Symphony or Jazz

Is movement and movement skill a symphony or is it more like jazz - improvisational? Yesterday when I was working with my beach volleyball players this thought occurred to me. We were working on some movement patterns and I had fallen back into the old trap of teaching them like robots, a step here, crossover there when I flashed that this was borderline useless. They have to be like Miles Davis, they need to know the notes and improvise, just play. So what I need to do is sharpen their knowledge of the notes and let them play and see what happens. I can rehearse them like a symphony but they are not playing Carnegie Hall, they are playing in a jazz club in the Village. I am reading a real thought provoking book that has really challenged my thinking on all of this. The book is Dynamics of Skill Acquisition – A Constraints-Led Approach, by Keith Davids, Chris Button, and Simon Bennett. The concepts presented will make you think of movement more like jazz. Every move is an opportunity for personal expression. Teach them the notes, sharpen the notes and let them play!