Dynamic Systems Theory and External Focus

Hybrid of Class Presentation and

Coaching Journal
Krissi Kemper, Sam Moore, Jordin
Ramos,
and Malia Shoji
This years team was made
up of advanced volleyball
players, ages 18-23
3 seniors having 3+ years with
WOU
2 players having 2 years with
WOU
5 players with 1 year with WOU
5 being first year players.


Background on WOU VB Team

Head Coach, Brad
Saindon, has been
coaching college
volleyball and
national level
players for over 35
years.

Malia, the assistant
coach, has only been
at the college level for
3 of the 8 years she
has coached
volleyball.
Barriers of College Volleyball
Pressure of Time:
1st day of practice August
19th
18 days of practice before
1st competition

Comparison:
Basketball gets 2 months
of practice, lifting etc.
before their 1st
competition

Barriers unique to WOU VB
Myth that external focus meant lack of
fundamental focus
Translation from tradition wording to external
wording
Our next competition came shortly after
starting external focus so practice benefits
had not even been fully realized.
Young players lacked experience, fully
developed schemas, fundamental excellence
and creativity to experiment freely within the
given task.

Riddles!
Team Pastime ->
training method ->
final presentation

Benefits:
Build problem
solving skills and
critical thinking
Example Riddle
.
During WWI sailors got shipwreck and found their
way to an island that is inhabited with cannibals.
The sailors adapted to the cannibals lifestyle
during this time. They look, talk and act the same,
the only difference is that sailors never lie and
cannibals always lie. After the war other sailors
came to rescue them. When they got to the island,
three island inhabitants approached them. in order
to take the stranded sailors home they ask
questions to see who to kill and who to take home.
The rescue sailors asked the first person are you
a sailor the inhabitant said oogabuga they asked
the second person are you a sailor the next said
hes lying Im a sailor they asked the third are
you a sailor and he said they are both lying Im
sailor . Who do they shoot and why?

Timeline
Through the application of external focus this
past season, we witnessed the relevance of
dynamic systems theory within our learning
environment.




Stage 1: Beginning: Individual constraints
Stage 2: Middle: task constraints
Stage 3: End: environmental constraints




Beginning of the Season
WOU VB Player
Development Process:
Brad has always said to learn how to play using our technique and in our system it
takes a full year.
Our path was much more complicated but the
development depth of increased while still
achieving the same amount of skill advancement.
Knowledge is Disruptive
Riddle #1
At the start of a new season, two
starting setters, who both play
equally, were given the exact
same drill to do. While in the
middle of the drill they are
stopped. One player was told to
focus on where the ball is landing.
The second player was told to
focus on where the ball is
released. If they were taught the
exact same technique, why did
the coach give the players
different things to focus on?


Distance Effect &
The Constrained Action Hypothesis
Setter A: focused
on where the set
would land,
rather than the
balls release.
This is because
of the
automaticity of
her setting
technique.

Setter B: focused on the
release of the ball, thinking
about if her whole hands are
covering the ball when she
sets;


Training Motor Movement
Using External Focus
Paradox of Fundamentals
That fundamentals CAN be taught without
using internal focus.
Age isnt a factor of fundamental
development it is experience.
Fundamentals are still the building blocks
to get to automaticity so learning to
translate fundamental feedback to be
external is important.
Riddle #2
Wou hitters were given
two different external
focuses when attacking
the ball.
Goal: Hit the ball down
the line.
External focus A was
ineffective for almost all
hitters. External focus B
was effective for almost
all hitters.
Why?
Riddle #2 Objective
Hit the ball
away from
middle
back
because
the best
defender
is there
keeping
us from
killing
balls.
Task Complexity
Task Complexity

Shae, Charles H., Wulf, G. 1999. Enhancing motor learning through external focus
instructions and feedback. Human movement science, 18, 553-571.
Hit the
inside
hand of
the
blocker
Hit the
outside
hand of
the
blocker
Video
Video
video

Paradox of Simplicity
With the understanding of Schema Theory
the idea is to make practice varied and
random.

The paradox is that as you increase
variability and use of random practice, the
task can become vague. Simplicity of the
task require external focus that decreases
complexity rather than adding to it.
Riddle #3
A WOU freshman began practicing to top-
spin jump serve. At the beginning random
practice was used and success was
sporadic. Because of difficulty of task, type
of practice was changed and resulted in
12% increase. Why?

Video of Jump serve
Complex Movements
in Chaotic Environments
11/4/13
Gentils Square was
introduced

11/5/13
Started to train jump servers
using a sequenced practice
method
Video


In less than 1 month using sequenced jump
serve practice, the player increased 12% .
Gentiles sequencing: a jump
serve
machine
tosses for
you
jump serve off
a given toss
ball held in the
air
jump serve in
game
environment
Riddle #3
UAF/UAA at home:
10/31/13 and 11/2/13

Total serves: 19
(*8 total sets played)
Total errors: 11
Total aces: 2

-0.47

NNU/CWU away:
11/21/13 and 11/23/13

Total serves: 12
(*7 total sets played)
Total errors: 4
Total aces: 2

0.167


Paradox of Advanced Players
Varied practice is not always the best method, even with
advanced players.

-Player confidence
-Success rate
-Motivation to continue to be challenged


Hautala, R. M., & Conn, J. H. (2000). Sequencing for sport-specific skill learning. - The Physical Educator, 57(4), 202-
208.

Conclusion
Tools such as external focus must be utilized with a
broader understanding of college athletics as a chaotic
environment. Understanding the complexities of the
environment, the individual and the task, the coach
becomes a mediator of system output rather than an
instructor of behaviorist response.
Grays Anatomy example

Riddle 1: individual constraints
Riddle 2: task constraints
Riddle 3: environmental constraints

Paradox of Common Sense
Simple situations can
be solved using common
sense.

Coaching, in the
behaviorist sense of the
term, is paradoxically
viewed as simple.

Image References:
http://www.humansandnature.org/filebin/images/questions/full/questionLarge_BuildRoad.jpg
http://hqwallbase.com/images/big/road-213456.jpg
http://www.sidewalkbubblegum.com/education-for-a-new-world-order/
http://psych-schools-of-thought.wikispaces.com/Behaviorism
http://www.dmitryvolokhov.info/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/jpg-clock-template_noarrows.jpg

http://www.amarillojrs.com/uploads/images/volleyball.jpg
References
Sam Moore:
Zarghami, M.,Saemi, E. and Fathi, I. (2012). EXTERNAL FOCUS OF ATTENTION ENHANCES
DISCUS THROWING PERFORMANCE. Kinesiology. 1:47-51.
Wulf, G. Dufek, J. (2009). Increased Jump Heigh with an External Focus Due to Enhanced Lower
Extremity Joint Kinetics. Journal of Motor Behavior. Vol. 51. No. 5. 401-409.
Schorer, J. Jaitner, T. Wollny, R. Fath, F. Baker, J. (2012). Influence of varying focus of attention
conditions on dart throwing performance in experts and novices. Exp Brain Res. 217:287297.
Wulf, G. Shea, C. Leathwaite, R. (2009). Motor skill learning and performance: a review of influential
factors. Medical Education. Vol. 44 Issue 1, p75-84.

References
Jordin Ramos:
Lindsay, Stephen, and Larry L. Jacoby. "Awareness, Automaticiy, and Memory Dissociations." Studies of
Normal and Abnormal Memory in Humans. By Jeffrey P. Toth. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 46+. Print
Movement Science and Sport Psychology. (n.d.). Frontiers. Retrieved November 3, 2013, from
http://www.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00591/full
Lin, J., Fisher, B. E., & Winstein, C. J. (2009, May). Neural Correlate of the Contextual Interference
Effect in Motor Learning: A Kinematic Analysis. NCBI. doi: 10.3200/JMBR.41.3.232-242
Marchant, D. (n.d.). Novice Motor Skill Performance and Task Experience is Influenced by Attentional
Focusing Instructions and Instruction Preferences. Academia. Retrieved October 30, 2013, from
http://www.academia.edu/446673/Novice_motor_skill_performance_and_task_experience_is_influenced
_by_attentional_focusing_instructions_and_instruction_preferences
Wulf, G., & Hob, M. (2010, April 01). Instructions for Motor Learning: Differential Effects of Internal
Versus External Focus of Attention. Taylor and Francis. doi: 10.1080/00222899809601334



References
Krissi Kemper:
Wulf, G., McConnel, N., Gartner, M., & Schwarz, A. (2002).Enhancing the
Learning of Sport Skills Through External-FocusFeedback.Journal Of Motor
Behavior, 34(2), 171.
Wolf, G., Chiviacowsky, S., Schiller, E., & Avila, L. (2010). Frequent external-
focus feedback enhances motor learning [Abstract]. Frontiers in Psychology. doi:
10.3389/fpsyg.2010.00190

Caliari, P. (2008). Enhancing forehand acquisition in table tennis: The role of
mental practice [Abstract]. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 20(1), 88-96.
doi: 10.1080/10413200701790533

Zarghami, M., Saemi, E., & Fathi, I. (2012). External focus of attention enhances
discus throwing performance [Abstract]. Kinesiology, 44(1), 47-51.

Guillot, A., Desliens, S., Rouyer, C., & Rogowski, I. (2013). Motor imagery and
tennis serve performance: The external focus efficacy [Abstract]. Journal of
Sports Science & Medicine, 12(2), 332-338. Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.wou.edu:2105/pmc/articles/PMC3761826/

References
Malia Shoji:
Mastos, M, Miller, K, Eliasson, AC, & Imms, C. 2007. Goal-directed training: linking theories of treatment to clinical practice for
improved functional activities in daily life. Clinical rehabilitation, 21, 47-55.

Freedman, S, Maas, E, Caligiuri, M, Wulf, G, Ronin, D. 2007. Internal versus external: oral-motor performance as a function of
attentional focus. Journal of speech, language, and hearing research, 50, 131-136.
Wulf, G. 1989. The effect of type of practice on motor learning in children. Applied cognitive psychology, 5, 123-134.

Moore, Lee J., Vine, Samuel J., Cooke, Andrew, King, Christopher and Wilson, Mark K. 2012. Quiet eye training expedites motor
learning and aids performance under heightened anxiety: The roles of response programming and external attention.
Psychophysiology, 49, 1005-1015.

Wulf, G. 1991. The effect of type of practice on motor learning in children. Applied cognitive psychology, 5, 123-134.

Shae, Charles H., Wulf, G. 1999. Enhancing motor learning through external focus instructions and feedback. Human movement
science, 18, 553-571.

Masters, RSW, Maxwell, JP, Poolton, JM and Roab, M. 2006. Benefits of an external focus of attention: common coding or
conscious processing? Journal of sports science, 24.1, 89.

Conn, James H, Hautala, Robert M. 2000. Sequencing for Sprots-specific skill learning. Physical Educator, 57, 4, 202. (check the
bib)
Hautala, R. M., & Conn, J. H. (2000). Sequencing for sport-specific skill learning. - The Physical Educator, 57(4), 202-208.

Soyer, F. (2011). The relation between success motivation and self-esteem in sports: A study on elite athletes. International Journal
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Bart, O., Emanuel, M., Jarus, T. (2007). Effects of focus of attention and age on motor acquisition, retention, and transfer: A
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