Ecological Dynamics is the combination of Ecological Psychology and Dynamical Systems Theory. Dynamical System Theory explains how movement patterns occur, how our arms and legs move when walking for instance. Ecological Psychology explains how those movement patterns occur in relationship to the environment.

In short, Ecological Dynamics is a theory that all movement solutions come from the combination of how we as an individual perceive ourselves, the task at hand, and our surroundings rather than rehearsing isolated and mechanical movements that are then stored in our brain to be called upon later. 

The Constraints-Led Approach (CLA) is essentially the training methodology underpinned by ecological dynamics. In application, the CLA is the manipulation of constraints to guide or facilitate the emergence of effective movement solutions. The role of the coach within training is to align player intentions with the context from the environment in order for players to self-organize into movements (individually and collectively) that transfer to the game itself.

Actual skill acquisition research shows us that this is the most effective way for players to learn and apply what they learn to the game itself. It also takes into account each individual and how their strengths and weaknesses allow them or force them to solve problems differently while giving them the room to do so instead of taking a one-size-fits-all approach.

To summarize what the CLA looks like in action, we emphasize just a few key components: Representative Learning Design, Perception-Action Coupling, and Knowledge Of vs Knowledge About.

Representative Learning Design refers to the level at which the training session looks and feels like the game. How many of the key ingredients (direction, scoring, oppponents, pressure, spacing) that are present and realistic to what the demands are the game are link directly to how representative an activity is. While our approach is to have our environment as representative as possible as often as possible, this can vary. With that said, there is always some level of reprsentativeness. Even if a task needs to be simplified for players, we don't believe in completely isolating specific actions.

Perception-action coupling ensures that players are always in an environment that they have to perceive in order to act and act in order to perceive, creating a continuous cycle of emerging opportunities. This is an important distinction as "decision-making" isn't as simple as selecting from a predetermined list of solutions but instead adapting to the affordances (opportunities to act) that are available.

Knowlege about refers to a surface level understanding of a topic or concept, which can often be verbalized and is typically taught explicitly. For example, a player may be able to remember and repeat a desired behavior that a coach has referenced before such as running away if the player in possession drives with the ball towards you. Knowledge of is far more powerful as it is implicit and developed through experience. For instance, a player without the ball reacts a certain way based on their strengths and the strengths of their teammate on the ball because it has provided successful outcomes in the past. 

Nonlinear Pedagogy acknowledges that learning is not linear or easily predictable. It is not as simple as adding up all of the things that a player has been taught. Especially when we consider implicit learning to be more powerful, players are going to pick up on things differently as they perceive things differently. 

Consider a team meeting for instance. A coach can go over all of the principles of play, what's expected, and much more. In a room of 12-18 players, every player will likely take something slightly differently away from the meeting. 

With learning being unpredictable and messy, utilizing the CLA allows coaches to meet players exactly where they are at rather than having the same expectations of every player's ability and what they've learned. 

Self-Determination Theory (SDT) refers to how people are motivated. As humans, to be at our best, we need to feel a sense of Competence, Belonging, and Relatedness. For our environment, we've adapted this to an acronym of ABC - Autonomy, Belonging, and Competence.

Research shows that athletes that receive coaching that is deemed autonomy-supportive are more likely to avoid burnout and ultimately perform at a higher level.