Psychology,Throwing,Training
27 December 2009
What follows are my thoughts on phases a player might go through as they engage in deliberate throwing practice. These are offered so that you know what to expect and can avoid becoming stagnant.
Beginner Phase: This phase may be characterized by unbridled enthusiasm and complete obsession with throwing practice. During this phase, I’d say just go with the flow and do what feels right. When you first begin, you’re going to have quick gains in throwing capabilities no matter what you do. Just get the disc in your hands as often as possible.
Obviously you want to be practicing the right throwing techniques. You should also learn how to practice the right practice techniques.
Research by psychologist K. Anders Ericsson indicates that anyone can become a master at any task if they devote 10 000 hours of deliberate practice. Um, that’s a lot of hours. What I want to focus on here is not the volume of practice, but the words “deliberate practice.” Even putting in the hours is not enough. It must be “deliberate” practice. If every hour you invest in throwing is deliberate practice, you will improve much more quickly that someone who just dicks around with the disc for twice as long.
