Don’t forget the fundamental movement skills!
Tip 1: Fundamental movement skills
The importance of a strong base of fundamental movement skills for lifelong participation and performance in sport.
Possessing a well-rounded repertoire of fundamental movement skill competencies lays an ideal platform for future skill development, potentially to elite levels. Other benefits include greater confidence, adaptability and resilience aligned to better physical competence, injury minimisation and greater sporting potential.
Early school-aged children should ideally possess the following fundamental movement skills and competency in these fundamental and foundational movement skills are a recognised pre-cursor or ‘building blocks’ to these later sport-specific skills:
Fundamental skills | Sport-specific skills | |
|---|---|---|
Object control | Kicking, Throwing, Catching, Hitting | Cricket, Rugby, Soccer, Hockey, Tennis, Basketball, Badminton, Softball, Baseball, Volleyball, Water polo |
Locomotive skills | Running, Hopping, Jumping Skipping, Using a wheelchair, Using a prosthetic limb | Athletics, Cross country Orienteering, Rugby, Soccer, Hockey, Softball, Baseball, Basketball, Wheelchair sports |
Body control | Balancing, Tumbling, Climbing | Gymnastics, Diving, Aerial skiing, Surfing, Snow and ski-board, Cycling, Kayaking, Sailing |
Aquatic skills | Floating, Early swimming strokes, Paddling, Standing on a surfboard | Swimming, Water polo, Surfing |
TIP: Foster a child’s fundamental movement competencies
Check that the child’s activities address most of these fundamental movement skills: locomotive, object control, body control and aquatic. Below are some activities to help develop these skills:
Unorganised activities:
- stopping and kicking a ball
- hitting a stationary and later a moving ball with a small light cricket bat
- running (in a straight line, zigzag, backward)
- jumping (one and two leg)
- skipping (with and without a rope)
- climbing and tumbling, at home or at a local park or trampoline park
- experimenting with different swim strokes
- paddling and standing on a surfboard at the beach.
Organised early movement programs, such as:
- Gymnastic Australia’s LaunchPad programmes
- BMX Australia’s BMX Mini Wheelers programme
- swimming lessons like those run by an AUSTSWIM recognised programme
Check out this great website for more information:
- WA Department of Education, Fundamental Movement Skills – Manual for Teachers, opens in a new tab