Let’s talk about neurology
(again). Specifically, let’s talk about the way the human nervous system deals
with learning a new strategy – either a movement strategy or a new way of applying
what knowledge you already have.
Technically speaking, learning is
a relatively permanent change, a product of a change in the architecture of the
body’s nervous systems. Performance is another matter altogether; it is a
temporary change in behaviour observed during supervised practice. It depends
on many factors including the environment and the level of ambient stress.
Now, let’s talk about football –
and more accurately, about this weekend’s past match between Tottenham Hotspur
and Manchester United. Both teams are acclimating to new personnel, and thereby
learning new tactics, methods and movements.
David Moyes’ arrival means the
entire club is adapting to a new way of doing things, while the Whites have replaced
a once-in-a-generation player with a wide array of disparate talents like Erik
Lamela, Andros Townsend, Paulinho and Roberto Soldado. Each new player is now –
and still – adapting to Andre Villas-Boas and the way he thinks about football
and demands it played.
To expect instant change, or a
team to understand implicitly a new motor learning strategy within months is
unrealistic – for someone to retrain a learned behaviour, it takes anywhere as
much as 400 repetitions. Add to that the communication barrier – message,
language or mode – and suddenly it becomes reasonable to expect any particular situational
play to take months to consolidate.
Occasions of exquisite
performance, such as Manchester
United’s 5-0 triumph over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League last week,
can occur despite a lack of learning. Sometimes, circumstances transpire to
create an atmosphere in which performance can occur despite a lack of learning.
The learning will occur as each player’s reps increase, with the most benefit
coming from time spent on the field in matches, rather than the training ground.
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