While current research suggests the importance of accumulating 10,000 hours of practice, the importance of practice quality often does not receive the attention it should. Contrary to popular belief, there is significant evidence that improvements in sport-specific skills during practice do not always yield the long-term change in performance that signifies learning.

While many traditional coaching strategies, such as repetitive practice drills, coach-prescribed motor patterns, blocked training, & frequent corrective feedback have been shown to yield short-term motor performance improvements during practice, these strategies do not contribute to robust motor learning that can be transferred to competition.

Motor learning is characterized by relatively permanent improvements in movement ability & is measured over time & outside of practice (i.e. during games & competition). An understanding of the learning-performance distinction is necessary for coaches designing learning environments for athletes.