Relation of knowledge and performance in boys' tennis: age and expertise

This research examined boys' development of knowledge structure and sport performance in tennis. To assess decision-making and performance, expert and novice tennis players (10-11 and 12-13 years old) were compared on tennis performance (control, decision, and execution), tennis knowledge, serve skill, and groundstroke skill. Experts regardless of age performed better than novices on tennis skill and knowledge; experts' decisions and actions were better during tennis game performance. Declarative knowledge was related to the development of procedural knowledge; serve and groundstroke skill were related to the motor execution components of performance. Interviews during and after game play were used to examine knowledge and decision-making. Experts, as compared to novices, focused on higher level concepts, had more connections between concepts, and had more condition and alternative action concepts that were important to the game's goal structure. Experts' greater decision-making ability during game play was related to their knowledge structure.