Fundamental movement skill proficiency amongst adolescent youth

Background: Literature suggests that physical education programmes ought to provide intense instruction towards basic movement skills needed to enjoy a variety of physical activities. Fundamental movement skills (FMS) are basic observable patterns of behaviour present from childhood to adulthood (e.g. run, skip and kick). Recent evidence indicates that children have the developmental potential to master most FMS by 6 years of age during physical education, physical activity (PA) and sport.Purpose: With a noticeable absence in the literature relating to adolescent movement patterns, the present study assessed the performance of 9 FMS during physical education class amongst 12- to 13-year olds. The study further assessed the range of FMS at the behavioural component level with a view to identifying weaknesses within performance across individual skills.Participants and setting: Baseline data were collected in 2010 as part of a larger longitudinal study evaluating the effectiveness of a prescribed adolescent physical education intervention. Participants included all (N = 242) first-year post-primary youth in a specific geographical area of Ireland.Data collection: The following 9 FMS were assessed during an 80-minute physical education lesson time period using a reliable instrument protocol; run, skip, horizontal jump, vertical jump, kick, catch, overhand throw, strike and stationary dribble. Each of the nine FMS was assessed in conjunction with the behavioural components from three established instruments, namely the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD), TGMD-2 and the Victorian Fundamental Motor Skills manual. To ensure participant consistency, no feedback from any of the trained field staff was given during skill performance.Data analysis: Prior to data analysis, the trained field staff were required to reach a minimum of 95% inter-observer agreement for all nine skills on a pre-coded data set to ensure that all testers were competent. The FMS data set was analysed using SPSS version 17.0 for Windows using appropriate statistical analysis.Findings: Overall, 11% was scored as either mastery or near mastery for all nine FMS. There was a significant difference in the overall mean composite FMS score (object control and locomotor) between genders, with adolescent males scoring higher (p = .015). There were marked differences in the number of participants who failed to obtain mastery level across the range of the nine FMS (e.g. vertical jump 87% and run 13%) and their associated behavioural components.Conclusions: It is alarming that adolescents aged between 12 and 13 years entering their first year of post-primary physical education do not display proficiency across nine basic movement patterns. This finding indicates that adolescents may have a difficult time in making the successful transition towards more advanced skills within the sport-specific stage. Implications from this study potentially indicate that targeting the weakest skill components during physical education and outside of school hours may prove a valuable strategy in increasing the current FMS levels and the subsequent PA levels amongst adolescent youth.