Tactical Skills Training in Team Sports: Technological Supports for the 4P Strategy

Since few years decision-making in team sports has been studied through a Naturalistic Decision-Making (NDM) approach. Considering the need for an intuitive and coordinated decision-making (ICDM), implications from NDM framework are examined according to literature on tactical skills training in team sports. Small-Sided Games (SSGs) are approved by a large majority of coach and researchers. Nevertheless, the pedagogical use of SSG led to implicit learning according to the Led-Constraints framework, whereas it focused on explicit learning according to the Teaching-Games-For-Understanding model. According to NDM, there is a need for a wide range of decision-making processes in team sports, so that a tactical skills training strategy should be based on a blend of implicit and explicit learning. Thus, scientists and coaches in soccer designed the 4P strategy (i.e., Positioning; Practicing; Picturing; Post-analysing). Complementary they explored the role of technology supports embedded into the 4P strategy. Results suggested that soccer players benefited from video feedback because it highlighted relevant configurations of play and helped them to share “pictures” during small-sided games.