First and foremost, we learn by doing.
Coaches know a lot about their sports. However, a great coach is not one who can verbalize all the sports knowledge there is, instead, is one who can design the practice so efficiently that athletes develop without much need of verbal feedback. Don’t get me wrong, some feedback is useful, but we learn by doing, by perceiving and acting on a constantly changing environment.
Let me give you an example. In volleyball, for receiving serves you can use the underhand or overhead techniques, see below:
Many coaches teach those techniques separately. So, when novices are learning the underhand, they focus so hard on keeping their arms together that when a ball comes at head height, they can’t switch quickly enough to the overhead pass. Coaches then give repeated feedback like “Don’t hold your arms together!”—but this rarely solves the problem.
🔁 A Smarter Way to Teach
Instead of relying on constant verbal correction, coaches should:
- Explain both techniques briefly and when each is appropriate.
- Design drills that include both types of serves, so players must choose the right response in real time. ALWAYS. When teaching only ONE technique, we are removing an essential component of passing, which is deciding which technique to use.
- Let athletes make mistakes and learn through repetition and adaptation.
This way, players naturally develop the ability to read the ball and react appropriately—without needing to be told every time.
This principle applies across all sports. In team sports, for example, feedback often takes the form of conditional instructions: “If X occurs, do Y; if U happens, do C.”
However, athletes truly learn the correct responses only when they engage in practice scenarios that replicate those specific situations—where the choices are deliberately limited to guide them toward the intended action. It is literately why the constraint-led approach (HERE) is so efficient.
🧠 A Challenge for Coaches
If you’re a coach, I’ve got a two-part challenge for you—one that could reshape how your athletes learn and perform.
1. Reflect on your feedback.
Take a moment to think about the kind of feedback you typically give. What themes keep coming up? What do you emphasize most during training or games? This reflection helps you understand your coaching language—and whether it’s translating into action.
2. Turn feedback into design.
Now ask yourself: Are you creating practice scenarios that directly target the things you talk about? We know athletes learn best through doing—not just listening. So, can you design exercises that naturally lead athletes to the desired behaviors, without needing constant verbal cues?
Think about drills that constrain choices and guide players toward the right decisions. Is it doable? Will it be effective? That’s for you to explore.
This isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about experimenting with intentional design. Try crafting a session where the environment teaches, and your feedback becomes embedded in the activity itself.