The Learning Stages for “Mastery” in Swimming
Jim DeLapp BA, MA, MBs, DDS
Coaches are constantly challenged every day with new skill acquisition for their athletes. At times however, it seems more like a broken record (CD) repeating itself time and again. How many times have we advised our swimmer to streamline off the wall for example, and not more than 10 seconds later there is a repeat of the same mistake. Conceptually, it does not require a PhD to understand the concept of streamlining. Coaches and educators continually preach that each swimmer needs to hear the message repeatedly before any change can occur. It seems, at times, most of the responsibility keeps being deferred back to the coach to change some type of technique or behavior. In the past several years I have made a conscientious effort to place responsibility for new skill acquisition (streamlining e.g.) back to where it belongs … to the swimmer. I have had “better success” by having my swimmers “first” understand and repeat the four (4) stages of learning. These four stages apply in any aspect of our lives, not just swimming. The more you and your athletes understand and apply them, the faster the skill progression will be.
No skill will progress without going through these four stages and even Olympians go through them. The question always remains… how committed each swimmer is in gaining these new skills. Improving techniques of our swimmers is challenging, frustrating, and eventually rewarding. The faster a swimmer is able to change is dependent not only upon the coach’s ability to identify the stroke defect, but more importantly on how willing our swimmers are to “change” and adapt to the new style. The hallmark appears to be the ability (willingness) to listen and commit to making the change. The time involved in going from one stage to another can take weeks to years (notice how I didn’t say days). It is up to the swimmer and coach to shorten this time as much as possible.
Unconsciously Incompetent (UI): This is not meant to sound mean, but the swimmer does not know (unconscious) that they are doing something wrong (incompetent). Until a coach points out the problem to be corrected it is unlikely that the swimmer will change their technique. This is the first stage where a coach may intervene.
Consciously Incompetent (CI): This is actually a good stage. This is where the swimmer “knows” (conscious) that there is something wrong (incompetent) with their stroke. This happens to be the stage where swimmers and coaches most often get stuck. It is this stage where the swimmer “must” make a commitment to change. If the swimmer only “kind of” wants to change, then the process becomes painfully slow. This stage could take weeks or months (years) to see any real progress.
Consciously Competent (CC): This is where the swimmer can do the technique correctly (competent) but they must think about it (conscious). When the swimmer does not think about the new technique they may lapse into their old habit. However, this is where breakthrough appears to occur. The coaches and swimmer feel very good that they are able to modify or refine the swimmers technique to a more desired form. This stage’s problem is the swimmer must make a “conscious effort” to maintain their new technique. Fatigue in a race is one example how an athlete can loose “focus” and revert back to “old” habits. In a post- race evaluation, bring the athletes error to their attention and discuss what stage they are in the learning process. This can give you an opportune moment to get a commitment to change some aspect of their race in the future and … to master this change in practice. This leads us to the last and most rewarding stage in the learning process.
Unconsciously Competent (UC): In this stage the swimmer has perfected their new technique (competent) that has become a habit and is done automatically (unconscious). The swimmer does not have to think about their technique no matter what is going around them. Unfortunately, very few swimmers are able to master this stage where everything in their race is automatic. How does a swimmer reach this stage? They first “must” practice perfect technique “every” time, on “every “ set, “every” day. Remember, … “repetition is the mother of skill”. The swimmer needs to practice their technique in the warm-up set, especially in the main set when they are tired, when they have a headache …or whenever.
It is the coach’s job to identify, correct, and motivate swimmers to swim their events to the best of their ability. Think of something as simple as streamlining off the wall. Is it the fact that the swimmer does not understand they need to streamline off the wall or… are they not committed to doing it? It seems we have discussed this technique thousands of times (by the way, what stage would this swimmer be in regards to streamlining?). It is the swimmers responsibility to “master” their technique to the point to where they do not have to think about it. Change only occurs when both the swimmer and coach work as a team to make change and its mastery possible. It does take a commitment… a genuine desire to change. If you do not have an overwhelming desire to change… change can occur but it can be painfully slow.
How do you apply these four stages with your swimmer? The question remains, once you have identified the stage the swimmer is in, how do you apply this information on a daily basis? Obviously, the dialogue you would use for a 6-year old is different than what you would use for a senior swimmer. Whenever I see someone not streamlining as an example, I bring it to his or her attention and ask him or her what stage of learning he or she is in. There are only four choices and obviously they are not “UC”. If they do not remember the 4-stages… it is off to the blackboard (or whatever) to review the 4-stages of learning until they can repeat them. I have had “better luck” identifying the problem, bringing it to the swimmers attention, and asking them what stage their learning is. The follow up question obviously is, how committed are “you” to making the change? I constantly place responsibility for skill acquisition squarely where it belongs… on the athlete. I advise parents and other coaches where they are in the learning process and what it will take to progress to the next level. All focus needs to be placed on the athlete and their stage of learning for a particular skill. In a perfect world, coaches should never have to correct swimmers on something as simple as streamlining but it is a fact of life. Once you apply the 4-learning stages you can have your athlete take responsibility. Other, more complex techniques as core body swimming require substantial commitment to change by most swimmers. These 4-stages of learning can act as a framework where the athlete and coach can monitor progress of learning these new elements of a stroke. The athlete may master the beginning aspects, but as drills progress in difficulty, their stages of learning may vary in respect to each component. Letting the athlete know where they are succeeding in a series of drills can be as important as what areas they need to improve.
What stage is the athlete most likely to get stuck in? From experience, it seems like the consciously- incompetent stage is where the swimmers spend the most time. For some techniques it requires extensive training or retraining muscle memory of the athlete. However, much of what we teach is not difficult conceptually. This is where habit and the willingness to change by the athlete is critical. The next rewarding stage is consciously competent. Both the coach and athlete feel good about a change but must be cognizant of the fact that fatigue and stress can cause the athlete to revert back to a previous habit. The last stage unconsciously competent is pure joy to see… the athlete gets to concentrate on racing!
Other areas of the athlete’s life involve the 4-stages of learning… schoolwork; multiplication tables as an example that can be recited with little effort are examples of mastery of the 4-stages of learning. What I advise my athletes is to make the 4-stages of learning along with the skill of mastery a life-long habit that will lead to excellence in any endeavor of their choosing.
