Do sports foster critical thinking? Real, think-for-yourself, critical thinking? Or are athletes taught to listen to every word of the coach and follow his/her instructions blindly? How much of athletic participation is mere reflex, rather than thinking?
sports foster critical thinking absolutely, if you let them. But as Dexter has stated in class it is all up to the athlete. Most kids who let athletics help their critical thinking, already probably do well in school. Athletics is probably 50/50 reflex thinking on average, but it varies in sport. I can speak for soccer because i play, that is probably more reflex on what the opponent does but everytime you make a play you are thinking too. i think you cannot have one without the other.
ReplyDeleteFrom a football perspective i agree that it fosters critical thinking as well as building that reflex. Matt you can speak for soccer i can speak for football and say that the GAME is almost 100% reflex it is in practice that you train your brain to think and examine situations on a second by second basis to allow what you have tried or learned in practice on the field. You can absorb all of what your coaches tell you but once you are on the field and you have to make a decision it is all based on what you know you need to do and for a lineman like myself we dont have time to think just react and decide if it better to attempt to hit a player high or low.
DeleteI think that sports do foster critical for example when a baseball player is running through his head what pitch the pitcher will throw him next. Although I do think that in some cases athletes do listen to every word that the coach says. I think that in may cases athletic participation is mere reflex because you just react to what happens but practices are where the thinking goes on because things move s quickly in a game if you think you fail. I would disagree that this is true in every instance though because in some sports you think about all the situations that could come next before they happen.
ReplyDeleteI think that sports do foster critical thinking. Sports create a bond between the athlete and the coach. So I believe that depending on the bond the athlete will either listen to the every word or they could go against what the coach is saying. Also since a young age we have been trained in athletics therefore in has become a reflex. But it truly does depend on the athlete and how they will respond to each situation.
ReplyDeleteI think for the most part sports does foster critical thinking. I know in basketball you are taught specific plays to do, but when your opponent can read what you're going to do next then you have to think of another way to get open or make something happen. That is a more of a decision that involves critical thinking instead of a reaction. I also agree with Logan. you are taught to think in practice so when you're in the game you can react. But like the others have said some athletics are very good at critical thinking, but others are the perfect player and do everything they are told by their coach.
ReplyDeleteWithin a given sport, there is only so much that a Coach can teach the player. The Coach lays the groundwork and is always there to provide corrections/lessons on maintaining those fundamentals, but ultimately it is the athlete who has to take what he has been taught and use it to his advantage. Using those skills is what implements critical thinking in a game or life scenario. The athlete has the knowledge to critically think through an event, but it is up to them how they carry through with their actions.
ReplyDeleteWhen you are first learning a sport some thinking may be involved as you try to puzzle out the reasoning for standing a certain way or doing a certain thing. But as time goes by you find that when your coach tells you to do such and such that it works and that you are now able to play better, so soon you are just blindly following the instructions of your coach. Furthermore, you practice the moves the coach tells you to do repeatedly until they are instinctive and reflexive. Thus, soon after learning a sport, it is all muscle memory and instincts, you just act and react.
ReplyDeleteSports can definitely foster critical thinking. As for a football play the coaches gives us the tools to do what we need to do, but when we actually get out on the field things change and you see a different defense than expected and you have to think on the move on who I need to block. You can draw a play up on a board a million times and no where to go on every play but until you get out there and run the play and realize where you need to be on the field to make the play work it doesn't do any good. With drawing it up you plan where the person is suppose to be but not always the case each person is different and plays the game differently. As for me a offensive of lineman I can watch all the film and listen to the coaches talk about this defensive lineman but until I get right up against him and going one on one with him I have no glue on what I need to do to beat this guy. I have to make decision in a blink of an eye or I will be beat and our quarterback will get sacked.
ReplyDeleteSports foster more thinking and ability of your own than most think. When it comes to a standout athlete, its an athlete that not only follows the coaches words, but can think on his own feet to make something happen. For example, a coach a can teach a quaterback how to throw, his footwork, and work on his strengeth, but when it comes to an in game scenerio, that coach cant teach speed, or "knowledge of the game" that allows him to scramble from two blitzing linebackers and takes a busted play for a 20 yard gain. another example would be a baseball pitcher. you can teach him fundamentals, how to grip a curveball, and build him up, but you cant be out there with him during a game when bases are loaded and teach him to stay focused and be mentally tough. These are all different ways that goes to show that an exceptional athlete is a mixture of be smart, being able to think on their feet, and taking what the coaches teach him and combining that with raw talent.
ReplyDeleteI think part of a coach's job is to aid a player in their critical thinking abilities, but in the end, it's up to the player to incorporate the critical thought process into their respective sport. On that note though, a large portion of sports is on reflex and muscle memory as well. For example, in softball, the batter is going through in their mind the pitches they could expect to see in their specific situation, but in actuality, they could get a pitch they didn't anticipate, then it's all about reaction rather than thought. As a fielder, on the other hand, there is more critical thinking involved than there is reflex. The fielder can make the mental decision on where their play may be, but in the moment, the situation may change - a runner running first to third rather than stopping at second, as an example - and the fielder has to make a choice on the best play to make in the situation. Therefore, I think it's a mixture of critical thinking as well as reflex, rather than just following every instruction from a coach to the 't'.
ReplyDeleteTo me its both. I think that athletes do try and listen to everything a coach is trying to tell them because after all, a coach just wants his team to succeed so they will put their athletes in the best position to possibly do that. On the other hand, I also believe that certain situations can cause the athletes to react or do things independently from critically thinking about them. I also think this can be an activity for both coaches and players on the practice field. Say there is a questionable play on who should block someone on the opposition. The coaches and players may both discuss it together and come to a conclusion on how this should take place in a game setting.
ReplyDeleteSports is a combination of muscle memory/reflex and thinking/analyzing. During practice and even during games, critical thinking is used to analyze plays on the other team as well as the elements that may affect your game (such as wind, glare from sun, etc.). However, most of sport is skill and muscle memory triggered by rigorous practice and repetition. Critical thinking skills are needed to understand the game from your opponents point of view in order to guess plays and anticipate adversity, but those come more with experience than with an independent critical thinking skill. If someone with no knowledge of the game, but adequate critical thinking skills were to attempt to participate, they would most likely not live up to the competition even at a recreational/hobby level.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nicole that sports require a combination not only the mind, with thinking and analyzing, but also the body. I know for the cheerleaders, we had to have to new flyers get into the habit of squeezing their core to keep them up and have balance. The base girls had to also figure out with muscles and mind where to put our hands so we put the flyer in the correct position. I also was a dancer so that required a lot of memorization of choreography and muscle memory. In the beginning, it's tough to figure out what footwork is there and how to position the body, but with practice and constant critical thinking outside of dancing, it comes naturally to do both.
DeleteI believe that sports have critical thinking in preparation for games. Watching film or reading a scouting report and trying to find tendencies in your opponent. At the same time, sports involve a lot of muscle memory. Many times you do not have time to critically think when a ball is thrown to you or if someone is running full speed to tackle you.
ReplyDeleteI agree that sports foster critical thinking. A lot of sports though is reaction and split second decisions. Critical thinking comes into play when you watch film, considering variables that you cant control such a the weather, learning plays, and understanding the game. Coaches can scream their head off at you but it is up to the player in a game situation to make the right play or do the right thing. Nothing is every played out in a game how a drill in practice may be so it is up to you to make the right decision on the fly.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that sports foster critical thinking for it is a crucial element in preparation alone. When it comes to the time of performance, it is mixture of reflex and thinking because if you have prepared well then you will quickly be able to decide what action you want to take. I believe this leads to more critical thinking outside of sports as well due to the habit of thinking critically.
ReplyDeleteI believe that sports do foster critical thinking, for example if someone is on a team but not playing much, they should take a step back and really look at what is going on and what they are doing so that they can figure out what they need to do to get back on the field. If a player listened to their coach exactly, I am not sure how they would be with the rest of their lives. this would mean that the sport would be their first priority and the rest of their lives would fall apart. When talking about if sport is a reflex or not I feel that it become more of one the longer because it becomes more of a normal thing for you.
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt in my mind that sports foster critical thinking. I mean sports are more complex than they seem, even the ones that seem the most simple. They all rely on a bunch of different variables to follow through on their job. For example, one of the most complex positions is a quarterback. You have to be able to read a defense, you have to know if they are blitzing or playing a zone, and depending on the play you have to rely on the amount of time the O-line gives for the play to fully develop. If it is a broken play you have to have a back-up whether that is to abandon the original play and run, or throw the ball away. There is a lot of thinking that goes into athletics. To be great at a sport you have to be smart.
ReplyDeleteSports foster so many values that theirs no doubt critical thinking is one of them.
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