This section consists of articles we strongly advise you read before delving deeper into the specifics. You will find articles that give you background information that will help you understand the overall process of skill acquisition including how purposeful play, fundamental perceptual motor skills, deliberate play and deliberate practice all relate to each other and are important at different stages.

This section provides you with valuable information on what research tells us should be the guiding principles of skill acquisition, the defining capabilities of expert performers and the best way to learn. The articles and accompanying videos in this section deliver what can be complex information in an easy to understand manner, making it easier for you to facilitate successful learning experiences for the children in your life.

Deliberate play and deliberate practise are both important concepts of skill acquisition.  This section helps you understand exactly what they are, their benefits and when they are important in the skill development process. It also provides lots of practical information about how to facilitate deliberate play and deliberate practice that relates to all sports.

This section teaches you how anticipation and pattern recognition skills help kids play sport at a higher level. Skill acquisition research is showing us the importance of these skills to sports performance. The articles and videos contained in this section will help you facilitate play experiences for kids between the ages of 3 and 10 years that lead to the development of anticipation skills and the ability to recognise patterns. You will find information that relates to both general skill development and specific sports.

Tactics and decision making skills are defining capabilities of expert performers.  In this section you will find information on how tactical and decision making skills lead to successful sporting outcomes, how these skills develop and what you can do for kids between the ages of 3 and 10 years to facilitate the emergence of these skills over time.

This section will help you go about designing fun, purposeful play activities in keeping with key skill acquisition principles. It will also give you plenty of examples that relate to fundamental skills and specific sports. You will also find articles that will help you facilitate the right environment and culture to enhance skill learning.

The skill and pressure section will help you understand how pressure, which mostly comes in the from of competition, can affect skill performance. This section will teach you how you can facilitate early skill learning experiences that will lead to pressure resilience in the future.  It will also detail how you can manipulate play and practice to improve skill performance under pressure.

his section teaches how your interactions with kids you can help them develop the ability to self reflect, which is important for skill improvement in the long term. You will also find lots of information on how play activities can be designed to emphasise feedback to kids, which in turn can help them to reflect on their experiences before further play. Both of these aspects are critical in skill acquisition.

This section looks at how the brain changes as kids acquire more efficient and adaptable skills. Understanding these changes will help you be clear and consistent in your approach to the skill learning process in the long term. You will also find valuable information regarding critical periods of brain development and how the play you facilitate - and your interactions in and around this play - can shape brain development.

In the competition section you can hear from coaching experts on all aspects of competition including planning, interacting with athletes before, during and after competition and how coaches should approach competition for different ages.