Identify a SPECIFIC real-world example of sport related skill breakdown under pressure and apply stress and motor learning theory and research to offer a scientific and evidence-based explanation for the occurrence.
You will also identify a potential strategy for maintaining skilled performance under pressure using relevant skill acquisition theory and research. This assessment covers LO 1.
My real world case study is US gymnast Samantha Cerio’s failed landing of a handspring double front flip with a blind landing at the Baton Rouge Regional Competition. Her failed landing resulted in one of the worst injuries you have seen in gymnastics. She dislocated both legs below the knee which both required surgery due to severe ligament damage. The specific skill breakdown is the landing.
One of the reasons I feel this is a good example is, in an interview after her injury she recalls a lively atmosphere from a large audience of more than 10,000 people and she felt a little nervous before starting her flood routine, suggestive of performance under pressure which may have contributed to her failed landing during her floor routine.
Justify why the skill breakdown in the chosen case-study is relevant to stress theory and research.
Critically appraise contemporary stress theory and research to explain the potential precursors to the skill breakdown in the chosen real-world case-study.
Critically appraise contemporary skill acquisition theory and research to explain potential mechanisms responsible for skill breakdown in the chosen real-world case-study.
Draw on applied stress OR skill acquisition theory and research evidence to justify a possible strategy for maintaining skilled performance under pressure, taking the case-study into consideration.
