Skills are abilities that athletes acquire through practice to perform techniques. Techniques are the basic movements in a sport that are combined into patterns. There are three stages of motor skill acquisition - cognitive, associative, and autonomous. In the cognitive stage, athletes learn the components of a skill. In the associative stage, they link components into a smooth action. In the autonomous stage, the skill becomes automatic. Tactics involve decision making in competition situations based on strategy. Tactical training methods include acquiring tactical knowledge, consolidating knowledge, and developing creative abilities.