Students can develop physical movement skills by first employing mental techniques such as:

• A. Neither strategy nor tactics
• B. Tactics
• C. Both strategy and tactics
• D. Strategy

Answer: (C)

Mental planning and decision-making before moving drive skill development. Before you perform a movement, having a plan for how you’ll approach the task (strategy) and anticipating how you’ll adjust during the action (tactics) helps you learn and execute more effectively. Using both gives you a clear, long-range approach while staying flexible to changing situational cues. For example, in basketball, strategy might involve deciding to create space and protect the ball, while tactics involve choosing when to drive, pass, or cut based on how a defender responds. Focusing only on one aspect leaves you without either a guiding plan or the ability to adapt on the fly, whereas employing both provides the strongest foundation for improving movement skills.