Analysis of the relation between M-Capacity development, expertise, and motor learning in young volleyball players

The main purpose of the study was to examine whether M Capacity, as it is defined in Pascual-Leone’s Theory of Constructive Operators as the maximum number of schemes which can be simultaneously activated by attentional resources, is predictive of motor learning – in this case, of the acquisition and development of the “third touch” in volleyball. This hypothesis, supported by some preliminary observations on a small sample of young volleyball players (Bisagno & Morra, 2013), was investigated through a study with the participation of 120 volleyball players, aged between 6 and 26 years, engaged both in working memory tests and practical tests of volleyball. Furthermore, each athlete reported on his expertise, in terms of years of practice and number of trainings per week. The results pointed to a very clear dissociation: while M Capacity represents the best predictor of correct motor performance, experience was the key for the precision of the athletic skills.