Games sense coaching is a holistic approach to teaching physical education skills through modified games rather than drills. It encourages creativity, challenges students of all abilities, and makes learning intrinsically motivating by having fun and feeling a sense of achievement. Traditional coaching focuses too much on isolated skill drills rather than applying skills under pressure in game situations. Games sense fosters student empowerment, independence, enjoyment and understanding of tactics through modified games. It develops fundamental movement, social and life skills in a fair and less intimidating environment.

1. A GAMES SENSE APPROACH
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2. WHAT IS ‘GAMES SENSE’?
* Games sense coaching is a holistic approach to teaching physical
education (PE) skills which have meaning in relation to different sports
(Currie, 2013). It’s not learning skills through ‘drills’.
*This approach stimulates and challenges players along with
encouraging their creativity (Griffin & Butler, 2005). It’s also highly
inclusive and enjoyable for students’ of all abilities Griffin & Butler,
2005).
* Games sense offers ‘intrinsic drive’ for students’ to participate in
sports by having fun and giving players a feeling of achieving mastery
at learning a new task (Honeybourne, 2006). A student will learn how to
pass by playing a modified match of netball, not through the constant
practice of ‘back and forth’ passing in pairs or groups.
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3. WHAT IS GAMES SENSE?
* With traditional coaching methods, coaches sometimes observe a
‘lack of transfer’ in skills from the training ground to the game which is
frustrating to players (Light, 2013). An example of this could be when a
cricket batsman is hitting the ball well in ‘the nets’ yet he/she can’t
score a run in a real game setting.
* Games sense fosters good relations between teachers and students’
along with giving the latter group empowerment and independence
(Griffin & Butler, 2005). This independence lends itself to enjoyment and
fun for the students’ and for the teacher, he/she becomes more like a
facilitator.
* Students’ are encouraged to develop a greater understanding of the
game being played along with learning techniques and skills in
‘pressure situations’ which is more effective than learning in isolation
(Towns, 2002).
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4. SKILLS LEARNED IN GAMES SENSE
* The fundamental movement skills such as jumping, running, catching,
striking, kicking, dodging are learned through the games sense
approach (Currie, 2013). These skills are also part of the ‘manipulative’
and ‘locomotor’ skills required to be learned as part of the NSW K-6
PDHPE Syllabus in Stage 1 (NSW BOSTES, 2012). The movement skills
learned can be applied to learning other sports; a skill such as dodging
for example is also transferable to learning how to play rugby.
* Social skills such as interaction and teamwork along with other life
skills such as persistence and good sportsmanship, are also developed
through learning PDHPE in a games sense environment.
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5. THE STRENGTHS OF GAMES SENSE
* Games sense is a more logical approach to sporting skills
development. An example of this is with football; if a player for example
only gets the ball for 5 minutes during a 90 minute game what does
he/she do for the other 85 minutes? Work ‘off the ball’ can only be
taught through a games sense approach, not by constantly practising
drill ball skills (Light, 2013).
* The Games Sense model, developed by Bunker & Thorpe, emphasises
that players must first understand a game and the problems that need
to be solved before the execution of skills, knowing the rules and
learning team tactics (Towns, 2002). This approach allows students’ to
be creative and work together to find solutions.
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6. * There’s less focus on learning the ‘right techniques’ as less gifted
students’ realise via reinforcement what they ‘can’t do’ which affects
self-esteem (Griffin & Butler, 2005). Technique learned in a games sense
environment comes more naturally as its’ interrelated with tactics and
skills. Mastery isn’t required however it can be developed through
playing the game.
* The games sense approach offers a fairer and less intimidating games
environment for students’ through modified versions of games and
simple rules (Currie, 2013). An example of these features would be
using smaller fields and less players for invasion games such as touch
rugby and soccer. By modifying games and simplifying rules, it’s less
demanding for students (Light, 2006).
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7. * The teacher, in a games sense setting, can ask questions to the
students’ that provoke mindful thought about solving problems,
developing tactical awareness and implementing approaches (Currie,
2013). Throughout a lesson, the teacher would get students’ to think
about possible solutions to different scenarios or potential
modifications to games for training and skill development.
* Overall, I believe the games sense approach promotes inclusivity,
enjoyment, creativity, collaboration and empowerment in a fun and
productive environment. Children of all levels can learn playing
modified games which develop the necessary skills to play more formal
games later in their schooling years and beyond.
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8. REFERENCE LIST
Currie, J (2013). Teaching Primary Education in Primary School: An Integrated
Health Perspective, ACER Press, Camberwell, Victoria, Australia.
Griffin, L & Butler, J (2005). Teaching Games for Understanding: Theory,
Research and Practice, Human Kinetics, Champaign, Illinois, USA.
Honeybourne, J (2006). Acquiring Skill in Sport: An Introduction, Routledge,
Taylor & Francis Group, Wolverhampton, UK.
Light, R. (2013). Game sense for physical education and sport coaching. In Game
sense: Pedagogy for performance, participation and enjoyment (pp. 37-47).
London, UK: Routledge.
NSW BOSTES (2014), Personal Development, Health and Physical Education K-6
Syllabus, Sydney, Australia, Retrieved from
http://k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/go/personal-development-health-and-
physical-education-pdhpe
Towns, J (2002), About Games Sense, University of Wollongong. Retrieved
October 1, 2016 from
http://www.activehealth.uow.edu.au/gamesense/index.html
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