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The influence of analogy instruction and motion rule instruction on the learning process of junior tennis players

Qualitative assessment of serve performance

Einfluss von Instruktionen in Form von Analogien und Bewegungsregeln auf den Lernprozess von Nachwuchstennisspielern

Qualitative Bewertung der Aufschlagleistung

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Abstract

Coaches often use analogies and explain motion rules in their verbal instructions; however, little is known about how such communication influences the execution of movements of advanced players of various sports. In this study qualitative investigation is made into the effectiveness of analogy instruction and motion rule instruction on the tennis serve performance of advanced junior players. In a pretest, posttest, and retention test design, participants (n = 44; 11.5 years of age) were assigned to an analogy group, a motion rule group or a control group. After a 5-week intervention, experts used video recordings to assess changes in participants’ performance during the various phases of the tennis serve. While participants in the analogy group and the motion rule group improved their movements of the serve overall from the pretest to the posttest, their serve generally deteriorated from the posttest to the retention test, except during the impact phase of the serve. These results suggest that advanced junior tennis players generally benefitted from both analogy instruction and motion rule instruction. However, the participants seemed to benefit more from motion rule instructions over time, as the motion rule group demonstrated more consistent performance on the retention test than the analogy group.

Zusammenfassung

Sprachliche Instruktionen in Form von Analogien und Bewegungsregeln werden in der Kommunikation zwischen Trainern und Athleten häufig verwendet. Allerdings existieren nur wenige Untersuchungen, die die Wirkungen auf die Qualität der Bewegungsausführung fortgeschrittener Spieler verschiedener Sportarten in den Blick nehmen. Die vorliegende Studie greift diese Problematik auf und untersucht den Einfluss von Analogien und Bewegungsregeln auf die technische Qualität des Tennisaufschlags bei Nachwuchsspielern mit gutem bis sehr gutem Leistungsniveau. In einem Eingangs‑, Ausgangs- und Retentionstestdesign wurden junge Nachwuchstennisspieler (n = 44, 11,5 Jahre) einer Analogiegruppe, einer Bewegungsregelgruppe sowie einer Kontrollgruppe zugeordnet. Nach einer 5‑wöchigen Interventionsphase wurde ein videobasiertes Experten-Rating durchgeführt, um Veränderungen in der Leistung der Teilnehmer in verschiedenen Phasen des Aufschlags zu analysieren. In der Bewegungsregelgruppe und Analogiegruppe verbesserte sich die qualitative Aufschlagleistung vom Eingangs- zum Ausgangstest. Während die Leistung der instruierten Gruppen vom Ausgangstest zum Retentionstest insgesamt zurückging, zeigten die Ergebnisse der Treffpunktphase einen weiteren Leistungsanstieg. Generell deuten die Ergebnisse darauf hin, dass junge Tennisspieler sowohl von Analogie- als auch von Bewegungsregelanweisungen profitieren können. Die Teilnehmer scheinen jedoch über die Zeit mehr von den Bewegungsregeln zu profitieren, da die Bewegungsregelgruppe beim Retentionstest eine konstantere Leistung gezeigt hat als die Analogiegruppe.

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Notes

  1. The analogies used in the present study did not refer to the complete movement of the tennis serve. Due to the complex structure and kinematic chain of the tennis serve, we used analogies (or motion rules) for key points of the tennis serve.

  2. In future studies, we would do administer a retention test with all the groups investigated in order to analyze the differences between the instructed groups and the control group. In addition, this would facilitate statistical analyses.

  3. In the present study, we did not specify a serve variant (e.g., spin, flat). This could be investigated in future studies because particular serve variants may require more specific instructions.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Tennis Association of Westphalia and Tennispark Bielefeld for their support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Psychology and Sport Science, Department of Sport Science, Area of “Sports and Education”, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany

    Christopher Meier & Bernd Gröben

  2. Faculty of Sport Science, Department of Training and Exercise Science, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany

    Janina Fett

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  1. Christopher Meier
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Correspondence to Christopher Meier.

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C. Meier, J. Fett and B. Gröben declare that they have no competing interests.

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants or on human tissue were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1975 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Meier, C., Fett, J. & Gröben, B. The influence of analogy instruction and motion rule instruction on the learning process of junior tennis players. Ger J Exerc Sport Res 49, 291–303 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12662-019-00589-y

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