Posts on Beyond the Stats

Reading the Game Model Through the Philosophy of Law

Wed, 07 Oct 2026 18:37:00 +0900

“The game model and the philosophy of law.” Seeing that theme, many of you may have wondered, “Why put sports tactics and law together?”

Standing on the court in daily practice and working with the game model, the foundation of a team’s tactics, I suddenly found a concept from a completely different field connecting in my head. That field was the philosophy of law (legal philosophy).

Design the Attention: What Coaches Need to Know About External Focus

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 19:34:00 +0900

In the previous post, I explained that a player’s attention is a limited cognitive resource, and what goes wrong when it runs dry.

As a follow-up, this post digs into the practical side: where, specifically, should we point that limited spotlight of attention?

Attention Is a Limited Cognitive Resource

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 18:35:00 +0900

Up to the last post, I explained motivation, one of the two pillars supporting OPTIMAL theory and the learner’s “engine,” and how to draw it out. This time I dig into the other pillar: attention, which handles the “steering” that guides that engine in the right direction.

The Two Pillars That Spark Intrinsic Motivation

Mon, 31 Aug 2026 19:00:00 +0900

From here, I want to dig into the two pillars that act as concrete switches for physically starting the learner’s engine, motivation (intrinsic motivation): enhanced expectancies and autonomy support.

Switch one: enhanced expectancies

“Enhanced expectancies” means raising the learner’s subjective sense of the probability of success in future performance, the feeling that “I can do this” or “it will work next time.” In other words, raising their self-efficacy.

The Science of Intrinsic Motivation: Learners Who Drive Themselves

Mon, 31 Aug 2026 18:13:00 +0900

In the previous post I gave a rough overview of OPTIMAL theory. From this post on, I will start taking it apart. Here I focus on motivation (intrinsic motivation), the fundamental engine that drives the learner, our “car,” powerfully forward.

OPTIMAL Theory: Accelerating Motor Learning

Mon, 31 Aug 2026 16:10:00 +0900

The rise and fall of the information-processing approach

For decades, theoretical frameworks for motor learning have been built on information-processing models. The best-known examples are the three-stage model proposed by Fitts and Posner (1967), made up of the cognitive, associative, and autonomous stages, and Schmidt’s schema theory (1975).

A System, Yes, but a Complex One

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 15:16:00 +0900

Simple systems and complex systems: a thinking trap we fall into

The more you work in volleyball, the more Meadows’ statement that “changing the elements has little effect” will feel wrong. I felt the same way at first. But here lies a big thinking trap that we easily fall into.

What Is Systems Thinking, the Foundation for Understanding TP?

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 12:22:00 +0900

Tactical periodization (TP) rose as a new paradigm that challenged the reductionist approach. But to truly understand TP and use it in practice, it is essential to understand the concept it is built on: systems thinking. So this time, I dig into the question “What is systems thinking?”

Reductionism and Its Limits

Sun, 23 Aug 2026 19:51:00 +0900

You cannot talk about training paradigms in modern football (soccer) without running into tactical periodization. Through the work of José Mourinho and others, this theory has swept the world. But when coaches actually knock on its door, many are surely put off by a wall of difficult jargon.

Ecological Approach × Adlerian Psychology: The Coach's Attitude Is the Biggest Environmental Constraint

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 23:20:00 +0900

In practising the ecological approach, the coach’s role is extremely limited. Their main task comes down to designing constraints.

When you read the literature on the ecological approach, the examples given of sociocultural constraints, one type of environmental constraint, include family support, the cultural background of a sport, and social expectations. I could not find the phrase “the coach’s attitude” anywhere among them.

What Is Motor Learning Theory, the Foundation?

Mon, 17 Aug 2026 16:03:00 +0900

What is the ecological approach? There are many ways to answer that question, but in a word, it can be described as one of the motor learning theories that are attracting a great deal of attention and research in sport science today.

How I Met the Ecological Approach

Sun, 16 Aug 2026 11:53:00 +0900

Opening: how I met the ecological approach

To begin, let me tell you how I first came across the ecological approach.

I first learned about the concept as a university student. While reading what experts were sharing online, I came across this approach.

Unpacking Traditional Coaching and Its Historical Background

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 16:00:00 +0900

Introduction

For a long time, people believed that if you defined the technique that is optimal for everyone, and players learned to reproduce it reliably, they would become good players. Research was done along those lines, and that style of coaching became the mainstream.

Where Chasing the "Perfect Form" Through Repetition Led Me

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 22:55:00 +0900

Hello, everyone. This time I want to write about a failure from my past: what happened to me after I chased the “perfect form” and repeated the same practice over and over, and what I learned from it.

The reason I fell into this trap lies in my days of almost obsessive repetitive practice in high school.

More than Stats: Beyond the Numbers

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 22:37:00 +0900

Hello, and nice to meet you. I have been fortunate enough to work in Japan’s top volleyball league for a good number of seasons now.

Coding, crunching data, writing reports… These days, using AI in data analysis has become essential too, and the role people like me play has been shifting a great deal over the past few years.