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In the pursuit of athletic excellence, it’s easy to assume that performance is built primarily through external instruction, coaches providing cues, drills, and corrections to shape technique. While external guidance plays a role, much of human movement learning actually arises from within.
This natural process, known as self-organization, refers to the body’s ability to coordinate and refine movement patterns through internal feedback mechanisms, without the need for constant external direction. Understanding this concept is fundamental to how athletes adapt, develop, and ultimately master motor skills. What Is Self-Organization? Self-organization is the body’s innate capacity to find efficient solutions to movement problems. When an athlete performs a new task, the body undergoes a process of trial and error, experimenting with different movement strategies until it discovers one that achieves the desired outcome with greater efficiency and precision. This is not random. It’s a deeply intelligent process driven by the interaction between the individual’s unique physical characteristics (such as structure, force potential, elasticity, and coordination), the task being performed, and the environment in which it occurs. Over time, the body “self-organizes” around these interacting constraints, producing more stable and effective movement patterns. The Role of the Sensory System At the heart of self-organization lies the sensory system, the body’s internal feedback network. When learning or refining a skill, athletes rely on a range of sensory inputs:
This sensory feedback forms a continuous loop: action, feedback, adjustment. Each movement provides information. Each repetition fine tunes perception. Over time, these micro-adjustments accumulate into more coordinated and smooth movement solutions. Adapting Through Exploration One of the most powerful aspects of self-organization is its adaptability. Because it’s not dependent on one fixed technique, the system can continuously adjust to new demands, whether that means a changing environment, a different opponent, or new task constraints. This is why the most skillful athletes often appear “fluid” and adaptable, they’re not simply reproducing a learned technique; they’re responding dynamically to what’s happening around them. When coaches provide athletes with opportunities to explore movement variability, different speeds, directions, surfaces, or constraints, they create the conditions for this adaptability to emerge. The goal isn’t perfection in one pattern but proficiency across many. Efficiency Through Emergence As the system refines itself, movement becomes more efficient. Self-organization naturally seeks the path of least resistance, the most effective way to accomplish a task with minimal effort. Once this efficiency is achieved, the underlying movement principles often transfer to related skills. For example, the rhythm and timing learned in a jump may later support sprinting or cutting actions. This adaptability highlights the interconnectedness of athletic movement, the same coordination patterns can be reorganized and applied across different contexts. Coaching Implications: Creating the Space for Discovery From a coaching perspective, understanding self-organization reshapes how we design learning environments. Instead of overloading athletes with cues and corrections, we can guide through design, manipulating constraints that invite exploration and self-discovery. Effective coaching:
By doing so, they allow the athlete’s own system to take over, to solve, refine, and stabilize movement solutions that are truly individualized. Conclusion: Let the Systems Work Self-organization reminds us that the human body is not a machine to be programmed, it’s a dynamic, adaptive system capable of solving complex problems through interaction and feedback. When coaches and athletes embrace this principle, development becomes less about replication and more about discovery. Movement becomes more smooth, adaptable, and resilient, not because it was taught perfectly, but because it was learned naturally. The key is to create the space for that process to happen. Let the body explore. Let the system organize. Let movement emerge.
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One of the guiding principles in our programming is complementarity, organizing training elements so they communicate with each other. Every movement should serve the broader objective of athletic transfer, not exist in isolation.
When it comes to speed development, that means aligning our plyometric work with the specific speed pattern we’re targeting. The goal isn’t just to “jump more” or “move faster,” but to help athletes feel and own the same shapes, pressures, and force vectors that are required for effective high speed athletic actions. When the drill and the plyometric speak the same language, the body listens, coordination sharpens, intent increases, and the adaptations actually stick. That’s how you drive meaningful transfer, not by rehearsing random or disconnected movements. The Complementary Framework We divide our plyometric work into two broad categories, extensive and intensive, and align both with the specific speed emphasis of the session: acceleration, max velocity, or curved sprinting. This structure allows the athlete’s nervous system to connect the dots between the sensations of jumping and sprinting, the shapes, the ground contacts, and the rhythm. Extensive Plyometrics (Used for rhythm, coordination, and force direction awareness) 1. Acceleration Emphasis:
Intensive Plyometrics (Used for high force production and elasticity under load) 1. Acceleration Emphasis:
Connecting It All This approach ensures that every plyometric task means something. Instead of stacking unrelated drills, we’re constructing an ecosystem of movement, where each jump, bound, and hop reinforces the same sensory and mechanical language as the sprint pattern it supports. The result? Athletes who don’t just practice speed but understand it through the way they move. They feel the ground differently, organize force more efficiently, and express the movement solutions their sport demands. One key aspect of our preparation process is the emphasis on making connections throughout the entire session. Rather than isolating each aspect of training into silos, warmup, movement skills, strength, conditioning, we look to create threads that run through everything we do.
This approach is guided by two principles: 1. Speaking a common language – So athletes can transfer concepts from one context to another. 2. Applying universal principles – So what they learn in one environment directly influences how they move and perform in another. By doing this, athletes are not just completing drills; they’re learning movement strategies that carry over to the unpredictable and chaotic nature of sport. Choosing One at a Time We highlight one principle per athlete per session, not a long list of cues or technical rules. The emphasis is always dependent on the individual and where they are in their development. Below are three examples of common concepts we utilize with all skill levels: 1. Speed (Acceleration) Emphasis
2. Change of Direction Emphasis
3. Deceleration Emphasis
When athletes learn to connect dots across speed, agility, plyometrics, force development, they:
Ultimately, our goal is not to collect isolated skills but to build a unified movement system. Each session becomes a chance to reinforce this system by teaching athletes to see the common ground in everything they do. Most coaches don’t truly understand the role fatigue plays in the skill adaptation process. Too often, it’s treated as something to either avoid completely, “save the legs”, or to hammer into athletes through mindless conditioning drills like gassers, suicides, and high-volume shuttles.
The problem with both extremes is that they miss the deeper truth: fatigue is not just a byproduct of training, it’s a tool. When leveraged intentionally, fatigue becomes one of the most powerful constraints we can use to influence learning, adaptability, and performance. But when used carelessly, it can be highly detrimental to both short-term readiness and long-term athletic development. Fatigue as a Constraint In our framework, fatigue is treated as a constraint on the movement system. Much like space, time, or equipment, fatigue shapes how athletes interact with their environment and discover movement solutions. By introducing fatigue in the right way, we influence how an athlete perceives, decides, and acts under pressure. This creates adaptations that prepare them for the true demands of sport, where athletes rarely make decisions or execute skills while fresh. When designed well, fatigue forces athletes to:
On the flip side, when fatigue is introduced without context, through repetitive, isolated conditioning, athletes may build a basic level of fitness, but they don’t gain the decision-making or adaptability that transfers to competition. Repeatability: More Than Just Running Laps Repeatability, often described as “work capacity”, is a crucial adaptation we aim to develop during certain periods of training. But it’s not about simply surviving volume or completing endless laps. True repeatability is the ability to:
This can’t be achieved through mindless conditioning alone. It requires problem-solving environments where fatigue is paired with decision-making, variability, and the same uncertainty athletes face in sport. Think of a soccer midfielder making split-second decisions in the 85th minute, or a basketball guard executing sharp cuts deep into overtime. At those moments, fatigue is part of the game environment. Athletes who only trained repeatability through running drills may still “have legs,” but they lack the experience of making quality decisions and movement choices when tired. Our athletes, however, have rehearsed this exact challenge: finding solutions under physical and cognitive fatigue. From Limitation to Advantage Instead of viewing fatigue as a limitation, we view it as an opportunity to expand the toolbox. By layering fatigue into dynamic, decision-rich environments, athletes develop:
Fatigue is not the enemy. When designed into training with purpose and context, it becomes a powerful ally in skill adaptation and long-term development. Rather than draining athletes with outdated conditioning drills, we aim to design training that mirrors the complexity of sport, where fatigue doesn’t just expose limitations but builds solutions.
According to Nikolai Bernstein, a foundational figure in motor behavior science, the difference between motor control and motor learning lies in how movement is organized and how that organization evolves over time with experience. His insights continue to shape modern approaches to skill development, movement science, and performance training.
Motor Control (Bernstein’s View) Motor control is the real-time regulation of movement by the central nervous system. Bernstein framed this as a problem-solving process: how does the brain coordinate the many degrees of freedom, all the joints, muscles, and body segments, to produce smooth, goal-directed movement? Key Concepts:
Bernstein’s Insight: Motor control is the process of “solving the problem of redundancy” in the body to produce a skilled, efficient action. Motor Learning (Bernstein’s View) While motor control deals with execution in the moment, motor learning refers to how movement control is developed and refined over time through practice and adaptation. Bernstein viewed learning not as merely acquiring a motor program, but as a process of “reconstructing” movement each time, depending on the context. Key Concepts:
Bernstein’s Insight: Motor learning is about enhancing the system’s ability to adapt and reorganize movement solutions over time. Key Differences:
Motor Control & Learning by theuofstrength
In essence, motor control is about solving the problem of movement in the moment, while motor learning is the process of developing more effective and adaptable solutions to that problem over time. Bernstein’s legacy lies in his dynamic view of movement, not as static programs stored in the brain, but as flexible, evolving solutions shaped by constraints, practice, and variability. Understanding this distinction isn’t just academic, it reshapes how we teach, coach, and train. Whether you’re designing a skill progression or analyzing an athlete’s movement patterns, Bernstein’s framework provides a powerful lens through which to understand the art and science of movement. |
AuthorJamie Smith is a proud husband and father, passionate about all things relating to athletic development and a life long learner, who is open to unorthodox ideas as long they are beneficial to his athletes. Categories
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*By accessing this website and/or purchasing or utilizing the articles, emails, programs, images, videos, services and/or products, you are agreeing to this disclaimer in its entirety. The content on this website and the educational products sold within are the intellectual property of The U of Strength, LLC and may not be replicated, reproduced, or sold without prior written consent from The U of Strength, LLC. Website, social media and product content provided is for informational purposes and meant to be utilized by athletes, sport coaches, and fitness professionals at their own discretion. It is not meant to substitute advice or guidance from qualified medical experts, and misuse of the information can result in serious injury. Any fitness program should be administered under the discretion of qualified professionals who take into account individual differences in health and ability. While our programs have found success with the athletes who train at our facility, individual results vary and we do not guarantee any specific results. The U of Strength, LLC assumes no liability from the misuse of the content provided or products purchased. Users assume all risk when implementing our ideas in theirs or their clients’ real life training experiences.
Email: [email protected]
*By accessing this website and/or purchasing or utilizing the articles, emails, programs, images, videos, services and/or products, you are agreeing to this disclaimer in its entirety. The content on this website and the educational products sold within are the intellectual property of The U of Strength, LLC and may not be replicated, reproduced, or sold without prior written consent from The U of Strength, LLC. Website, social media and product content provided is for informational purposes and meant to be utilized by athletes, sport coaches, and fitness professionals at their own discretion. It is not meant to substitute advice or guidance from qualified medical experts, and misuse of the information can result in serious injury. Any fitness program should be administered under the discretion of qualified professionals who take into account individual differences in health and ability. While our programs have found success with the athletes who train at our facility, individual results vary and we do not guarantee any specific results. The U of Strength, LLC assumes no liability from the misuse of the content provided or products purchased. Users assume all risk when implementing our ideas in theirs or their clients’ real life training experiences.