The development of sport-specific planning, rehearsal, and updating of plans during defensive youth baseball game performance.

The development of planning, rehearsal, and updating of defensive baseball plans was investigated in this study. Thirty-two male shortstops (seven 8-year-olds, eight 10-year-olds, nine 12-year-olds, and eight high school youths) were trained to perform a concurrent talk-aloud procedure before a pitch was thrown to the opposing batter. Participants completed a 40-item baseball knowledge test. Players' ages were highly correlated with their baseball knowledge (omega 2 = .88). Any subsequent age differences reflect differences in players' knowledge. Shortstops ages 12 years or younger frequently did not produce: (a) advanced defensive plans, (b) active rehearsal of plans, or (c) updating of defensive plans. When the young players did produce these strategies, the quality was generally poor; High school shortstops produced all these sport-specific strategies with advanced quality. The younger players' production and quality deficits in sport-specific strategy use may be related to their lack of a highly developed knowledge representation and the types of practice and game experiences they have had playing baseball.

Knowledge representation and problem solution in expert and novice youth baseball players.

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in knowledge representation and problem solutions in expert and novice youth baseball players. Ninety-four players in two age divisions, 7-8 years of age and 9-10 years of age, were assigned to three levels of expertise: high; average; and low skilled. Each subject participated in an interview session to elicit knowledge representation and solutions to five different defensive game situations. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed for content, solution to the problem, errors in problem solution, and qualitative trends. The frequency of advanced solutions to each of the five situations were analyzed in separate chi-square tests for age and expertise. Differences among the levels of expertise were found for the accuracy of solutions to three complex situations. Age was significant for only one situation. Patterns of knowledge content accessed during advanced and less advanced responses indicated both experts and novices were in a beginning stage of developing baseball knowledge structures. Errors in problem solutions indicated children had difficulty monitoring critical conditions and making correct inferences. Players' and teammates' ability to execute baseball skills seemed to influence the content and structure of tactical knowledge accessed during problem solution.

Expert-novice differences in cognitive and skill execution components of youth baseball performance.

Previous research has shown that experts exhibit superior response selection and skill execution during performance in youth sport. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in cognitive and skill execution components of game performance in young baseball players (N = 159) with varying levels of expertise. Three levels of expertise (low-, average-, and high-skilled players) were identified at each age level (7, 8, 9, and 10 years of age). Game performance was videotaped, and measures of skill execution (throwing accuracy, throwing force, fielding, catching, batting average, and batting contact) and cognitive components (positioning, decisions) were developed from observational analysis. The results indicated that baseball skill execution during game play maximally discriminated expertise levels.