Description:
Background: Children with enhanced fundamental movement skills may benefit from improved physical, social and psychological development, resulting in an increased likelihood of an active lifestyle in later years. Aim: We investigated the effects of a nine-week, child-centred, physical activity programme on cognitive and motor skills in typically developing 12 - 24-month-old toddlers. Methods: In a randomised control trial, 90 toddlers (age 17.0 ± 2.6 months; 52.2% male) were split into two groups stratified by age and sex. The intervention completed was either nine weeks of one-hour per week physical activity classes (n = 45; EXP) or normal physical activity (n = 45; control). Prior to and following the intervention period, safety skills (nine-skill test battery), anthropometric measures (mass and height), motor and cognitive development (Bayley Scales of Infant Development) were assessed. Results: EXP improved overall safety skills score (P = 0.04), toddlers’ abilities to climb over a small-runged A-frame while using a cylinder grip and safe face-the-slope dismount (P = 0.001), and the execution of a safety roll down a foam wedge (P = 0.02). Improvements in development as measured by the Bayley’s Scales were attributed to typical development rather than the intervention. Conclusions: A 9-week, physical activity programme improved toddlers’ safety skills but not overall cognitive or motor development.
Description:
Background: Children with enhanced fundamental movement skills may benefit from improved physical, social and psychological development, resulting in an increased likelihood of an active lifestyle in later years. Aim: We investigated the effects of a nine-week, child-centred, physical activity programme on cognitive and motor skills in typically developing 12 - 24-month-old toddlers. Methods: In a randomised control trial, 90 toddlers (age 17.0 ± 2.6 months; 52.2% male) were split into two groups stratified by age and sex. The intervention completed was either nine weeks of one-hour per week physical activity classes (n = 45; EXP) or normal physical activity (n = 45; control). Prior to and following the intervention period, safety skills (nine-skill test battery), anthropometric measures (mass and height), motor and cognitive development (Bayley Scales of Infant Development) were assessed. Results: EXP improved overall safety skills score (P = 0.04), toddlers’ abilities to climb over a small-runged A-frame while using a cylinder grip and safe face-the-slope dismount (P = 0.001), and the execution of a safety roll down a foam wedge (P = 0.02). Improvements in development as measured by the Bayley’s Scales were attributed to typical development rather than the intervention. Conclusions: A 9-week, physical activity programme improved toddlers’ safety skills but not overall cognitive or motor development.
Description:
Skill acquisition principles are crucial to prepare athletes for superior performance in sport, but, in training athletes, coaches have focused less on these principles than they have on the design of training. This paper provides an overview of how a skill acquisition specialist disseminated scientific knowledge to amateur and professional coaches and initiated collaboration to improve practice design. First, a framework of representative task design is outlined, which considers perception and action components of sports skills in practice tasks relative to the competition setting. Second, with elite tennis as an example, steps are described as to how the skill acquisition specialist can initiate collaboration with coaches to evaluate practice tasks and make recommendations using representative task design. This approach includes delivery of a seminar to educate coaches, observation of practice tasks to rate representative task design with recommendations made, and factors identified by coaches that should be considered when applying skill acquisition principles. Factors identified by coaches related to presentation of anticipatory cues, practice variability, individualization of practice, skill complexity, and consistency of skill tests. Collectively, this paper provides insight into how skill acquisition specialists can collaborate with coaches to disseminate knowledge, and it presents some of the challenges and solutions of designing representative practice tasks in sport.
Description:
Skill acquisition principles are crucial to prepare athletes for superior performance in sport, but, in training athletes, coaches have focused less on these principles than they have on the design of training. This paper provides an overview of how a skill acquisition specialist disseminated scientific knowledge to amateur and professional coaches and initiated collaboration to improve practice design. First, a framework of representative task design is outlined, which considers perception and action components of sports skills in practice tasks relative to the competition setting. Second, with elite tennis as an example, steps are described as to how the skill acquisition specialist can initiate collaboration with coaches to evaluate practice tasks and make recommendations using representative task design. This approach includes delivery of a seminar to educate coaches, observation of practice tasks to rate representative task design with recommendations made, and factors identified by coaches that should be considered when applying skill acquisition principles. Factors identified by coaches related to presentation of anticipatory cues, practice variability, individualization of practice, skill complexity, and consistency of skill tests. Collectively, this paper provides insight into how skill acquisition specialists can collaborate with coaches to disseminate knowledge, and it presents some of the challenges and solutions of designing representative practice tasks in sport.
Description:
Practitioners in a variety of sports seek unique ways to train athletes to better prepare them for competition. In this position paper, we argue that inclusion of psycho-perceptual-motor skills, from the fields of sport psychology and sport expertise, is crucial, but underutilized in the assessment and training of athletes. First, a brief introduction is provided as to why psycho-perceptual-motor skill is vital for training athletes. Second, examples are discussed relating to key concepts. These include the following: assessment of expertise discriminators such as visual anticipation under pressure contexts, incorporation of sports analytics and performance analysis to aid reflection upon previous experiences of good anticipation and coping with pressure, use of qualitative and quantitative measures to understand processes underlying performance and learning, as well as design of representative tasks for assessment and training anticipation under pressure contexts. Third, some recommendations are made to practitioners of sports teams to assist them in taking advantage of psycho-perceptual-motor skill to better prepare athletes for competition. Collectively, we hope this paper stimulates collaboration between practitioners of sports teams and scientists to create a greater focus upon integrated sport psychology and sport expertise in the training of athletes.
Description:
Practitioners in a variety of sports seek unique ways to train athletes to better prepare them for competition. In this position paper, we argue that inclusion of psycho-perceptual-motor skills, from the fields of sport psychology and sport expertise, is crucial, but underutilized in the assessment and training of athletes. First, a brief introduction is provided as to why psycho-perceptual-motor skill is vital for training athletes. Second, examples are discussed relating to key concepts. These include the following: assessment of expertise discriminators such as visual anticipation under pressure contexts, incorporation of sports analytics and performance analysis to aid reflection upon previous experiences of good anticipation and coping with pressure, use of qualitative and quantitative measures to understand processes underlying performance and learning, as well as design of representative tasks for assessment and training anticipation under pressure contexts. Third, some recommendations are made to practitioners of sports teams to assist them in taking advantage of psycho-perceptual-motor skill to better prepare athletes for competition. Collectively, we hope this paper stimulates collaboration between practitioners of sports teams and scientists to create a greater focus upon integrated sport psychology and sport expertise in the training of athletes.