Hi all, Just thought I’d comment on one of the smaller points raised in the emails about the women’s tour and scheduling stuff. I don’t know much (if anything) about scheduling or how / why they work, but the conversation did take a brief detour about learning by watching (dvds) or learning by involvement, which is something I do know about.
Felix mentioned about learning via watching DVDs. This is a great way for people to see tactics and game play second hand and is a fantastic way for the tacticians of the team or captains, perhaps even those who have been tasked to write a play book (if that’s something you do), for them to see what works and what doesn’t work for the top teams featured. However, as mentioned by the person quoted by Felix, was the need for involvement, i.e. playing people better than you, something that shouldn’t be dismissed. It is very important not to make the mistake that competition, which is created most often by playing someone equal or better, is the same as experience that is gained by playing those who are just plain better. Some people may know about the theories of learning styles. For those who learn best through direct experience of something would benefit most from playing at least one competitor who is more experienced than them. (This is a general idea, and the competition could be found individually by marking the “best” player on your team at a training or matching up against a stronger player on a team of similar seeding, so not just playing a hands down, all round, better team). Obviously I am bias though, I come from a career and an area of study that champions learning through experience and reflection but it’s something that is very prevalent in sport and is always talked about by high level competitors. Playing the same teams and the same players, in the same bracket every tour, every year is a sure way to stagnate the progression of those teams who find themselves in that situation. Whereas, perhaps the teams who have greater ability tend not to stagnate as the tactics and the players of those “top” teams can and do change frequently, as the strive to stay or become top. Anyway. My point was that a lot of people who choose to participate in sport are those who also learn best though involvement, people who may consider themselves hands on. It is my opinion that most people can’t fully understand something until they have experienced it first hand, so it is one thing to watch a style of play but then another to experience it and be able to draw on that, reflecting on its success and/or failures. I can think of many personal moments like this in and out of Ultimate. When I teach anything, or try to learn something new, I always remember this little (famous) phrase. “Tell me and I will hear it, show me and I will see it, involve me and I will understand it.” Obviously I’m not giving my opinion on the structure of the women’s tour. As I know nothing about it. Would it even be the concern of the Tour to consider development or is it just purely a competition structure to find the winner? Because the winner will always win... that I can guarantee ;) Thanks for taking your time to read my poor english skills in action. ---- Liam Kelly UKU Youth Development Coordinator [email protected] 07595 618 129 my email and oppinions are not those of the uku's, blah blah blah, or my teams, bla bla blah or my mothers, blah blah blah or my dogs... __________________________________________________ BritDisc mailing list [email protected] http://www.fysh.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/britdisc Staying informed - http://www.ukultimate.com/staying-informed
