Watch the following clips, what makes these children so good?

ABILITYWe now understand what we mean by the term “skill”.

Often we use the term “ability” instead of “skill” but we will

now examine the term “ability” to show that the two are in

fact different.

What are the characteristics of SKILL again??????

> Learned

> Goal determined

> Follows a technical model

If we are to learn a particular skill we must have certain abilities that skill relies on. For example, to be able to perform a handstand you must have strength in your arms to support your body weight as well as the balance to keep your legs above your hands!!

Q. What abilities does your sport/skill

rely on?

Characteristics of ABILITIES

INNATE/GENETICALLY determined

We are born with abilities determined by the genes we inherit from our

parents.

STABLE and ENDURING

Abilities tend to remain unchanged but can be affected by our

Experiences and are developed by maturation

Characteristics of ABILITIES

SUPPORT SKILLS

Each skill usually needs us to have several supporting or

underpinning abilities if we are going to be able to learn the skill

effectively.

So what is ABILITY?

Schmidt “ an inherited, relatively enduring

trait that underlies or supports various kinds

of motor and cognitive activities or skills.

Abilities are thought of as being largely

genetically determined”.

So, abilities are thought to be the foundation blocks that we

possess and build on, helping us to learn and perform

skills. We inherit our abilities from our parents and some

psychologists believe that they cannot be modified or

improved by practice, whilst others think that they are

modified by maturation and experience. However ALL

psychologists tend to agree that abilities determine your

learning and performance of skills and activities.

Can you give an example of how you could

be inherited certain abilities which could

affect you playing a certain sport???

If you are born with a lot of slow twitch

muscle fibres you could become a good

endurance athlete but will never excel in

sprinting.

Similarly, if you are born with

low levels of flexibility it is

unlikely that you will ever be

a top class gymnast

TYPES of ABILITY

Fleishman – identified 2 types

1. GROSS MOTOR ABILITIES

These usually involve movement and are related to

Physical fitness. Fleishman identified 9 of them:

TYPES of ABILITY

1. Dynamic strength – exerting muscular force repeatedly over a period of time e.g press ups

2. Static strength – the maximum strength that can be exerted against an external object

3. Explosive strength – energy used effectively for a short burst of muscular effort, e.g vertical jump

4. Stamina – the capacity to sustain maximum effort involving the cardiovascular system e.g marathon

TYPES of ABILITY5. Extent flexibility – flexing or stretching the trunk and

back muscles

6. Dynamic flexibility – being able to make several rapid flexing movements

7. Gross body co-ordination – the organisation of the actions of several parts of the body whilst the body is moving

8. Gross body equilibrium – being able to maintain balance using the internal senses

9. Trunk strength – the strength of the

abdominal muscles

GROSS MOTOR ABILITIES

For each of the gross motor abilities identify a

skill/activity that you do that underpins/supports it?

TYPES OF ABILITY

2. PSYCHO MOTOR ABILITIES

This usually involves the processing of information

and the formation of a decision

Fleishman identified 11 of these, the main ones being:

1. Multi-limb co-ordination – being able to organise the movement of several limbs at the same time.

2. Response orientation – choosing quickly the position in which an action should be made

3. Reaction time – being able to respond

quickly to a stimulus

PERCEPTUAL MOTOR ABILITIES

4. Speed of movement – being able to make gross rapid movements.

5. Finger dexterity – being able to work with tiny objects using the fingers.

6. Manual dexterity – being able to make accurate arm/hand movements involving objects at speed

7. Rate control – being able to change speed and direction of responses accurately.

8. Aiming – being able to aim accurately

at a small object.

PERCEPTUAL MOTOR ABILITIES

For each of the perceptual motor abilities identify a

skill/activity that you do that underpins/supports it?

HOW MUCH DO YOU REMEMBER????

What is an ability? What is psychomotor ability? What is gross motor ability? Explain the relationship between skill and ability? Identify three gross motor abilities and three psycho

motor abilities for a sport and justify your answers?

How are ABILITIES DEVELOPED?

It is generally thought that abilities can be

developed during early childhood and it is important

that during this period children are exposed to a

wide range of experiences and the opportunity to

practice. Children should also receive expert

teaching and coaching, good support from family

and friends and have suitable role-models to

enhance their abilities.

Motor Skill DevelopmentIn the last section we looked at abilities and how they

support a variety of skills. Generally it is accepted that

these abilities are improved through maturation and

experience. Abilities are seen as building blocks upon

which we develop skills.

Children develop skills in an ordered manner that follows

set stages.

Motor Skill Development

They first use their abilities to learn basic or rudimentary

movement skills such as walking, running, skipping,

pushing, stretching and balancing. These basic movement

skills will form the foundation on which further development

takes place.

During the early years of primary school (4-9yr olds) children are

physically and mentally capable of learning skills and are also hightly

motivated and enthusiastic about it. At this stage expert teaching is

needed to develop the childs rudimentary movement skills further into

fundamental motor skills (FMS)

Javelin throw, Tennis serve,

Volleyball serveSPORT SPECIFIC SKILLS

Golf swing, Hockey drive,Cricket drive

Overhand

SPORT SKILL PROFICIENCY BARRIER

Two-hand side

throw FUNDAMENTAL MOTOR SKILLS

arm strike

RUDIMENTARY MOVEMENT SKILLS

INFANT REFLEXES & REACTIONS

Identify the above stages for your chosen sport