Movement and Skill Acquisition Ireland are hosting a webinar series running from February to April 2022 starting February 10th at 6pm Irish time. The theme for this year’s event is:
Applying Skill Acquisition in Different Domains
Dr Phil Kearney from the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences at the University of Limerick is one of the co-founders of this organisation and also one of the organisers of the webinar series. In this blog, he tells us more about skill acquisition, and about the free upcoming webinars.
What is skill acquisition?
Skill acquisition is the science that explains how movements are learned and executed, particularly within a sports context. As such, it is a foundational scientific discipline for sports coaches, but also for physical education teachers, rehabilitation specialists, and is increasingly prominent within domains such as athletic development/strength & conditioning and performance analysis.
What is Movement and Skill Acquisition Ireland?
Movement and Skill Acquisition Ireland was formed in 2017 by Dr Edward Coughlan (Munster Technology University), Dr Oliver Logan (British Swimming), Dr Phil Kearney (University of Limerick) and Dr Alan Dunton (Dublin Technology University) to raise awareness of the science of skill acquisition within Ireland. Our inaugural conference in 2018 saw over 100 coaches, coach educators, academics and sport scientists from five countries attend two days of discussion on current topics in skill acquisition. Subsequently we held two webinar series focused on The Coach-Athlete Relationship and on Women Who Have Changed the Discussion with respect to research in skill acquisition and coaching practice.
Why the focus on different domains?
Many different practitioners draw upon the science of skill acquisition to support their practice, from coaches working in grassroots and high-performance sport to physical education teachers to those working in rehabilitation to strength and conditioning/athletic development specialists. There is rich potential for reflection and for the cross-fertilization of ideas by considering the challenges and solutions practitioners encounter in these different domains.
Who will be speaking on the seminar series?
The confirmed spearkers are:
Prof. Mark Williams – A world-leading researcher in Expertise and Skill Development from the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Sport Sciences, and author of The Best: How Elite Athletes are Made [find out more]
Stephen Casey – Head S&C for the Cork Senior Hurling Team and owner of Casey Performance [find out more]
Dr Phil Glasgow – Head of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation at the Irish Rugby Football Union [find out more]
Jenny Coe & Nick Levett – A crack duo you may know from UK Coaching’s Curious Coaches Club, Jenny is Head of Performance & Well-being at West Ham Football Club, while Nick is Head of Coaching at UK Coaching [find out more about Jenny and Nick]
Dr Ross Pinder & Georgia Askew – Ross is Paralympics Innovation Lead at Paralympics Australia with a long history of helping to translate skill acquisition research into practice, while Georgia is a Skill Acquisition Specialist at Paralympics Australia working as part of a multi- and interdisciplinary team [find out more about Ross and Georgia]
Professor Shane Pill – One of Australia’s leading coach educator’s and developers, and a thought leader in physical education [find out more]
Dr James Rudd & Dr Katie Fitton-Davies – James is a thought leader in the application of Ecological Dynamics to primary school physical education, while Katie’s is a Senior Lecturer in Physical Education & Movement Sciences with a particular focus on creating optimal motivational climates in primary school physical education [find out more about James and Katie]
Rob Gray – Closing the series we have a discussion with Rob Gray whom many will know from the outstanding Perception Action Podcast and author of How We Learn to Move [find out more]
Who should tune in?
This webinar series presents an exciting opportunity for athletes, coaches, strength & conditioning practitioners, sport scientists, students, academics and sports medicine personnel to reflect upon how the science of skill acquisition is applied within various domains, and to draw lessons for their own practice.
Where can people get a flavour of what the webinar series will be like?
Our previous events are all available for free via our YouTube pages:
- 2018 Conference in Cork
- 2020 Webinar Series: The coach-athlete relationship across the lifespan
- 2020 Bonus Webinar Series: Women who changed the discussion
REGISTER HERE for the first webinar featuring Professor Mark Williams – please note: places are limited to 100, but those unable to join the webinar will be able to tune in and ask questions via YouTube Live on the MSAI YouTube Channel.
For further information on dates, times and registering for the other webinars, please see @MSAIreland.
Dr. Phil Kearney is the Course Director of the MSc Applied Sports Coaching within the PESS Department here at the University of Limerick and a co-founder of Movement & Skill Acquisition Ireland. View Phil’s profile: https://www.ul.ie/pess/iframe-staff/dr-philip-kearney
PESS News & Information 