Dave Collins

This paper explores the potential of the Active Inference Framework (AIF) and Predictive Processing (PP) to advance our understanding of skill and motor learning with a key focus on introducing these concepts to coaches and highlighting their practical implications. Conceptual frameworks such as Information Processing (IP) and Ecological Dynamics (ED) have contributed significantly to the field of skill acquisition. Despite recent efforts to reconcile these perspectives, however, their fundamentally different theoretical foundations concerning perception, cognition and learning processes pose substantial challenges for integration. Although ED has made valuable contributions through its focus on perception‐action coupling and direct interaction with the environment, it involves adopting a radical ontological stance that emphasises rejecting traditional cognitive constructs that can complicate practical applications in coaching. Conversely, IP's reliance on concepts such as stored motor programs and the view of the brain as a computer‐like processor can limit its ability to account for the dynamic, emergent nature of skill acquisition in real‐world contexts. We suggest that AIF offers a parsimonious perspective, accommodating the dynamic, embodied and enactive nature of skill acquisition without the necessity of committing to either framework's specific assumptions. This perspective provides practitioners with a coherent and flexible framework for understanding and designing skill learning interventions, offering a practically useful account of skill acquisition for coaching practice.

As coaches and researchers, we recognise ‘game understanding’ as a key concept in football that influences players’ decision making within a dynamic interaction of cooperation and opposition, where...

Military Parachuting/High Altitude High Opening (HAHO) parachute insertion places operators in a demanding naturalistic setting for examining attention, decision-making, self-regulation, perceptual processing, and sensorimotor integration under extreme conditions. Conducted at altitudes up to 35,000 ft, often at night and in degraded visibility, HAHO requires operators to manage perceptual uncertainty, in-flight recalculation, emergency procedures, teammate monitoring, and physiological arousal within a brief but cognitively intense window. Drawing on qualitative work with Norwegian Special Operations Forces, this paper argues that HAHO readiness is not built primarily through specific deliberate practice, but through the socio-experiential layering of cognitive, affective, and sensorimotor resources across pre-selection, selection, training, and early operations. Integrating interview data from operators and two lead instructors, and using a modified Applied Cognitive Task Analysis, this paper presents an instructor-derived and operator-populated eight-phase model of HAHO cognitive demand. Rather than treating HAHO only as a self-regulation problem, the model captures how phase-specific demands on attention, perceptual processing, decision-making, and sensorimotor integration are managed under high cognitive load and environmental uncertainty. The primary contribution is an operator-informed account of how layered adaptive expertise is accumulated and selectively deployed as the basis for successful HAHO performance.

This study explored parental concerns regarding their sons’ experiences in a professional football academy, using a case study methodology over a twelve-year period. Drawing on over 60 interviews with parenting pairs, the research identified that concerns were shaped by internal (e.g., personal beliefs), semi-internal (e.g., peer influence, agent input), and external (e.g., social media, educational trends) information sources. These sources often led to misaligned expectations between parents and the academy. The findings highlighted the prevalence of misinformation. In response, a series of targeted interventions were implemented, including structured communication strategies, shared mental models (SMMs), and a refined parent–academy code of conduct. These changes facilitated more integrated parent–athlete–coach relationships and improved clarity around developmental processes. Although causality cannot be established, the frequency of parental complaints decreased over time. This study emphasizes the need for academies to proactively engage parents as key stakeholders through clear, consistent, and evidence-informed communication, ultimately supporting a more coherent developmental experience for athletes. These findings have broad implications for talent development environments aiming to balance athlete and parent welfare with high-performance goals.

Contributions from ecological psychology (e.g. Gibson, 1979) and dynamical systems theory (e.g. Newell, 1986) have generated significant scholarship and interest in direct perception and its implic...

Dance is increasingly popular, with learners enrolling in dance classes to engage with diverse dance styles and acquire corresponding skills. However, as with any form of Physical Activity (PA), engagement in dance learning is influenced by a range of factors, including the leadership offered by teachers and coaches. Finally, it is important to see how this form of activity can be most effectively developed in non-Western societies. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to apply Social Identity Leadership Theory (SIL) to explore Kuwaiti students’ engagement in dance, as reflected in the perceived influence of their teachers. Data were collected from 230 Kuwaiti school students using a modified form of the Identity Leadership Inventory–Youth (ILI-Y). Analyses revealed a positive impact of SIL principles on students’ motivation to continue dancing, suggesting that students are more engaged when teachers foster a strong group identity, promote unity, and create an inclusive, supportive environment.