SHAPING THE GAME: Task Design (2:7)

By Coach Barry Jones IIHF Level 3 High Performance | USA Hockey Level 3 Performance

Task Design: The Architecture Beneath the Iceberg

Task Design Lives Below the Waterline

In the iceberg model of non-linear coaching, task design does not sit at the surface of learning.

Athletes do not experience task design directly. They experience a game, a problem, and the pressure to solve it.

Task design lives below the waterline, where the coach quietly shapes the conditions athletes repeatedly interact with. This is where coaching moves from instruction to architecture.

Task Design Is Where Coaching Actually Happens

Above the surface, coaching looks like observation, questions, and small adjustments.

Below the surface, coaching looks like constraint manipulation, task redesign, and intentional sampling.

Learning follows interaction, not instruction.

What athletes repeatedly interact with will shape what they learn. Not because it was explained or demonstrated, but because the environment kept asking the same questions, in slightly different ways.

Tasks Are Behavioural Landscapes, Not Activities

A task is never neutral.

Every rule, boundary, scoring condition, number advantage, or time constraint creates a landscape where certain behaviours become easier and others harder.

Athletes do not adapt to what coaches say they want. They adapt to what the environment invites, rewards, and discourages.

From the surface, this looks like athletes figuring it out. Below the surface, it is deliberate design.

Constraints Guide Behaviour Without Dictating It

In non-linear coaching, constraints do not prescribe solutions. They shape the problem space.

Instead of telling athletes what to do, the coach adjusts space, compresses or releases time, changes numbers, alters scoring conditions, and samples alternative task designs.

The environment does the guiding. The athlete owns the solution.

When designed well, effective decisions become more available, and ineffective ones quietly disappear.

When Task Design Is Weak, Coaching Floats Upward

When task design is misaligned with intent, coaches feel the need to intervene more often.

More explanation. More correction. More talking between reps.

This is not an athlete issue. It is not a buy-in issue. It is a signal that the underwater structure is not carrying enough of the learning load.

Good Task Design Protects Athlete Autonomy

Well-designed tasks allow athletes to self-organise without constant interruption.

The coach remains active, but not dominant.

Above the surface, athletes experience clarity, ownership, and meaningful problems.

Below the surface, the coach maintains intent alignment, constraint control, representative information, and adaptive sampling.

Learning becomes something athletes do, not something done to them.

Author Bio: Barry Jones is an IIHF Level 3 High Performance Coach and USA Hockey Level 3 Performance Coach. His work blends ecological dynamics, nonlinear design, and athlete-centred leadership to build adaptive teams that thrive in uncertainty.