Examining the role of donor sports for skill acquisition in team sports using an ecological dynamics framework

Ben is a PhD student within CSER investigating the role of donor sports for motor skill acquisition in team sports through an ecological dynamics lens. His research integrates theoretical and empirical knowledge in psychology, motor learning, behavioural neuroscience, biomechanics and sport science with experiential knowledge of elite practitioners in coaching, training and sports pedagogy to study how the performance of athletes and sports teams can be enhanced.

Ben completed a BSc (Honours) in Sport and Exercise Science (1st Class) and an MSc in Applied Sport and Exercise Science (Distinction) specialising in Biomechanics and Performance Analysis at Sheffield Hallam University. Ben joined CSER as a visiting researcher in skill acquisition in October 2017, where he developed research projects that examined skill acquisition in sport underpinned by an ecological dynamics framework. These research project focused on task simplication, donor sports, and the applications of virtual reality for enrichment training.

Ben also has a keen interest in golf science research, in particular how illusion can be used as a constraint in the acquisition of golf putting skill.

Research Outputs

Strafford, B. W., Van Der Steen, P., Davids, K., & Stone, J. A. (2018). Parkour as a donor sport for athletic development in youth team sports: insights through an ecological dynamics lens. Sports medicine-open, 4(1), 21.

Nimmins, J., Strafford, B. W., Stone, J. A. (in press) Effect of puck mass as a task constraint on skilled and less-skilled Ice Hockey players performance. Journal of Motor Learning and Development.

Email: b.strafford@shu.ac.uk