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Fernando ‘Bela’steguin is ranked 26th best player in world. He is a well known name and has been at number 3 in the ranked list. he has been playing professionally since he was 15 which is over 30 years. He is an elite performer as he has played at high level for a long time and he was world number 1 padel player for 16 consecutive years.

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There are three different types of skills, the first one being cognitive. Cognitive skills are skills which require thinking and processing information then knowing what to do with that. So, when the athlete processes the environment and situation and then makes decisions based off of those. An example of this would be, if the opposing team is very fast and aggressive with playing the ball back then deciding whether to slow the game down by playing a high ball so that they then have control or to be aggressive back and try to beat them at their own game. These are often referred to as intellectual skills. There are also perceptual skills. This is when an athlete interprets the game based off of external stimuli. This skill is mostly developed with experience and attention, meaning that begins may not be apparent to these stimulus. An example of this could be, when the opposing teams keeps playing long balls over the top to make the athletes place themselves further back in the court. Which may appear that they play in that way or are tired. However, the opponents may be doing this so they can do a quick smash at the front of the court so the athletes will struggle to get to the ball in time. And finally, motor skills. Motor skills refer to precise movements with muscles control. This is used when an athlete intends to do a specific skill which require control of the muscles and smaller movements. A example of this is when an athlete does a specific shot to catch their opponent out like a smash.

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What are the qualities of a skill performance?

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What are the qualities of a skill performance?

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An athlete who has a high skill performance will have technical proficiency, accuracy, adaptability and consistency. They will also have a strong mentality that is focused. An elite performer is likely to have these qualities as they have had more training and time to develop these technical skills and therefore they will be more confident about it. Whereas someone like Fin who is a beginner will not posses these as they are new to the sport and therefore wont be confident in his skills because he hasn't had time to work and perfect them.

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Psychomotor refers to obtaining skills through the combination of both mental and physical processes. It is associated with fine motor skills, high aptitude of abilities and being able to execute a number of skills with ease. So in padel, it involves the combination of coordination, balance and reaction time to be able to execute precise movements and reactions which are required in a match, such as a smash. An elite performer will be more advanced with this because they will have trained regularly working on skills like this, whereas a beginner wont have because they are still learning the basic moves so therefore wont be working on this skills to enhance their ability yet. This can be seen when watching Juan Lebron as you can see that he is still very energised throughout the match and hits all of his shots with accuracy and precision. Whereas, somebody like Matt isn't as quick with this as he cant always tell where ethe ball is going to land and therefore takes longer to react to it than an elite performer.

https://youtube.com/shorts/ehq2MrmJQnM?si=kWdU2mQ7R0_TAKpF

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Juan LeBron has been playing professionally since 2016. He is ranked as number 5 in 2025, however he has been ranked no.1 in World Padel Tournament for the past 4 years.

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There are two different types of environmental effects: open and closed skills. Open skills refers to when an athlete are always reacting to everything around them. A example of this is going to a new venue for the match, there are new noises, surfaces, surroundings and atmosphere. It can either have a positive affect on an athlete or a negative. The player will have to get used to these changes and control there nerves so that it doesn't affect their game. This is can affect both a team and an individual in the same way. Closed skills refer to skills which are pre-learnt patterns and movements, so therefore things which are familiar in their mind. This involves when a player can do something with little feedback or instruction from a coach on how to do it. An example of this would an athlete serving in padel.

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How do abilities contribute to the production of Sport Skills?

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How do abilities contribute to the production of Sport Skills?

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The ability an athlete has can make a skill easier or harder to carry out. So the higher ability an alite has can determine how quickly they can pick up new skills and how quickly they can adapt to something new. This means that the production of performing the skill would be easier for someone with a higher ability. An example of this could be learning a serve in padel, if an athlete has a higher ability then it would be easier for them to learn it quickly and at a higher standard than it would for someone with a lower ability.

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Control refers to the speed, distance and accuracy used in the delivery of something. This is a skill which a performer will work to develop on their control through training, this is because in order to be an elite performer you must be able to have control of the ball. Meaning, the player should be able to control where the ball goes and at what speed it gets there. By having control it means the player will be able to determine the game better as they are hitting the ball the way they want to in order to win. An example of this would be when Juan Lebron controlled the power and speed on his hit after hitting it from off the wall and over his head, so that it would still stay in play. But also he had to control where he hit it so it isn't too easy for his opponent. However, as Fin is a beginner he doesn't have the control that an elite performer would, this because he hasn't learnt which part of the padel racket is the most effective for each kind of shot and how to execute that as well.

Francisco "Paquito" Navarro - Juan Lebrón vs Arturo Coello - Agustín Tapia

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Gross motor skills involves large body movements, control and using your body. This abilities are usually developed as a child so beginners and elite performers will both have these abilities in their game. These involve strength, speed and flexibility. each of these abilities will help to enhance the performers game as it means they are able to get to the ball quickly and move into harder positions so they are able to reach the ball. This can be shown when watching Fernando Belsteguin move from place to place in the court and reach for low shots and high shots with ease.

https://youtu.be/V_1gJzBDLT8?si=7xDatf-REHhwhzYq

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BELASTEGUIN - EL MEJOR DE LA HISTORIA - MEJORES PUNTOS

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Fluency refers to a performer having the ability to execute a skill smoothly and regularly. The performer will do this naturally, meaning they don't look disjointed or uncomfortable when performing the skill because they are used to doing this and doing it well. By being able to complete a pass smoothly it means the game will run more smoothly because the player knows what position to get themself into to be able to receive the ball and what angle to pass it at. For example, in paddle when a player strikes the ball after it has hit the back wall, they will need to know what angle they should be stood at so that they can one make a good connection with the ball and two so that they can strike the ball at the direction that they desire. This will involve having the correct stance, body positioning and the swing all correct. An example of this at an elite performer level would be when Fernando Belasteguín, adjusts his positioning based off where the ball hits the back wall, so that he will be able to naturally hit the ball when it bounces off, and so that it goes in the desired direction. However, for example Matt isn't as fluent as Fernando because he is a cognitive leaner and therefore isn't as fluent with moving to the ball and hitting it the way that they would like.

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This is Matt Myers he is an amateur padel player and recently started playing it this year. He is only in his third session of padel, where he has learnt the beginner shots and the basic rules of the game.

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There are two different types of movements which are fine and gross, which refers to different muscle movements. Fine movements relates to small movements involving small body parts. Elite athletes will have finessed these actions like a serve as they have trained it a lot. Whereas a beginner like Matt, uses more movement to complete the action as they haven't trained for specific small movements and therefore will use a lot of their momentum. Whereas gross motor skills it involves bigger muscle groups. So an example of this would be a smash shot as it uses a lot of the muscles in the arm and requires a larger movement to complete the skill well.

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What is the difference between Abilities & Skills?

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What is the difference between Abilities & Skills?

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Every athlete has a range of different individual skills and abilities but what's the difference? A skill is something which an athlete will learn through teaching, practice and training. Skills are considered complex and coordinated. Whereas an ability is something which is natural and what an athlete possesses as a person before and after any training. However, they can be learnt and developed through age and development. A combination of abilities are required in order to perform a skill. Abilities can also affect how quickly an athlete can pick up new skills. If an athlete can perform a skill when they first try it, that is due to natural ability. However, in order to finesse the skill they must train and improve on it. There are two components that should be considered when an athlete learns a skill: stable and unstable. The stable component refers to the athletes ability to execute the skill. Whereas the unstable component refers to the way the athlete behaves and thinks when learning and executing the skill.

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Economy of Efficiency of movement refers to how a skill is executed with minimum effort. Meaning how well the skill is performed when little effort is applied and in a short duration. This skill is useful because an athletes needs to save as much energy as they can so that they can last the duration of the match. This is important because it means an athlete can be more consistent in their game and therefore have the most effective outcome, as they wont have dropped off at the end of the match meaning they can stay strong against their opponent throughout the whole match. An example of this in padel is maximising the effectiveness of where they stand in the pitch, this is because they can conserve more energy if they are generally stood in the same place but can still reach the ball. Whereas a beginner is more likely to fully use their energy as they wont have figured out their best place to stand to conserve their energy but also be effective in the match. An example of this is when Fernado Belasteguin places himself towards the back wall for most of the game until he needs to make a move forwards or backwards, this is where he is conserving his energy the best as he is still being effective where he is positioned but he is also preserving energy. Whereas Matt is seen to be moving more to the ball each time which mean she isn't conserving his energy as well as he could.

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Perceptual ability refers to interpreting and using information the body receives from its senses and the environment. So for example, if it had been raining and the players shoes ate still wet on the sole they would have to be careful with their movements on the court. To have perceptual ability it involves interpreting information like if it was windy, which way is the winds direction as the ball is more likely to move that way in the air. And it involves decision making, so taking the wind into consideration and playing the shot based on the players judgement of the wind. This is an ability which will develop with experience, therefore an elite performer like Juan Lebron would consider these factors more than a beginner like Matt as they may not have a grasp on how to change their shot in alteration to the environment yet.

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This Fin Pearson, he is also new to padel and has had a total of three sessions learning the basics. He is at the amateur/ beginner stage in this sport. He has limited skills currently but is working to improve these through learning and familiarising himself with the basic shots and rules.

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Skills can be classified into how easily you can see the beginning and the ending. Continuous skills refer to when a movement doesn't have a clear beginning and ending. The ending is chosen by the performer. An example of this is when Juan Lebron is running across the front of the court to keep the ball in a rally because he is doing this continuously, there is no obvious end and therefore that will decided by him as the player when it does stop. Another skill is discrete, this is where the skill has an obvious ending and beginning. So for instance, if the movement is repeated it will start again from the beginning. An example of this is when an athlete does a serve, it is started again from the beginning each time and has a clear ending. The last skill is serial skills. This refers to when multiple discrete movements are put together as a sequence. For example, when a player uses multiple different shots such as a backhand, front hand and a smash shot one after another. This is so that they can acquaint to each shot that is delivered by the opponents.

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Consistency of Outcome refers to when an athlete has the ability to produce similar results or perform at the same level for a long period, instead of having one really good performance and then dropping to an average performance. For instance, if a padel player is a professional they should have a consistent level in their serves. However, for a beginner this isn't as likely because they are just getting started and therefore haven't fully developed their skill set yet, and therefore their serves will most likely be inconsistent. An example of this would be when Juan Lebron consistently smashes his shot where the opponent isn't standing, making it harder for them to return the ball back. When comparing Matt, who is a beginner he would struggle to do this consistency as he will be focusing more on just returning the ball not on regular placement.

https://youtube.com/shorts/UfMqu73IqYE?si=E3NiN7XdxhYhKQvF

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CLASSIC FINISH by Juan Lebrón 🔥🔥| Padel Highlights #bestofpadel

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Skills can be classified by due to how quickly it can be performed. One classification is self paced. This is a skill which is controlled by the athlete themselves and they will decide how long they will carry out the movement for. For example, in a serve the player can decide how long, high and power is put on the shot.

The other classification is externally paced. Which is where external factors like the opponents and the environment determines the pace of the actions. An example of this when the opponent chooses how much power to put on a shot or whether they are shooting it over the players, which will impact the pace that the ball moves at. An elite performer will adapt better to an externally paced game as they have more experience and training whereas a beginner like Fin will struggle if something is really fast pace as they are new to the game and therefore will struggle to keep up with the movement of the ball.

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Energy Expenditure Meeting the Demands of the Task

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Energy Expenditure Meeting the Demands of the Task

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Energy expenditure refers to minimising the amount of energy which is used so that energy isn't wasted and it is conserved, so that the athlete can last longer at a higher level throughout the match. This is done by reducing unwanted and unnecessary movements so energy isn't wasted on that. This is similar to economy of efficiency of movement as the athlete is ultimately trying to save their energy. So for instance, this would mean that an athlete would find the most useful placement on the court where they can reach the most of the balls so that they aren't using as much energy to get to where the ball lands each time. For example, you can see Fernando Belasteguin standing near the middle of the court and just moving side to side in line with the ball movement instead of going from the back of the court to the front, this is how he is minimising the energy lose in the game. However, when watching Fin, you can see he is just standing where he feels is necessary to get the ball as oppose to choosing where he should be stood to minimise energy wastage.

El Mejor Punto de Fernando Belasteguin, increible....

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El Mejor Punto de Fernando Belasteguin, increible....

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