How to Teach Sport-Specific Movement Patterns
Joe Friel outlines his method for analyzing sport-specific skills. After establishing a hierarchy to the movement patterns, he teaches athletes each subcomponent until mastery is achieved.
- Identify: Determine the skill’s beginning and ending points.
- Disassemble: Break the skill into two or more subcomponents and define the learning hierarchy.
- Evaluate: Get a video of the athlete doing the skill and assess the athlete’s initial movement pattern for weaknesses.
- Demonstrate: Show the athlete how to execute the most basic subcomponents, one at a time, exaggerating the movement pattern as needed.
- Imitate: Have the athlete imitate one subcomponent at a time using drills to exaggerate and reinforce the movement.
- Feedback: Get a video of the athlete doing the drill and review it with them, giving feedback to the athlete.
- Proficiency: Repeat video assessments until each skill subcomponent is individually mastered by the athlete.
- Reassemble: Have the athlete combine the subcomponents of the skill into one complete movement pattern.
- Replicate: Video the new movement pattern, provide feedback on the complete movement pattern. Compare with initial assessment to note progress.
- Consideration: Suggest drill(s) and identify individualized concerns for the athlete to focus on as training progresses.