Number of reps may not always be the ideal way to tackle practice Matt. You’re going to “rep”, obviously, but the number of times you do it may not be the critical contributor to improving.
Pauls variable targets comment above fits this.
There is a drill in the MCI study guide for mends around cones. It is stolen from Mike Heritage who to my certain knowledge has used it for many years. Paul may have used it too, my apologies if it’s misattributed.
It isn’t rep dependent, it’s objective dependent. No cast in this drill is exactly the same and it gets progressively harder as the drill advances.
It’s clever too because there are some big plusses in this kind of exercise.
It has clear purpose, to drill for the out/in movement creating a mend around an obstacle and develop mend timing. Practice is “deliberate”
Because it is low incremental change, difficulty is progressive, therefore a caster is always working just at the edge of the performance envelope…which, if you’re looking for development, is exactly where we want them to be.
The caster doesn’t need anyone for feedback to tell if they’re succeeding or not, a “win” is easy for an instructor to explain and is independently observable.
Whilst the drill is at root one of variation, the caster has some independent choice and control over practice format. Once success is observed, it triggers a decision. A caster can decide to move on to the next stage or go back one stage or more and do it again. ie repeat(blocked) or move on/go back (vary). Caster has self determination.
Whatever the decision, it is reinforcing, each new stage reinforces skill developed at the last.
The fact that there is progressive difficulty is often motivating for casters, it’s a bit of fun, they want to get to the end, and the fact that the early stages are easy builds confidence that the later stages are achievable. That is, it encourages self efficacy and expansion of the range of control.
The alternative to this is to set the assessment task up and make x number of repeated attempts at the cones one after the other or in the required sequence.
I may do both but if I’m practicing I do Mikes drill first, every time. When I’m consistent, when I can roll through that one, the assessment task is way easier. Plus, one is really useful for fishing and passing the test, whereas the other is only really useful for passing the test.
