What can coaches and physical education teachers learn from a constraints-led approach in para-sport?

ABSTRACT Background: Skill acquisition is still a relatively new and emerging specialist discipline in the sport sciences. Like other disciplines, current service support in Paralympic sport is limited, often based on theory adapted from able-bodied sport, or findings from research programmes that are not representative of elite sport contexts. The application of skill acquisition principles and pedagogical research is an opportunity to support the development of practice task designs in para-sport contexts. Of interest is the individualised nature of athlete impairments, requiring a flexible and imaginative approach, particularly given potential barriers between theory and practice. The Constraints-Led Approach (CLA) provides one potential solution; a functional framework for understanding interacting factors on athlete performance and learning. Despite the advocacy for a broad application of this approach in recent years, this has still had limited impact or research situated in elite sport. Purpose: To begin to bridge the gap between theory and practice, we consider the experiences of a skill acquisition specialist (SAS) working with para-sport coaches and athletes. We highlight key issues and challenges in these contexts, and how and why a CLA has been central to skill acquisition support. Furthermore, we aim to demonstrate how the need to pay careful attention to individual and environmental constraints in para-sport can highlight universal recommendations for practitioners who work in physical education (PE) or able-bodied coaching. Design: These aims are achieved via a reflective ‘conversation’ between the two authors. Commentaries are provided to compare experiences of the first author with current understandings within the literature. A case-study is then used to provide insights to bring to life how the framework of a CLA was used to support task designs for an athlete preparing for the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. Findings: Reflections highlight the importance of the SAS gathering knowledge within and about specific athletes and contexts by immersing themselves in the performance environment to fully understand the complexities of the coaching environment, and adapt support accordingly. Discussions highlight the importance of working closely with coaches to harness experiential knowledge and design truly individualised tasks that match the individual needs of athletes. Considering impairment as simply one of many interacting individual constraints can allow for more effective task designs and provide useful examples for practitioners across a wider range of contexts (e.g. able-bodied sport, PE). We demonstrate how a CLA should be considered as a flexible framework, and that implementation needs to be carefully designed based on a range of factors (e.g. socio-cultural, coaching contexts). We also stress that an effective CLA is not a ‘hands-off’ approach, but constant careful and considered manipulation, facilitation and appropriate instructional input. Examples and key reflections are provided for coaches across all sport and PE contexts to consider when looking to implement a CLA. Conclusions: A CLA can support the development of individualised learning programmes and integration of key skill acquisition principles. Practitioners should look to consider the individual constraints, socio-cultural and coaching context to adapt current frameworks and knowledge to support coaches to continually improve practice task designs.