Dynamics of skill and Aquistion
For many years people have studied expert/novice differences with one primary reason in mind, that reason being the acquisition of skill. Expert/novice differences have given the study of acquisition a major boost in understanding why and how people acquire skill. ... Nobody becomes an expert over night but with the understanding of skill acquisition through the expert/novice paradigm coaches and athletes around the world have been able to see what they must go through to reach an elite level and where they are in the processing stage. ... This is because hitting is an open skill, which means it takes place in an unpredictable environment (Schmidt & Lee, 1999). In this environment there are very strict time constraints in which the athlete must first decide if a reaction is going to take place, and secondly the athlete must then execute the performance skill. ... In baseball the skill of hitting does not come easily to most people. It goes along with every other skill people learn how to do; it takes practice and repetition to get better. ... As already noted skill level has a considerable effect on how well hitters are able to execute. ... The answer to this question lies in the knowledge that one possesses about a specific skill. Everybody passes through different phases of a skill development on their way to becoming an expert. ... According to Paull & Glencross (1997) “this declarative style of response organization that a novice must use is costly in terms of cognitive resources”, thus meaning that because novice hitters have little understanding for how to perform the skill it will take them longer to perform it. ... The next skill stage of hitting may be recognizing seam patterns and being able to pick up what pitch is coming because they no longer have to focus on the skills used for the actual swing.