Feedback, Skill, and Dynamic Systems

How does our view of skill impact how we communicate to players?

A fellow coach recently posed an intriguing question: Can directive coaching achieve the same learning outcomes as open-ended prompts? For example, "How can you find space on the pitch to become a passing option?" versus "Find space on the pitch to become a passing option!" highlights a subtle but significant difference. While both can influence attention and intention, the former frames the task as a question, the latter as a directive. This raises a critical question about how coaching beliefs can influence skill learning: How does our view of skill impact how we communicate?

Contrasting Views of Skill: Skill as Property, or as Attunement

In an ecological perspective¹, skill is viewed not as a property that an individual possesses, but as an emergent capacity arising from the interaction between an athlete, the task, and their environment. From this perspective, skill is adaptation: a player becomes attuned to affordances—the opportunities for action present in a given context—and continually adapts to the affordances offered.

This view challenges traditional notions of skill as a static entity that a person possesses, something that can be rehearsed and perfected, often transferred through instruction. The ecological view suggests instead that skill develops through exploration, interaction, and adaptation. Is skill an ability to pass the ball with the inside of the foot, or is skill the ability of a player to advance the ball with their teammates in a myriad of circumstances?

Constraints in an Ecological Framework

A quick word on constraints. In an ecological framework, constraints are the boundaries or conditions that shape the behaviors and interactions of players within a given environment. These constraints act as guiding forces that channel exploration and adaptation.

Constraints can be categorized into three main types²:

• Individual Constraints: These are specific to the individual, including their physical action capacities, psychological states, and prior experiences.

• Task Constraints: These include the rules of the game, objectives, space limitations, equipment being used, as well as verbal feedback, which directly influence how players engage with the task.

• Environmental Constraints: These can include external conditions like weather, field conditions, or socio-cultural values and beliefs.

The interaction of these constraints creates a dynamic landscape of affordances—opportunities for action—that players perceive and act upon. By manipulating constraints, especially task constraints, coaches can design learning environments that encourage players to explore and attune to the relevant affordances of the game. Understanding constraints as enablers of learning, rather than simply as limitations, allows coaches to foster emergent behaviors that are functional and adaptable to the complexities of sport.

Verbal Feedback as a Constraint

Verbal feedback, whether directive or open-ended, acts as a constraint that shapes the athlete’s engagement with their environment. Directive coaching, such as "Find space on the pitch to become a passing option," might freeze certain degrees of freedom, simplifying the task to focus the athlete’s attention on a specific outcome. In the traditional view of skill, this can be beneficial for finding quick solutions, and in the ecological standpoint, it can be useful for novices who need clarity, but risks limiting exploration and reducing adaptability over time.

In contrast, open-ended questions like "How can you support the ball carrier?" encourage players to search for and perceive affordances in their environment. Rather than prescribing solutions, questions encourage athletes to open up their attention as a search in order to find solutions, fostering attunement to the invariants available in the complexity of real-world play.

Skill and the Framing of Feedback

How one views skill dictates how we frame feedback³ ⁴:

• Component-Dominant View: If skill is seen as a collection of isolated components, feedback will likely focus on correcting errors or directing attention to specific mechanics. Directive coaching aligns with this perspective, providing clear, actionable instructions to refine specific elements of performance.

• Interaction-Dominant View: If skill is understood as adaptation and attunement, feedback will aim to shape the athlete’s interactions with their environment. Questions and exploratory prompts are better suited to this view, as they encourage players to engage with variability and discover functional solutions.⁵

The Role of Enabling Constraints

Verbal feedback, whether directive or exploratory, shapes behavior by imposing constraints. Directive feedback acts as a limiting constraint, and can simplify the task, making it easier for the athlete to achieve a specific outcome in the short term.⁶ However, this approach risks reducing the player’s attunement to the affordances offered by the other task, individual, and environmental constraints.

Open-ended questions can act as enabling constraints, creating conditions for players to explore without dictating specific actions. For example, asking, "What do you see?" allows players to attune to the movement of teammates, opponents, and the ball, fostering adaptability and decision-making skills, and improving transfer.⁷

Practical Implications for Coaches

• Align Feedback with Skill Philosophy: Reflect on whether your feedback supports skill as adaptation or isolates components. Use this lens to frame your directives or questions.

• Design for Exploration: Incorporate tasks that challenge players to engage with their environment. Small-sided games, for example, naturally constrain behavior in ways that promote attunement.

• Balance Feedback: Directive feedback may be appropriate in early stages in order to simplify tasks, but transitioning to(and including) open-ended questions encourages players to attune to the variabilities of real play(For more on types of questions, check out the following: “What do you see?”).

Conclusion

Skill, viewed through the ecological lens, is not a static property or something an individual possesses, but an emergent capability⁸ continually shaped by interactions with the task and environment. How we view of skill will influence how we approach session design, and how we provide verbal feedback. And that feedback, whether directive or open-ended, serves as a constraint that shapes this process.

Coaches who view skill as adaptation can use feedback to foster environments where players explore, discover, and attune to the relevant information⁹ in their environment. By aligning feedback with this perspective, we foster not just better players but adaptable, resilient learners.

Sources

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