher levels of motivation and had greater parental support. Maturational indices, time spent in playful activities, sporting diversity and time at which specialization occurred did not differentiate between groups. Engaging in activities deliberately designed to improve performance rather than mere experience within the domain or experience of related activities is likely to lead to elite status.

Deliberate practice and the acquisition and maintenance of expert performance in medicine and related domains.

Abstract: The factors that cause large individual differences in professional achievement are only partially understood. Nobody becomes an outstanding professional without experience, but extensive experience does not invariably lead people to become experts. When individuals are first introduced to a professional domain after completing their education, they are often overwhelmed and rely on help from others to accomplish their responsibilities. After months or years of experience, they attain an acceptable level of proficiency and are able to work independently. Although everyone in a given domain tends to improve with experience initially, some develop faster than others and continue to improve during ensuing years. These individuals are eventually recognized as experts and masters. In contrast, most professionals reach a stable, average level of performance within a relatively short time frame and maintain this mediocre status for the rest of their careers. The nature of the individual differences that cause the large variability in attained performance is still debated. The most common explanation is that achievement in a given domain is limited by innate factors that cannot be changed through experience and training; hence, limits of attainable performance are determined by one’s basic endowments, such as abilities, mental capacities, and innate talents. Educators with this widely held view of professional development have focused on identifying and selecting students who possess the necessary innate talents that would allow them to reach expert levels with adequate experience. Therefore, the best schools and professional organizations nearly always rely on extensive testing and interviews to find the most talented applicants. This general view also explains age-related declines in professional achievement in terms of the inevitable reductions in general abilities and capacities believed to result from aging. In this article, I propose an alternative framework to account for individual differences in attained professional development, as well as many aspects of age-related decline. This framework is based on the assumption that acquisition of expert performance requires engagement in deliberate practice and that continued deliberate practice is necessary for maintenance of many types of professional performance. In order to contrast this alternative framework with the traditional view, I first describe the account based on innate talent. I then provide a brief review of the evidence on deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance in several performance domains, including music, chess, and sports. Finally, I review evidence from the acquisition and maintenance of expert performance in medicine and examine the role of deliberate practice in this domain.

The Influence of Experience and Deliberate Practice on the Development of Superior Expert Performance

Abstract: There are several factors that influence the level of professional achievement. First and foremost, extensive experience of activities in a domain is necessary to reach very high levels of performance. Extensive experience in a domain does not, however, invariably lead to expert levels of achievement. When individuals are first introduced to a professional domain after completing their basic training and formal education, they often work as apprentices and are supervised by more-experienced professionals as they accomplish their work-related responsibilities. After months of experience, they typically attain an acceptable level of proficiency, and with longer experience, often years, they are able to work as independent professionals. At that time most professionals reach a stable, average level of performance, and then they maintain this pedestrian level for the rest of their careers. In contrast, some continue to improve and eventually reach the highest levels of professional mastery. Traditionally, individual differences in the performance of professionals have been explained by an account given by Galton (1869/1979, see Ericsson, 2003a, for a description). According to this view, every healthy person will improve initially through experience, but these improvements are eventually limited by innate factors that cannot be changed through training; hence attainable performance is constrained by one's basic endowments, such as abilities, mental capacities, and innate talents. This general view also explains age-related declines in professional achievement, owing to the inevitable degradation of general capacities and processes with age (see also Krampe & Charness, Chapter 40).

The Influence of the Family in the Development of Talent in Sport

Abstract: The purpose of the present study was to describe patterns in the dynamics of families of talented athletes throughout their development in sport. Four families, including three families of elite rowers and one family of an elite tennis player were examined. The framework provided by Ericsson, Krampe, and Tesch-Romer (1993) to explain expert performance served as the theoretical basis for the study. Ericsson et al. suggested that the acquisition of expert performance involves operating within three types of constraints: motivational, effort, and resource. In-depth interviews were conducted with each athlete, parent, and sibling to explore how they have dealt with these three constraints. A total of 15 individual interviews were conducted. Results permitted the identification of three phases of participation from early childhood to late adolescence: the sampling years, the specializing years, and the investment years. The dynamics of the family in each of these phases of development is discussed.

Does Discovery-Based Instruction Enhance Learning?.

Abstract: Discovery learning approaches to education have recently come under scrutiny (Tobias & Duffy, 2009), with many studies indicating limitations to discovery learning practices. Therefore, 2 meta-analyses were conducted using a sample of 164 studies: The 1st examined the effects of unassisted discovery learning versus explicit instruction, and the 2nd examined the effects of enhanced and/or assisted discovery versus other types of instruction (e.g., explicit, unassisted discovery). Random effects analyses of 580 comparisons revealed that outcomes were favorable for explicit instruction when compared with unassisted discovery under most conditions (d – 0.38, 95% CI [–.44, .31]). In contrast, analyses of 360 comparisons revealed that outcomes were favorable for enhanced discovery when compared with other forms of instruction (d 0.30, 95% CI [.23, .36]). The findings suggest that unassisted discovery does not benefit learners, whereas feedback, worked examples, scaffolding, and elicited explanations do.