Using constraints to enhance decision-making in team sports

An important consideration in the development of skilled performance is the interaction between the environment and the performer. When a task is practiced in an environment that is not an accurate representation of the typical performance setting, or when the environment contains insufficient levels of variability, expert performance can deteriorate to the level of novices (Allard et al., 1980; Araújo et al., 2005) and learners will tend to rely on non-specifying information if that information allows reasonably accurate performance (Beek et al., 2003; Jacobs et al., 2001). Furthermore, the ability of the learner to converge upon more useful specifying information proceeds at a slower rate than if the learner had been exposed to a more representative and variable environment (Beek et al., 2003).