Practical application of ecological dynamics for talent development in cricket

Abstract

Talent development in sport is a comprehensive area of research with various conceptualisations of how the body moves and how skills are developed. The sports coaching environment is often criticised for a lack of evidence-based approaches to talent development, driven by limited access to appropriate sources of information. The current conceptualisation of motor learning, which harnesses dynamical systems theory and ecological psychology, is a complex and underdeveloped area in sport. Recommendations for talent development are often lost in complex pedagogies, so there is high demand for practical information on the translation of this knowledge. At its core, ecological dynamics views the body as a complex system which can reorganise to solve challenging problems in different ways, and emphasises that personal experiences, the task and the environment are all interacting. The specific elements of nonlinear development (person), representative learning design (task) and the talent development pathway (environment) are key elements for cricket coaching that are yet to be synthesised for the coaches who provide early learning experiences.