FUNDAMENTAL MOVEMENT SKILLS AS FOUNDATION FOR SPORT SPECIFIC SKILLS

2011-09-08T08:45:00.000-04:00

FUNDAMENTAL MOVEMENT SKILLS AS FOUNDATION FOR SPORT SPECIFIC SKILLS

http://www.discovermovement.com/

The idea of developing fundamental movement skills and patterns is based on the truth that the whole body is intimately connected and thus functioning as an integrated unit and responding to the challenges of its movement environment as a team. Theoretically and scientifically speaking, the foundation for the importance for training fundamental movement skills is established on functional anatomy, applied biomechanics and the principles of exercise physiology.

A task-specific movement requires each body part to function in its optimal role and as a link in the kinetic chain. Our ’functional movement machinery’ responds to the stimulation encountered in our movement environment as efficiently, effectively and safely as possible. The real task of our bodies is to create a best possible movement solution to a movement problem or challenge that our surroundings and tasks continuously create. The better the movement skills, the more economical and risk-free the movement solution is. Thus, optimal function is seamless co-operation between the body parts but also within the motor components such as mobility, coordination and strength. The body will always execute the given task with the resources it has but by enhacing and developing the fundamental and athletic movement skills, we can make the process safer and more effective with less energy required.

The term ”movement skill” can refer simultaneously to the movement on a general level and on a specific level as a skill. A movement can be understood as a reflexive and more automatic response while skill often reminds us about an element that requires cognitive and conscious concentration and practise. However, a movement can be become or can be made into a focused skill and the skill component, after enough repetition, can become a more automatic movement. Thus one of the goals of training and practising fundamental athletic movement skills is to connect and transition the trainable skills into free and reflexive movement in a game of soccer or a wrestling match. For example, a fundamental movement skill of the side lunge can transfer into a quick change of direction by providing better biomechanical efficiency as well as by the elevated level of strength for pushing against the ground.

Building an athlete always requires a wide and solid foundation. Learning the sport specific skills optimally requires a movement system that can ’absorb’ new, sophisticated and specialized movement stimulations. The ability to receive new movement information is highly dependent on the information that was previously learned and ”downloaded’ to the system. Every new sport skill or technique is a new movement stimulation that can be absorbed by the body better when the foundation is well constructed and ready to be built up from. The fundamental movement skills are those gross motor patterns that most of the sport specific skills and moves derive from or are supported on.

THE MOVEMENT SKILL PROGRAM FOR YOUNG ATHLETES

The Movement Skill Program for Young Athletes is a program designed for 12-18 year old athletes with an objective of building a solid foundation of fundamental and athletic movement patterns and skills. With this objective the program is designed to 1) increase athleticism, to 2) decrease sport-related injuries as well as to 3) support the foundational movement and motor development that the youth of today are lacking in their every day lives. As a practical tool for a sport coach, the Movement Skill Program is aims to provide a diverse and enrichening movement environment to young athletes who might struggle with the effects of early specialization in a sport or who might just need a bigger variety of movement stimulations.

The Movement Skill Program consists of exercises and movements that are chosen because they are functional, safe, progressive and practical for the coach to instruct anywhere. The exercises are tied in ’bundles’ so that the coach can easily include an optimal combination of exercises for example as a warm-up sequence leading to the sport practice.

The main categories for exercises are 1) Athletic stance 2) Multi-directional step or lunge 3) Jumping and landing 4) Change of direction 5) Upper body movements and 6) Throwing.

The Movement Skill Program for Young Athletes has three phases that all have their separate materials and teaching plans. The first two parts focus on improving the six fundamental skills mentioned above and the third one integrates the movement into different locomotive coordination skills, such as running or skipping in different planes, patterns and combinations.

The Movement Skill program was introduced to youth sport coaches in Finland in 2007 and total of over 2000 coaches have been participating in the educational training workshops arranged by the Finnish Coaching Association and its certified master trainers.

Find out more about the Movement Skill Development Program - Contact Discover Movement!

http://www.discovermovement.com/

Movement Skills Development for Youth Athletes

FUNDAMENTAL MOVEMENT SKILLS AS FOUNDATION FOR SPORT SPECIFIC SKILLS