Professor Keith Davids: ensure player challenges remain realistic by incentivising instead of dictating

Player | Challenges | Keith Davids | 10.07.2021

Player challenges should be carefully crafted to stay true to the game, explains Professor Keith Davids. Image: Getty images

Learning:

• How to design practice challenges that are realistic to the game

• Communicating challenges with individuals and small groups

• Remaining open-minded to the way players solve problems

Incentivising, rather than dictating, is the most effective way to ensure player challenges remain realistic to the game, says Professor Keith Davids, expert in skill acquisition at Sheffield Hallam university.

“A simple task constraint would be: if somebody scores a first-time finish from a cross – it could be a header, a volley, half-volley or another way - that counts as three goals. That's all you need to say. 

“So you incentivise a certain behaviour that doesn't rule out other behaviours. In the same practice you would still get incentives for scoring a long shot, for example.”