For as long as I can remember playing soccer, my dad loved to show me how to dribble and beat players. When I was a beginner, his feedback was extremely important in helping me improve as a dribbler. However, I reached a point where I became dependent on his feedback in order to know whether I was doing the moves correctly. This is a great example of the concept of augmented feedback, which is supplemental information provided about a skill that was performed. In certain situations, augmented feedback can be beneficial to the learning process, but when it is given too much; it can hinder the learning process. Early on in my learning process for dribbling, my dad was giving me too much augmented feedback which was affecting my ability to learn the skill. Luckily, I was able to recognize the issue and ask my dad to pick and choose his moments to give me feedback instead of critiquing every trial I performed. This allowed me to continue making progress while still gaining important feedback from my dad at a reasonable frequency. 

Below is an image that perfectly illustrates my dad teaching me to dribble. He was always very supportive even when he originally criticized me after every attempt.

When performing any skill, it’s important to process visual information in an efficient manner. To do this efficiently, you have to decide what visual cues are important. In my case, I wasn’t originally able to do this consistently; therefore, I couldn’t perform the moves effectively. Once my dad identified what visual cue I should focus on, I fixated on this each time I attempted to perform a move. This process of identifying the most relevant visual cues is called visual search. It is what guides the performance of any task, from driving to walking down the street. In my situation, it is what helped me focus on only the defender’s hips when executing a move on the ball. 

Below is a video of Shakira singing "Hips Don't Lie" which is always true when dribbling a defender. Once you focus on the hips as an attacker, you will always know where the defender is going. This allows you to exit the move in the opposite direction and completely fool the defender.

            

My dad always emphasized the importance of having multiple moves in my arsenal. Early in my soccer development, he chose to introduce me to two moves in particular; the hesitation and the scissors. Each move can be exited to the right or left; however, there is always a correct move to use in certain situations. Beyond focusing on the defender’s hips, I had to identify his strengths. If he is a fast and strong player, the correct move is the hesitation to put him off balance and give me the advantage. But if he is a smart and quick player, I need to use the scissors to fake him out and exit the other direction. Once I mastered the ability to choose the correct move, my ability to beat the defender improved immensely.

Choosing the correct move in different situations emphasizes the importance of response selection. The information processing model states that there are three stages to information processing; stimulus identification, response selection, and response programming. Response selection refers to the period after a stimulus has been identified, when you decide how to respond. In terms of dribbling, response selection is the process of deciding which move to perform based on the defender’s strengths and hips. This ability to decide the correct move relies heavily on choice reaction time. For every stimulus presented, there is a correct response and the time in between the stimulus and the response is called the choice reaction time. From the beginning, my dad always emphasized that each situation has a correct move and if I can make that decision quickly, the move becomes more effective because the defender has less time to react.

Below is a tutorial on how to perform the scissors move. There are different variations to allow you to exit the move in either direction. Its versatility as a move also helps in fooling the defender. 

This is an excellent example of the concept of practice variability. My initial structure of practice is referred to as blocked practice, while my dad’s suggestion is referred to as random practice. Before and after his suggestion, I performed the same number of moves; however, the random practice added an element of contextual interference which immensely supports the learning process. Contextual interference is the memory disruption that occurs as a result of practicing a variety of skills in a practice session. Because random practice includes contextual interference, you’re forced to actively learn the skills each time you perform them. Random practice also shows greater benefits than blocked practice in both retention and transfer conditions; therefore, improving your ability to perform in the future. In terms of practicing moves with the soccer ball, I had to perform a different move each trial and had no way of preparing before the trial had begun. This was extremely difficult at first; however, it benefited me in the long run because I was very proficient in choosing the correct move and executing it in game situations.

Below is an illustration of how satisfying blocked practice is. I initially chose blocked practice because it was easiest, but it was also satisfying to finish each move and move on to the next. I'm a very orderly person and blocked practice fit that characteristic; however, I needed to realize that it's not about satisfaction during practice. Once my dad showed me this and I transferred to random practice, my improvement in executing moves during practice and games was astonishing. 

 

My imagination was translating to in-game success which provides support for the concept of mental practice. This concept refers to the mental rehearsal of a physical skill without any physical movement. There are two fields of mental practice: internal imagery and external imagery. I used the latter in my case, and it refers to mental practice in which the person imagines seeing the themselves from an observer’s point of view. When I mentally practiced executing moves before each game, I would imagine watching myself from above, as if someone was in a helicopter observing from the sky. It makes sense that this pregame habit aided in my performance on the field because mental practice aids the performance of a learned skill. Since I had already become an expert on performing the hesitation and scissors, my mental practice benefited my execution of them during the game. 

Below is an excellent representation of how I felt when I mentally practiced the soccer moves I had learned. Once I knew the power of mental practice and how it benefited me during games, I made a habit of it and performed it before each game. I would play each possible scenario over and over again in my head so that I was ready to perform any move necessary during the game.