Flexible Training Planning Coupled with Flexible Assessment: A 12-Week Randomized Feasibility Study in a Youth Female Volleyball Team
Manuel Loureiro,
Isabel Mesquita,
Ana Ramos,
Patrícia Coutinho,
João Ribeiro,
Filipe Manuel Clemente,
Fábio Yuzo Nakamura,
José Afonso
Affiliations
Manuel Loureiro
Centre for Research, Education, Innovation, and Intervention in Sport (CIFI2D), Faculty of Sport of the University of Porto (FADEUP), Rua Dr. Plácido da Costa 91, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal
Isabel Mesquita
Centre for Research, Education, Innovation, and Intervention in Sport (CIFI2D), Faculty of Sport of the University of Porto (FADEUP), Rua Dr. Plácido da Costa 91, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal
Ana Ramos
Centre for Research, Education, Innovation, and Intervention in Sport (CIFI2D), Faculty of Sport of the University of Porto (FADEUP), Rua Dr. Plácido da Costa 91, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal
Patrícia Coutinho
Centre for Research, Education, Innovation, and Intervention in Sport (CIFI2D), Faculty of Sport of the University of Porto (FADEUP), Rua Dr. Plácido da Costa 91, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal
João Ribeiro
Centre for Research, Education, Innovation, and Intervention in Sport (CIFI2D), Faculty of Sport of the University of Porto (FADEUP), Rua Dr. Plácido da Costa 91, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal
Filipe Manuel Clemente
Escola Superior Desporto e Lazer, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, Rua Escola Industrial e Comercial de Nun’Álvares, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal
Fábio Yuzo Nakamura
Research Centre in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development, CIDESD, University of Maia, ISMAI, Av. Carlos de Oliveira Campos, 4475-690 Maia, Portugal
José Afonso
Centre for Research, Education, Innovation, and Intervention in Sport (CIFI2D), Faculty of Sport of the University of Porto (FADEUP), Rua Dr. Plácido da Costa 91, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal
According to the Quality Education and Gender Equality ambitions established at the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals, we aimed to test the feasibility of a flexible planning and assessment process, using ongoing, bidirectional feedback between planning and assessment. Eighteen players (11.5 ± 0.5 years of age) from a U13 female volleyball team were randomized into an experimental group (in which the plan could be changed daily) or a contrast group (pre-defined planning, adjusted monthly). The pedagogical intervention lasted three months. Besides ongoing daily assessments from the training practices, the Game Performance Assessment Instrument was adopted as a starting point for the weekly assessments in 4 vs. 4 game-forms (i.e., the instrument was modified monthly based on feedback from the training process). Information from daily and weekly formal assessment was used in the planning of the experimental group, and monthly in the contrast group. Data suggested that pre-established and strict planning (even updated monthly) failed to fit current learner needs. Over 12 weeks, the pre-established planning suffered regular modifications in the experimental group, and the assessment tool changed monthly. In conclusion, both planning and assessment should be open and flexible to exchange information mutually, and support the design of tailor-made learning environments.