Athlete Development & Sport Performance: A Dualistic Approach

There are two major categories for long-term athlete development and sport performance. The first is Strength & Conditioning (S&C) while the second is sports practice. If optimization of performance and outcome are of primary interest, both elements will need to be adequately addressed. This dual approach pays strong consideration to the fundamental differences between motor abilities and motor skills which are best improved in their respective environments with their unique methodologies. In short, abilities are best trained in the gym under a S&C coach while skills (as well as tactics and strategies) are best learned through practice on the field/court with the direction of a sport coach.

Let’s better understand the differences between motor abilities and motor skills. A motor ability is a bodily capacity to produce various levels of movement. Examples of these bodily capacities are attributes such as strength, power, speed, mobility, and endurance. This sharply differs from motor skills which are learned, coordinated, and quite specific behaviors. Examples of motor skills are dribbling, passing, catching, shooting, and other similar motor learning tasks. While some crossover/overlap exists between some abilities and skills, there is a simple analogy to better understand their differences. Think of ability as a matter of “hardware” while skills are a greater matter of “software.”

          The hardware-software analogy points towards an underlying truth—ability precedes skill. This is because skills are the nervous system’s utilization of physical abilities in order to perform complex movement patterns. Consider this: the skill of dunking a basketball is irrelevant if one does not have the ability to produce the necessary vertical jump (i.e., power) to achieve the task in the first place. Therefore, ability describes movement potential—it’s the engine. Now, it is important to understand that not all sports, games, and actions require the same levels of abilities as others. Throwing a dart at a dart board, while a skillful task, does not require very much underlying ability. This contrasts the inherent strength requirements of performing high-level pass blocking as an offensive lineman. The bottom line is that the development of ability (hardware) transfers very well to the improvement of skills.

          Now that we have established that the development of physical ability enhances the skills pertaining to sport, we must understand the opposite is usually not the case. That is, practicing sports and developing skills often does not develop abilities very well. Playing (some) sports will, to some degree, improve measures of strength, power, speed, and endurance. However, these qualities will be improved at smaller extents and will certainly never be optimized under these conditions. S&C methodologies have been scientifically developed across decades and are better suited for this task. Therefore, this is a bit of a one-way road. Developing abilities improves sporting skills, but unfortunately simply playing sports does not sufficiently improve physical ability. S&C becomes a necessity.

          In conclusion, optimization of sport performance requires a dual approach which includes both S&C and sport practice. It is all too common that either the S&C component is missing altogether, or it is not employed with the knowledge and intelligence it requires for successful carryover. The truth of the matter is that many (maybe most) programs that are implemented lack the necessary methodology to promote transfer to sport. In either instance—an absent S&C program or a poorly implemented one—performance is being left on the table and risk for injury is greatly increased. If you are serious about your sport(s), you will need to be serious about your year-round S&C.

Takeaway Points: 

> Sport performance is the result of combined motor abilities and motor skills.

> The improvement of abilities (strength, power, speed, mobility, endurance) generally enhances the performance of sporting skills.

> Because they are fundamentally different from skills, most abilities are best developed with S&C methodologies.

> The serious approach to sport performance requires both S&C and sport practice. Not just one or the other.