This study set out to gain insight into the practices adopted by elite level Paralympic swimming coaches and to shed light on the knowledge and rationale underpinning their approaches. Coaching sessions were delivered by nine senior coaches from the British Para swimming (BPS) World Class Programme. A coaching session was observed from each coach and a semi-structured interview was recorded and transcribed to explore their intentions and rationale for the structure and content of the session delivered. Results indicated that coaches: (i) predominantly emphasised internal focus instruction and feedback cues, (ii) incorporated relatively low levels of between-skill variability and higher levels of within-skill variability, and (iii) applied mostly explicit learning techniques such as part-task training and verbal feedback, but also incorporated some implicit learning techniques such as analogies and constraints-based learning. Interview data indicated coaches had limited knowledge of key skill acquisition principles. The study serves to highlight potential gaps in understanding on the side of both research and applied practice in the hope of facilitating future collaborations between coaches and skill acquisition practitioners.

本研究旨在深入了解精英级别的残奥会游泳教练所采用的做法，并阐明支撑他们方法的知识和基本原理。教练课程由来自英国残疾人游泳 (BPS) 世界级项目的九名高级教练提供。观察每位教练的辅导课程，并记录和转录半结构化访谈，以探讨他们对所交付课程的结构和内容的意图和理由。结果表明，教练：(i) 主要强调内部重点指导和反馈提示，(ii) 结合了相对较低水平的技能间变异性和较高水平的技能内变异性，以及 (iii) 应用了大部分显性学习技术，例如部分-任务培训和口头反馈，但也结合了一些隐式学习技术，如类比和基于约束的学习。访谈数据表明，教练对关键技能获取原则的了解有限。该研究旨在突出研究和应用实践方面的潜在理解差距，以期促进教练和技能获取从业者之间未来的合作。