What are sport-specific skills?

To put it bluntly, it is the sum of technical movements, tactical responses and even project-specific experience that can be stably output in compliance with the rules of the sport after systematic and deliberate practice for a specific sports event. It is not the "half-baked level" that you usually play casually.

Let’s take our most common basketball example. If you occasionally score a step-back three-pointer while playing basketball, that doesn’t mean you have mastered this special skill. You have to be able to keep your movements steady under high-intensity confrontations, be able to stably hit 60-70% in 10 shots, and even be able to adjust the angle of the shot according to the defender’s position. Only then can you really master it.

However, the boundaries of specialized sports skills in the circle are not yet completely unified. Many old coaches who lead professional teams believe that only solid body movements count. Quantifiable and standardizable content such as swimming, holding and paddling, and jumping over hurdles are the core. Those judgments and awareness on the field can only be regarded as "competition experience" and not skills.； However, most young coaches in youth training do not agree with this statement. Take table tennis as an example. No matter how standard your movements are, you will not be able to predict your opponent's serve rotation and return line. You will still be confused when you get on the court. These judgment logics, which are deeply tied to the project, should have been included in the category of specialized skills long ago. Here, some grassroots physical education teachers even mentioned that even the injury prevention skills corresponding to the sports should be included in the calculation, such as how to warm up in a targeted manner before playing badminton, and common sense that incorrect smashing movements can easily injure the shoulder. These are also essential skills for long-term participation in this sport, and it is reasonable to include them.

Some people may be confused when talking about this. Isn't this the same thing as what we often call "basic athletic ability"? Not really. Basic sports abilities are universal, such as explosive power, endurance, coordination, etc., and are more like the steel and concrete you use to build a house, while specialized sports skills are the skills to build these materials into corresponding houses - no matter how strong your explosive power is, you will not be able to control the approach point or do the landing action when practicing long jump, and you will still get no results if you step on the board and commit a foul. No matter how good the cement is, you can't build a house with gray walls.

For example, the current compulsory education physical education classes require children to master 1-2 specialized sports skills. It does not mean that children are required to practice to the level of playing professional games. It means that they can skillfully use the basic movements of this event, understand the basic rules, and be able to ask others to play ball and swim by themselves, and turn this sport into a long-term exercise habit. This completely meets the standard.