Is memory really about storing techniques?

Tennis coaching has long been influenced by traditional models of cognition—where we treat players like hard drives, storing skills and retrieving them on command. We assume that a player who “learned” a forehand weeks ago can simply access that file and run it when needed.

But what if that’s not how learning or remembering actually work?

Ecological Dynamics, and more specifically Ecological Psychology, offers a radically different view—one that’s more aligned with how we actually see players move, learn, and perform on court.

Let’s break it down using tennis as our lens.

A Tennis Example: Remembering Through Action

Imagine a child who has never played tennis. No technique lessons, no muscle memory, no stored strokes.

You hand them a racket and a sponge ball. You don’t say much—just invite them to “play.”

They experiment. Tap the ball. Swing and miss. Try again. The racket feels different from anything they’ve held. The bounce of the ball surprises them. Slowly, they begin to understand:

• The racket affords swinging.
• The ball affords bouncing.
• The net affords aiming.

They’re not retrieving stored instructions. They’re developing perception-action couplings—direct interactions with the environment that guide their movement.

Affordances Shape Learning

In Ecological Psychology, we don’t talk about memory as files stored in the brain. Instead, we talk about affordances—the opportunities for action that emerge from the relationship between the player and the environment.

Here’s how it plays out on court:

• A high bouncing ball affords a topspin forehand.
• A slow, short ball affords an approach and volley.
• A wide serve affords an open-stance return.

Players learn not by storing solutions, but by increasing their sensitivity to these affordances over time.

Repetition Isn’t Remembering

Let’s say the same player returns to the court a week later.

Do they “retrieve” the forehand swing they practiced?

No. They re-attune to the environment:

• The court surface
• The type of ball
• Their own physical state

The behaviour re-emerges—not because it was “saved,” but because the environment again presents opportunities for action that feel familiar.

Even subtle things—like the sound of the ball, the way the strings feel, the visual of the net—help re-engage previously tuned perception-action systems.

This is what we mean when we say: “memory is not retrieval, it’s re-engagement.”

Why Stored Memory Falls Apart on the Tennis Court

Why can’t we just store forehands like files?

Because tennis isn’t static:

• Your body changes every day—fatigue, hydration, confidence.
• The environment changes—sunlight, wind, opponent behaviour.
• Movement is dynamic and complex—millions of joints, muscles, and decisions interacting in real time.

There are too many variables for a fixed technique to “load up” and work identically every time.

Even elite players adjust their swing subtly across shots. No two forehands are the same. And they never retrieve a perfect copy. They adapt based on what they see, feel, and need in the moment.

What Does This Mean for Coaching?

It means we need to let go of the idea that we’re “downloading” technique into players.

Instead, our role is to:

• Shape environments rich in meaningful affordances
• Guide attention, not dictate mechanics
• Help players become more attuned to information, not just “remember” moves

A good tennis session, then, is not:

• Feeding 50 balls to repeat the same stroke
• Correcting from a model of ideal form
• Hoping the player will store and recall “good technique” later

It is:

• Creating problems to solve
• Varying constraints to amplify affordances
• Encouraging decisions and exploration

Language Is Action Too

Even when players “talk” about their game (“I hit a good forehand last week”), they’re not recalling a stored movie. Their language re-engages perception—they relive the affordances through story and emotion. Words, like swings, are not retrieved. They are performed.

Final Thought: You Can’t Coach Like a Computer

Traditional coaching—rooted in information processing—was born in the age of computers. We thought of memory as files, movement as programs, and learning as storage.

But that model no longer holds up.

Ecological Dynamics gives us a better alternative. One rooted in:

• Action
• Perception
• Adaptability

And most importantly, in the understanding that learning happens in the interaction, not in the instruction.

So next time your player struggles to “remember” how to hit a shot, don’t blame memory. Look at the environment. The information. The design.

Because what we call remembering… might just be the player trying to re-attune.

#EcologicalDynamics #SkillAcquisition #PerceptionAction #TennisCoaching #ConstraintsLedApproach #ModernCoaching #PlayerDevelopment