The foundations of tactics and strategy in team sports

The debate regarding the teaching of sport and games appears to be more com plex than a matter of technical versus tactical approaches. The authors ide ntify facets of the debate. One of these facets concerns the undifferentiat ed use of the terms tactics and strategy. The authors argue that these two concepts need to be clarified if decision-making and critical-thinking are to be encouraged on the part of the students. A framework is put forward fo r the analysis of the functioning of team sports. The framework includes: ( a) an overview of the internal logic of team sports based an two essential features, the rapport of strength and the competency network; (b) an operat ional definition of strategy and tactics as they relate to the internal log ic of team sports; and (c) nine principles underlying tactics and strategy and presented as potential guides for teachers and students in the teaching -learning of team sports and games.