“You cannot adapt to an environment that you don’t inhabit.” Keith Davids
The key aspect of this practice design principle is to design your learning environments and practice activities to reflect competition (or performance) demands. This means that the information for movement (re)organisation that is available in competitions, needs to be designed into your training.
The representative practice assessment tool (RPAT) for equestrian sports can be used both to support session planning and session reflection. During practice some elements of the performance environment and task can be amplified, and other elements dampened. It is useful to be aware of what is being sacrificed in each session to ensure that over time all are included.
If you would like a word version to use in your coaching or own practice, please drop an email and request a copy.
This video provides a short overview of Representative Learning Design with some ideas about how it may apply to coaching equestrian sports.
If you are interested in exploring skill acquisition further, check out the rest of our website.
Link to journal paper Can’t Jump, Won’t Jump.