Week 6 readiness for learning Flashcards
What is readiness in youth sport?
Developmental point at which a student can engage in a certain activity / has the capacity to successfully learn. Its more than signing a child up to play because the age meets the minimum requirement.
What three factors need to be considered to determine whether a child is ready?
Maturation
Motivation
Prerequisite skills
What are the three components of maturation?
Physical maturity
Cognitive maturity
Motor skill competency
What is physical maturity?
strength, power, coordination
What is cognitive maturity?
understanding strategies / tactics
What is motor skill competency?
Repeated practice of a skill initially not well learned
What are prerequisite skills?
All sports have some basic underlying skills which must be mastered to get good at the sport, e.g. golf hand eye coordination
How should coaches design programmes to help children develop prerequisite skills?
Spending time in developing skills and not rushing into competition
What is motivation?
Desire, intent or drive to do something
In childhood this is often about sampling different activities to see what fits best
When are children ready for activities?
Physically and cognitively mature enough to be successful
Have the prerequisites for the activity
Are motivated to try
What should be the focus in infancy?
Basic locomotor skills, grasping and manipulative skills, postural control skills and reflexes
What should be the focus at 2-8 years?
Fundamental motor skills
What should be the focus at childhood to adolescence?
Transitional sport and games
What should be the focus at adolescence to adulthood?
Physical literacy and performance in specific sports
What is meant by the athletic proficiency barrier?
Impedes movement from fundamental skills to achieve athletic success in more formal sports/games
Occurs around the childhood to adolescence phase
What can underdeveloped fundamental motor skills lead to?
Failure to achieve same athletic proficiency as peers with a more mature pattern
What happens between 2-8 years?
Learn basic movement skills which are the building blocks for learning more sport specific skills
Critical prerequisites for sport participation
Developed through maturation and opportunities for practice, play and instruction
What is cognitive readiness?
Children’s ability to understand technical and strategic requirements of sport, particularly abilities to process relevant information about their performance and the sport environment
What is cognitive readiness in sport performance?
Function of motor skill execution and cognitive decision making
According to Haywood and Getchell (2009), how do non expert children differ from older athletes in their cognitive capacities?
Less strategic knowledge
Use considerable amount of mental activity to think about how to do a skill
Less able to predict / anticipate objects and events
Less able to recognise patterns
Slower and less accurate decisions
Is earlier better?
Yes in relation to fundamental motor development
But what kids do at an early age is more important than when they start
Can be better for some but Vealey and Chase (2016) suggest “starting a child at a young age has been advised as an obstacle to skill development”
What model is used to advise when children should start organised sport?
Long term athlete development model (LTAD)
Its an athlete centred model that categories suitable training objectives at every stage of athlete physical development based on biological age.
What are the seven stages of the LTAD model?
Active start Fundamentals Learning to train Training to train Training to compete Training to win Active for life
Summarise active start
0-6yrs
Home, preschool, day care, community recreation
Parents, preschool teachers
No training/competition focus on learning proper basic movement skills
Summarise fundamentals
M 6-9, F 6-8
School, home, community recreation, sport clubs
Parents, teachers, recreation leaders, volunteer coaches
Play, multiple activities, development of athleticism, overall movement skills
Minimal comp, local area, modified
Summarise learning to train
M 9-12, F 8-11
School, home, community recreation, sport clubs
Parents, teachers, recreation leaders, volunteer coaches
Regular practice, seasonal activities, multiple sports, overall sport skills development
Occasional comp, modified format, 70% train to 30% comp
Summarise training to train
M 12-15, F 11-15
School, community recreation, sport clubs
Teachers, recreation leaders, volunteer and professional coaches
Regular structured practice, more than one sport, sport specific skill development
Regular comp, local to regional, 60% training to 40% comp
Summarise training to compete
M 16-23, F 15-21
Schools, post secondary institutions, sport clubs
Teachers, volunteer and professional coaches, sport scientists, nutritionists
Regular structured practice, planned and periodised schedule, focus on one sport and position specific training
Regular comp, provincial to national / international, 40% train to 60% comp
Summarise training to win
M 19+/-, F18+/-
Post secondary institutions, sport clubs, training centres, professional sport
Professional coaches, integrated support teams
Regular structured practice, panned and periodised schedule, focused on one sport
Selective, planned comp, national/international, 25% training to 75% comp
Summarise active for life
Enter at any age
Community recreation, sport clubs/programs
According to Stafford (2005) what are the benefits of the LTAD model?
Provides a means of developing an integrated, systematic approach to athlete development
Ensures that all athletes are able to reach their full potential, and support a raise in long term participation
What are some limitations of the LTAD model?
Conceptually sound but has not undergone quality assurance
Lack of empirical evidence
Lack of understanding of the physiological impacts
What produces a victorious circle?
Early success means athletes able to believe in themselves and motivated to become better
What produces a viscous circle?
Younger athletes may start to think they are not naturally gifted which diminishes confidence and enjoyment of playing
What were the trends in birth month in Euro U17 Champs, 2019
47% players born in first 3 months of year
57 players n Jan to 3 in Dec
What is another factor that may have an effect on selection, regardless of DOB?
Skeletal muscle maturation varies, born in Jan not necessarily more mature than born in Dec
What may early maturing players gain and what is a danger of this?
Initial selection and training advantages (Johnson et al, 2017)
However, may rely on physical dominance, not necessarily diversifying skills
Characteristics of an early maturer
Stand out (dominate)
Gain more experience / develop
May rely on physicality
Can impede technical / tactical development
Characteristics of a late maturer
Physically outmuscled
May drop out / not be selected
Maturation may bring more developed technical / tactical / psychological development (if they can stay in the system)
There is no comprehensive answer but how may the effect of early / late maturation be reduced?
NGBS - consider the structures (playing up / down)
Implement strategies to try and reduce potential drop out
Enforce quotas
Coach education and awareness
What is maturation?
Progress towards biologically mature state
The process one undergoes to reach full adult status in terms of physical, cognitive and emotional functioning
What is biological / maturational age?
How close people are to their fully mature state
Youth sports are based on chronological age, what is this?
How old people are based on DOB
What is relative age?
Difference in age between people born in the same year of the calendar
What is the intent of chronological age groups?
Provide developmentally appropriate instruction, fair competition and equal opportunities
When is the cut off for youth sports teams/leagues?
31st Dec
However, this means athlete born in Jan 11 months older than someone in same group born in Dec
What is the relative age effect?
Preference for selecting athletes born early in the age band due to enhanced maturational factors
Bias: children born at start of selection period represent a higher percentage of those playing elite youth sport
