THEORY
The fundamental information and concepts behind teaching surfing in lower-middle secondary.
LINKS TO THE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM
Level 7-8
Moving The Body
Use feedback to improve body control and coordination when performing specialised movement skills (VCHPEM133)
Compose and perform movement sequences for specific purposes in a variety of contexts(VCHPEM134)
Practise, apply and transfer movement concepts and strategies (VCHPEM135
Level 9-10
Moving The body.
Perform and refine specialised movement skills in challenging movement situations (VCHPEM152
Evaluate own and others’ movement compositions, and provide and apply feedback in order to enhance performance situations (VCHPEM153)
Develop, implement and evaluate movement concepts and strategies for successful outcomes(VCHPEM154)
(Victorian curriculum and assessment authority, 2018)
In order for students to meet the achievement standards of the Victorian health and physical education curriculum, students are expected to be able to “demonstrate control and accuracy when performing specialised movement skills. They [are also expected to] apply and refine movement concepts and strategies to suit different movement situations” (Victorian curriculum and assessment authority, 2018). The skill of surfing is a perfect exercise in which we as teachers can assess whether students are able to meet these standards. Surfing is all about control and accuracy and relies on the ability to implement a range of strategies depending on what the environment (Waves, wind and weather) is doing. Through formal assessment and equipment manipulation, all students should have an opportunity at meeting these standards however if some students are very weak in water, then land based alternative exercises such as skate longboarding may be an alternative way to meet these specific achievement standards. When assessing students it is important to always have multiple alternatives as in the past many students have failed outcomes when really they just failed to demonstrate the required skill in the environment in which they were placed in (Gibbs & Simpson, 2005). This is a crucial thing to remember when teaching surfing as many students may not pick up surfing in the short period that the skill was taught to them in school.
ASSESSMENT
In order to make surfing a more assessment friendly activity for a teacher or coach, it is important to ensure that both pre and post assessment is being partaken by all students. This can be done in a formative or informative way however whichever you choose, a clear starting point for each student must be taken into account. It is also important to not assess students on their ability to surf but more so the improvement of the fundamental motor skills such as balance and twisting involved in the process. Having well developed motor skills normally correlate in better surfers however it is important to acknowledge that there are other elements that go into the process (Spittle & Byrne, 2009). It would be far more effective using a performance process measure when assessing surfing as this approach exterminates some extraneous variable such as the wave type (Spittle, 2013).
Another strategy we can use to test the key fundamental motor skills of surfing is through equipment manipulation. As long as the key skills of balance and twisting are not being compromised, manipulation is fine and rather should be encouraged if it allows our students a better chance and lets them demonstrate their abilities. If a students is struggling with the task at hand, a longer, wider board with far more volume could give some students more confidence to learn and therefore demonstrate the skills of twisting and balancing (Renshaw, Chow, Davids, & Hammond, 2010).
Modifying an activity is another way in which we can help students to meet the outcome. It is important to not look at the achievement standards as either a met or a non-met situation but more so a wide spectrum in which all students are at different points (Spittle, 2013). Taking this into account, it is crucial to modify all exercises to ensure each student can reach their limit. When teaching surfing, we can manipulate the skill by allowing students to catch waves that have already broken, allowing students to get to their knees before popping up on the surfboard, and allowing different kind of boards that allow for skill variation (shortboards, longboards, fish boards and foam boards).
As teachers and coaches, we must do our best to narrow down what we are assessing in health and physical education. Through strategies such as using a performance process approach and manipulating the activity and equipment, we can do all that is in our power to ensure that the assessment results on the fundamental motor skills involved in surfing are both valid, reliable and focused around improvement.
DIFFICULTIES REVOLVING AROUND THE PROCESS OF ASSESSING SURFING IN SCHOOLS
A big issue that can be highlighted within learning how to surf in a school would be that it is difficult for some schools to have the resources necessary to learn to surf. For a school to teach surfing they would have to have access to a beach nearby so that the students could firstly be scaffolded to learn how to surf on the sand, and then to actually experience surfing in the water. If a school did not have access to a beach, there is very limited teaching you could do at say a swimming pool as there is no natural waves that can be ridden. Although, if a school did not have access to a beach, students could still be taught the technique to standing up on a board (starting in a push up position to then getting on your knees and then to standing up) and also how to balance on a surfboard whilst on the water (could be done in a pool).
Safety could be another highlighted issue in teaching surfing in a school context. If students were to be out in the water at the beach, each student would need to be supervised which may be hard to do with only one teacher. Also some students may not even know how to swim in the first place, it may be hard to teach surfing when some students wouldn’t even be able to swim out to ride a wave. Knowing how to swim is most definitely a prerequisite to learning how to surf, this could be a big barrier for some students when coming across surfing within a school context.
DYNAMIC SYSTEMS
Our understanding of motor control and how we learn movement and motor skills has been explained through motor control theories. The dynamic systems theory according to Spittle (2013), suggests movement occurs naturally through a complex system. This system suggests that human movement depends on the constraints on the organism, environment and task being performed. The movement pattern self-organises based on these constraints. Constraints act not only as boundaries to limit movement but can also act as opportunities (Smith & Thelen, 2003; Spittle, 2013).
Our understanding of motor control under the dynamic system suggests that we can enhance learning through manipulating task constraints to encourage learners to discover movement outcomes (Spittle, 2013). For complete beginners, a common introduction to surfing is learning on the shore, how to stand up on a surfboard. This is manipulating the environmental constraints by completely eliminating the factor of waves to allow for students with no previous experience to first learn the fundamentals behind the motor skill. There is no real other way to manipulate the environmental constraints in surfing since it relies entirely on the ocean and waves, which is completely unpredictable. Howard (2015), suggests planning around the weather, trying to wait for days with smaller surf to give beginners with little prior experience in surfing a friendlier experience in first learning to stand-up on a surfboard to ride waves. A Task based constraint which can be altered in surfing is the equipment used, specifically the surfboard. “The easiest surfboard to learn on is a long board with a foam top…” (Howard, 2015, pa. 11). These boards are designed to simplify surfing for newcomers according to Werner (1999) who describes them as training devices. Werner suggests that once a student has transitioned from the beginners stage that they graduate to a foam and fiberglass board suitable to their size, this will give them the opportunity to learn how to maneuver and have greater control over the board, developing their skill of surfing.
ABILITIES, CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES
Concepts of ability are often confused with the concept of skill. Spittle (2013) defines abilities as stable, abiding traits that underpin the performing of motor skills. Through this understanding skills are actually dependant on different abilities to practice, learn and modify motor skills. The idea of abilities as variables of motor skills means they are difficult to change (Spittle, 2013). Examples of abilities that may be present in surfing are reaction time, coordination and flexibility. Surfing is a task in a real-world setting that requires the individual to make fast reactions to the environmental stimuli and respond effectively (Shea, et al., 2001). Individuals have to react when deciding when to catch a wave and also when to stand up on the board once riding the wave. Coordination is another ability required in surfing. Shea, et al. (2001), describes surfing as an activity that requires the coordination of the entire body.
SURFING AS PLAY
Surfing would be considered play rather than a game or a sport, as it is an activity that is self motivated, and most commonly has no rules or scoring system. Surfing however can be a sport when competitions are involved.
Play according to Spittle (2013), is a voluntary activity pursued for intrinsic rewards. Intrinsic motivation can be defined as a “natural tendency to seek out and conquer challenges as we pursue personal interests and exercise capabilities” (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2016, p. 354). It is an activity that is consciously outside of everyday life which consumes the player entirely. Under this definition of play, surfing in most contexts, would be described as play, rather than sport or a game. Diehm and Armatas (2004) defines surfing as a ‘sensation seeking’ experience. Since surfing involves a level of risk it fulfills the need for a variety of complex sensations and experiences through the willingness to take physical and social risks (Diehm & Armatas, 2004). This willingness however, requires intrinsic motivation. Diehm and Armatas (2004), suggest a model of intrinsic motivation that comprises of: intrinsic motivation to know, intrinsic motivation towards accomplishments and intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation. Thus suggesting that rewards from intrinsically motivated activity can be physiological, emotional and/or cognitive.
Morgan and Coutts (2016) state that surfing is an activity that is ‘motivated by the self’. Through associated positive emotions and enjoyment it propels students to return to the experience.
SURFING CHARACTERISTICS
Skill is associated with the quality of a specific performance for example we will often consider a professional surfer like Kelly Slater to have far greater skill than an amateur surfer however both may be able to successfully surf a wave. The difference between the two however is that a professional surfer will be able to confidently surf a wave with little energy expended and will often be able to surf the wave quicker and do multiple turns and tricks along the way. The amateur surfer however will be less confident and use a lot of energy due to his technique not being as efficient as a professional’s. The underlying characteristics that determine whether a performer is skilled or unskilled include:
· Maximum certainty of goal achievement.
· Minimum time in completion of the goal.
· Minimum energy expenditure (Technique) in completion of the goal.
We can transfer this information into the learning process behind surfing as we need to be as confident as we can be when trying to surf. We must focus on getting up as quickly and as efficiently as possible in order to minimise time of completion and energy expenditure. Focusing on these three characteristics of what makes a skilful performer, we can speed up the learning process (Spittle, 2013).
There are many characteristics that make up the skill of surfing and when all are performed smoothly, efficiently and confidently, the surfing is achieved. The beginning of surfing of course involves paddling. A person needs to be able to paddle out to the wave break and also needs to be able to paddle quickly with force and momentum in order to jump on the waves force. The most preferred section of a wave to catch is the point where the face of the wave is steepest. This section is at the point of the wave where it is just about to break. Once paddled out and in position, a surfer should look for the sharpest point of the wave and try a line themselves up with this point. When a good wave comes, turn the front of the board towards the sand and begin to paddle hard in order to get on the waves momentum (Finney & Houston, 1996).
Once a surfer is traveling at a fast enough speed, the waves momentum will take a hold of their board and will begin to accelerate them down the face of the wave. Whilst this is going on, the surfer will jump quickly to their feet and turn the board slightly across the wave so that they will keep ahead of the breaking section of the wave. It is important that a surfer slightly tilts their surf board to avoid going straight down the face of a wave. This extends the surfing time and going straight down a wave can be very dangerous when the waves begin to get bigger as a surfer runs the risk of being smashed by a wave (Finney & Houston, 1996).
Once you are standing up and going across the wave, the fundamental motor skills of balance and the mental skill of judgement will determine whether you are successful in catching a wave effectively or not (Spittle, 2013). Standing too far forward on the board will make the nose of your board dig into the water, forcing you to fall forward off the board and standing to far back on the board will cause you to fall off the back. Through a heap of practice and trial and error learning, a surfer’s task is to find the perfect spot in the middle of their board for their feet. Having ideal feet placement is a vital component to the surfing process and allows a surfer to feel balanced, stable and in control of the surfboard.
Controlling the board whilst on a wave is determined by the fundamental motor skills of balance, leaning and twisting. If an orthodox surfer wants to go across the wave to their right they will lean forward and if they want to go left they will lean back. After a period of learning and feeling clumsy, a surfer will begin to understand all these components and through understanding how these characteristics impact on their approach to surfing, they will ultimately know what they need to do in order to improve (Spittle, 2013).
CLASSIFYING SURFING AS A SKILL
To understand the nature of the skill of surfing motor skill classification, systems such as the One-dimensional classification system can be used. (Spittle, 2013). The One-dimensional classification system breaks skills into characteristics; precision of the movement, organisation of the skill & stability of the environment. Surfing could be characterised as a ‘gross’ motor skill, meaning it involves larger muscle groups and requires less precision. Surfing is basically a whole-body skill, “...actions that basically required the coordination of their whole body.” (Shea, Wulf, Whitacre & Park, 2001, p. 843). Surfing can be classified as a serial skill. Serial skills have a series of discrete actions linked together in a specific order (Spittle, 2013), actions such as pushing up, transitioning into a standing position, then balancing and manipulating or riding the wave. An ‘open’ motor skill occurs in an environment that is unpredictable and always changing (Spittle, 2013), an environment such as the ocean. Surfing can be classified as an open skill because every wave has a different type and shape, and you have to maneuver the board accordingly (Morgan & Coutts, 2016). Open skills require the individual to adapt to the environment they are in, meaning there is difficulty in learning to surf without being within the waves, learning by doing. Commonly, students are first taught to stand up on a surfboard on the shore, a ‘closed’ environment that is static and predictable (Spittle, 2013). A ‘closed’ environment is ideal for students to initially learn the fundamentals of the motor skill as their are less constraints and students can focus solely on technique. However as surfing is performed in ‘open’ environments it is important that after the skill is gained in a ‘closed’ environment that students practice predominantly in an ‘open’ environment to match the context of the skill.
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