The subject that was used for this assignment is a boy that is currently four years of age. The Fundamental Movement Skill (FMS) that he had demonstrated is an overarm throw that is categorised as a manipulative skill (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2000, p. 11). Prior to the subject’s execution of the skill, the consent of the subject and his parent was received and the steps of the overarm throw were taught and demonstrated. A verbal survey was also conducted with the parent and it was then translated to a quantitative survey attached in Appendix A. To protect the parent and the subject’s identity, their names were not mentioned in this assignment. The subject performed three trials of an overarm throw and his movements were video recorded in three angles, anterior view, lateral view and the posterior view. A soft and bouncy ball was used to minimise the risks of injury.
The overarm throw is frequently used in various sports such as a tennis serve, baseball pitch and a javelin throw (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2000, p. 32). The components to a proficient overarm throw are attached in Appendix B and they are listed as 1) eyes on the target, 2) stand side-on to the target, 3) the throwing arm moves downwards and back in an arc, 4) foot opposite of throwing arm steps forward, 5) hips will be the first to rotate, followed by the rotation of the shoulder, the humerus lags behind the shoulder and the forearm will lag behind the humerus and 6) the throwing arm follows through downwards and across the body (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2000, p. 32).
The subject was able to only meet one of the criteria of a proficient overarm throw. The subject kept his eyes on the target throughout the throw as seen in Figures 1.1 to 1.6 and in the video. The components that follow afterwards were absent from the subject’s performance. The subject was inconsistent with his stance and he did not stand side-on to the target as he stood face forward, as seen in Figures 1.1 to 2.4. When initiating for the overarm throw, the subject only had a minimal dip in his throwing shoulder downwards, backward and arms flexed, the subject did not draw his throwing arm downwards and back in an arc, as seen in Figures 1.2 and 2.1. In Figures 1.1 to 2.4, the subject’s step towards the target was inconsistent, there were also minimal hip and shoulder rotation and he did not follow through down and across his body. According to the classification by Barnett, Beurden, Morgan, Brooks, and Beard (2009), if all criteria, or all but one, are met, it is considered proficient and if there are more than one criteria not met, it is considered poor or in the initial stage of FMS. Based on the performance, the subject is determined to be in the initial stage of the overarm throw as only one criterion was met.
Two factors that may affect effective performance
A factor that may affect performance in early childhood is age. According to Engel-Yeger, Rosenblum, and Josman (2010), the results of their study stated that older children aged nine to twelve had significantly better motor performance on ball skills than younger children that are aged four to eight. Since the subject is four years old, he might not be exposed to the skill and may not have sufficient practice on the skill. Another factor that may affect performance is the level of physical activity. There may be a lack of physical activity or a comprehensive physical education programme in school where FMS are not properly taught (Kasuyama, Mutou, Sasamoto, 2016). This is further supported by Foweather et al. (2015) as their study concluded that preschool children that engaged in light (101 to 1679 counts on accelerometer) to moderate (1680 to 3367 counts on the accelerometer) physical activity daily, compared to sedentary children, had better ball control competencies and had positive associations with FMS. Based on the survey results in Appendix A, the parent is unaware of the importance of FMS and this may be a factor for many physical education teachers and other parents alike.
Recommended activities to develop the skill
To develop the overarm throw, throwing activities to develop each criterion of the overarm throw can be recommended. A soft throwing object and a large, brightly coloured target at a distance of five to seven metres are recommended for the activities (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2000, p. 33). The steps to a proficient overarm throw can be emphasised with frequent demonstrations, feedback and allowing the subject to practice on each step of the skill. Since the subject was able to maintain his eyes on the target, he may want to practice standing side-on and drawing his arm downwards and back in an arc before every throw. To develop stepping forward with the foot opposite of the throwing arm, lines or landmarks on the ground can be used as markers and instructions such as “step across the line and throw” can be used as a verbal cue (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2000, p. 33). To develop hips and shoulder rotation, the subject can stand side-on and rotate the shoulders first without rotating the hips, then practice by rotating the hips first then shoulders in the same position to allow the subject to be aware of the differences (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2000, p. 33). The subject can work with a friend or a partner to gather feedback on the hip and shoulder rotation movements (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2000, p. 33). To develop the follow-through of the throwing arm, a verbal cue such as “down and across your body” can be used (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2000, p. 33).
Part Two – Motor Learning
Task Analysis
A tennis serve is a far transfer of the overarm throw. The components of a basic flat tennis serve are similar to an overarm throw and they are listed as 1) eye on the target and ball, 2) standing side on at a 45 degree angle, 3) ball toss and the serving arm simultaneously moves downwards and back, 4) hips and shoulder rotation and 5) the serving arm strikes overhead and follows through downwards and across the body with a snap of the wrist (Hoskins-Burney & Carrington, 2014).
To identify the key movement components and the abilities needed for a tennis serve, a task analysis was conducted. Perceptual-motor abilities and physical proficiency abilities contribute to the performance of a skill (Schmidt & Wrisberg, 2008). Referencing from Schmidt and Wrisberg (2008), perceptual-motor abilities required for a tennis serve are 1) multi-limb coordination – ability to move various limbs simultaneously when tossing the ball and drawing the arms back for the wind-up and hitting a serve, 2) control precision – controlled and careful positioning of the arms and racket to serve the ball, 3) rate control – ability to make anticipatory adjustments of tracking due to the factors affecting the ball toss height and velocity before a serve, 4) wrist-finger speed – accurate and rapid snap of the wrist to add velocity on the serve and 5) aiming – ability to accurately direct hand movements quickly to the tennis ball in air to serve.
In addition, also referencing from Schmidt and Wrisberg (2008), physical proficiency abilities required for a tennis serve are 1) explosive strength – ability to serve the ball with maximum energy, 2) extent flexibility – ability to stretch the serving hand back and downwards for the wind-up and rotating the trunk and back for the follow through, 3) motor timing and 4) perceptual timing – ability to accurately time the ball toss and wind-up and moving the arm to strike the ball on a serve, 5) force control – ability to control the force of the ball toss and strength to perform different types of serves.
Characteristics of learner in associative stage and objective of instructor
The associative stage is a fine-tuning stage where the learner has had some practice and most of the cognitive issues and initial skill developments are solved (Schmidt & Wrisberg, 2008). The learner also starts to monitor their own feedback and solve some problems on their own (Schmidt & Wrisberg, 2008). In the associative stage, the learner’s attention is on the specific details, sequences and transition of a skill (Taylor & Ivry, 2012). The objective of the teacher for learners in this stage needs to help the learner to develop a motor programme that defines the skill’s sequences, provide specific and positive feedback and what aspect of the skill that should be developed first (Schmidt & Wrisberg, 2008). The teacher also has to focus on varying practice conditions to allow the learner to adapt to various situations (Schmidt & Wrisberg, 2008).
Designing a training session
To teach a leaner a tennis serve in the associative stage, There are three training organisations – random, serial or block practice. Either random or serial practice is recommended as both incorporate contextual interference (CI). The amount of skill learning increases proportionately as CI increases, the learner that engages in random practice will have the highest CI compared to serial and blocked practice although the performance of the skill is better in blocked practice (Porter & Magill, 2010). However, Hajihosseini (2016) suggested that in a realistic setting, serial practice should be recommended as a high CI in random practice may overwhelm the learner while a low CI in blocked practice may create a poor learning environment. The practice sessions can be either variable or constant. However, variable practice is recommended. According to the study conducted by Huet et al. (2011) on variable practice and flight simulation, the participants had no prior flight experience and the results showed that the participants placed under variable practice learnt more quickly and their performance in the transfer test exceeded the participants in the constant practice group. Improvements seen in variable practice may be attributed to initial informational variables being less useful due to the constant change in variables (Huet et al., 2011). According to Fontana, Furtado, Mazzardo, and Gallagher (2009), deciding between a whole or part practice is determined by two factors – complexity and organisation. Complexity being the cognitive demands and the number of components to the skill. Organisation represents the dependency of the components of the skill with each other (Fontana et al., 2009). Part practice is recommended to skills or activities that are high in complexity while low in organisation, while in contrast, whole practice is recommended for activities that are high in organisation and low in complexity (Fontana et al., 2009). The tennis serve is a skill that is high in organisation and relevance of each component of the skill while low in complexity and cognitive demands. Thus, all components of the skill should be practised together and a whole practice is recommended. The practice schedule distribution can be a massed or distributed practice. Massed practice refers to sessions that have a longer practice durations but less frequency and little to no rest or breaks within the session while distributed practice has a shorter practice duration but higher frequency sessions distributed through the week with more and longer rest periods (Johnson, 2008). Distributed practice is recommended as it produces better performances, learning and reduces risks of injury compared to massed practice (Johnson, 2008). This may be due to the reduction in fatigue and muscle strain resultant from longer rest periods (Johnson, 2008). According to the study done by Haq and Kodak (2015) on the effects of massed and distributed practice on textual behaviour with children, distributed practice proved to be a more efficient method to schedule a practice schedule. In the study, participants in the distributed practice required significantly fewer minutes, trials, and instructions to reach the mastery criteria compared to massed practice. Participants in distributed practice also made fewer errors and required fewer error correction.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the subject is determined to be in the initial stage of the overarm throw. Factors affecting his performance may be age, a lack of a comprehensive physical education programme or a lack of awareness about FMS. A tennis serve requires multiple abilities and throwing activities can be recommended to develop the skill. For a learner in the associative stage of the tennis serve, training sessions should be a serial, variable, whole and a distributed practice.