The ABC of helping children develop in sport

A B C @ R S M gility

eigate

alance

t.

o-ordination

ary’s

Rationale At Reigate St. Mary’s we believe that all children have the ability to succeed in sport. However, in order for your child to reach their true potential, they must start to develop their fundamental movement skills from an early age. We have decided to create this booklet to make you aware of the importance of practising skills at home in addition to the physical activity that your child receives in school.

Agility is the ability to change the body’s position quickly and efficiently, and being able to do so in a wide range of situations. It’s about being quick and nimble.

Balance is the ability to maintain body equilibrium. There are two types of balance: static and dynamic (moving) balance.

Co-ordination is the ability to build up more and more complicated movements, and perform them in a smooth and efficient manner.

“DO NOT run along the corridors!” This is a statement that is echoed around schools up and down the country. According to school statistics, injuries are more likely to occur in corridors than in any other place. So obviously, it’s correct to ban this within a school environment, right? Running is a fundamental movement skill, which is a shame that often we limit the amount a child should run. Running on uneven surfaces, slippery surfaces, inclines and broken ground is about the best activity imaginable to develop a higher sense of balance. Children should be encouraged to run with no set structure—for example, challenge them to beat you up a steep hill.

If the fullest range of throwing methods is introduced at an early stage through

games activities then this unquestionably opens up a massive array of sporting options in the future – net / wall sports and bat sports, throwing sports, invasion sports etc. Purchase foam balls, bean bags etc for inside of the house and practise catching every day.

“How many times have I told you not to jump on the settee?” Jumping activities are the basis for developing elastic leg strength (something we need even to run).

Integrating basic jumping activities into games and training for all sports is so

easy with any ability or age group. The transferability of basic jumping skills into a whole host of sports ought to be apparent – how many sports can you think of where some form of jumping action may benefit the participant?

Developing the widest array of robust fundamental movement skills can be shown to impact on many of the most important factors in sport today: 

Increased likelihood of retention in sport beyond the mid-teen years



Competence and confidence to take part in a wider variety of sports



Increased performance levels in sport in adulthood



Reduced risk of injury

We hope that you find the resources in this booklet helpful and are able to put them to use at home.

The Sports Department

Developing Agility

Red light, Green light This drill improves quickness and teaches children how to effectively accelerate and decelerate. Two cones are placed 20 meters apart. Children should stand by one cone and the coach should stand by the other. On the green light command, your child should sprint forward as far as possible before you yell red light! On this command, the child immediately stops in their place. When you call green light again, your child resumes sprinting toward the second cone. Continue to call out commands until your child passes the second cone. You could involve a bit of sibling competition. Younger siblings could have a head start!

Knee Tag This drill improves sport-specific speed and quickness for combative athletes. It also helps them learn to read and appropriately respond to their opponents’ movements. Four cones or markers are set up in a small square. Stand opposite your child (approximately 3 feet (1 m) apart in the centre of the square), face each other, and assume staggered stances. At the whistle, you attempt to touch your child’s knee. Your child should dodge as needed to avoid being touched.

You should perform the game for approximately 15 to 30 seconds and then switch roles, introduce points for a fun competitive element. The game can be repeated multiple times. However, children should rest for 30 to 60 seconds between bouts.

Heads or Tails (requires three people) This game develops first-step quickness and improves reaction time. Two cones are placed 20 to 40 yards (18-37 m) apart, and another cone is placed halfway between them. At the centre cone, face your child and have your hands outstretched and fingertips touching directly over the cone (photo a). Then assume an athletic position, dropping your hands down to your sides. Designate one player as heads and the other as tails. A third person flips a coin and calls out which side of the coin is facing up. The designated athlete turns (photo b) and attempts to sprint past the cone originally behind them before being tagged by the other athlete (photo c). Points are given to any athlete who makes it to the scoring zone without being tagged or to any player who tags the fleeing runner outside of the designated safe area. Athletes should repeat the game 6 to 12 times.

Developing Balance World’s Tallest Child Adding one paper plate at a time, see how many your child can balance on his head without dropping them making them taller and taller! Can they stand on their tip toes at the very end for an extra inch or two? Once they’ve mastered paper plates, try balancing other items such as bean bags, pillows, or plastic cups. Still too easy? Challenge them to walk around while balancing the objects on his head!

Tightrope Walking You will need a long piece of something that will make a line on the floor for the tightrope (a jumprope, a long piece of string , or a long piece of tape). If you think your child would like to try the real thing, consider purchasing a slackline from Ebay or Amazon.

Have your child start feeling out their balance by walking sideways across the line. Can they keep their feet on the line the entire way? Once they’re more comfortable, have them try walking forward, placing stepping the heel of one foot in front of the toes of the other foot. After a little practice, try to think of other fun variations.

Freeze Play your child’s favourite music and have a dance party. Then, stop the music and freeze! If your child wants to win the game, they’ll have to freeze when the music stops and wait until it plays again. This challenges the body’s ability to move freely and suddenly stop, helping your child develop balance.

Developing Co-ordination 5 Developmental Steps To Teach Your Child To Catch 1.

Push a ball across the floor—Encourage your child to receive the ball between their outstretched legs and push back.

2.

Dropping and catching a ball with two hands—Use one hand once they become more confident.

3.

Catch a ball with both hands—Use a larger ball to begin with and gradually decrease as they become more confident.

4.

Bounce and catch with partner—ask your child to now throw the ball back to you underarm.

5.

Over/Under—This game requires two balls. Designate one partner as the “over” and one as the “under.” The person who throws over will throw their ball in the air to their partner. The one who throws under will bounce the ball on the floor to their partner. Count to three before each bounce and see how many times you can simultaneously pass between each other.

Beanbag Toss Giving your child a target to hit with a beanbag makes for a fun learning activity and helps hone his coordination skills. Set up a variety of targets. Start with one fairly close, and place others farther away so it takes more coordination to throw the beanbag into the baskets. Have your child stand behind a line that you've made with masking tape, chalk or a broomstick and challenge them to get the beanbag in each basket at least once.

Obstacle Course An obstacle course is an afternoon exercise to work on with your child to improve their coordination skills. Set up a course using pillows, blankets, boxes and activities that must be completed by the end of the course. Time them as they work their way through the course and do the course three times, encouraging them to beat their last time. Change the obstacle course a little each day to focus on different parts of their coordination, like throwing or kicking a ball, climbing over a pillow or doing a puzzle.

Velcro Catch If your child is not feeling confident about catching, purchase a Velcro shield and tennis ball. Start with two players face to face and approximately 5 feet apart. As the participants catch each throw back and forth, have them take two steps back, expanding the distance between the two players.