COORDINATION
Skill related
What is coordination?
- The ability to use the body’s senses to execute motor skills smoothly and accurately. Coordination may involve the control of body parts to complete a sequence of movements (gymnastics routine) or it may involve coordination of an external implement and various body parts (kicking a football)
- Referred to as hand-eye, head – eye or foot- eye coordination
- requires the interaction of neural, skeletal and muscular systems.
Factors that effect coordination and how to improve it:
Factors: There aren't necessarily factors however, practising can contribute for learning to occur which can make the movement/skill becomes more coordinated and smooth
Improve: No training methods --> (1)Practising the skill, (2)playing catch to enhance peripheral awareness, (3)Exercise your eyes to improve hand eye coordination so focus can be switched quickly, (4)obstacle running
Sports or events that require an athlete to have a high competency in this FC
- Dancing
- Aerobics
- Gymnastics
- Table tennis
- Golf
-Volleyball
-Basketball
Two recognised tests: Methods and norms
Alternate-hand wall toss test
Aim: Assess hand-eye coordination
With your right hand, throw the ball against the wall and attempt to catch it on the rebound with your left hand. Then throw with your left hand and attempt to catch It with your right. Continue in this way for 30 secs and then record number of successful catches.
Poor = <15
Fair = 15-19
Average = 20-29
Good = 30-35
Excellent = >35
Soft drink can test
Sit at the table with a row of circles in front of them. A soft drink is placed in every second circle, starting from the side of hand being tested. Begin test by grasping first can, the hand ‘thumb up’ and the elbow bent at about 100-120 degrees. Time starts and paricipants turns each can upside down at quickly as possible, then return each to its original position. Whole process is repeated twice.
There are no ratings for this test, but it could be used as pre and post testing comparison.