Abstract
Hoverboards are always more popular among children. Hoverboards are to them like a game or a mean of transport, but they could be used as a valid and useful instrument in children’s training programs to improve their performance. In this study, we compared the athletic performance of two groups of 12 children. A total of 24 children aged between 8 and 11 years followed a similar training program for five months, but the first group used a hoverboard (Hb+ group: Age: Standard Deviation (SD) = 1.15 Mean = 9.66; Weight: SD = 5.90 Mean = 32; Height: SD = 7.64 Mean = 135.08) for some of the training time, differently from the second group (Hb- group: Age: SD = 1.15 Mean = 9.66; Weight: SD = 5.82 Mean = 31.16; Height: SD = 7.66 Mean = 136.16), which never used it. All of the children were asked to complete three tests (one leg test, stork test and balance beam walking test) before starting their own training program and after five months, to evaluate how their performances changed in terms of time. Comparing the recorded time difference between T0 and T1 of the Hb+ group with the same difference measured in Hb- group, it was found that there was a statistically significant difference (p value < 0.05) between these data for all three tests. Children who used the hoverboard in their training program achieved better result than children who did not use it. In the future, the hoverboard could help athletes to improve their performances, possibly applying it not only in football training, but even in other sports.
Highlights
Thanks to the continuous adaptation of the organism to multiple environmental variables, the human being can improve his motor skills and, at the same time, develop intellectual skills, as it happens during the growth of children [1].The development of physical fitness in young athletes is a rapidly expanding field of interest and recent research pointed out that a 12- to 13-year-old boy should primarily focus their training on strength, power, speed, agility, and sport-specific skill development [2].Physical activity is a child’s innate need and from the first year of life it is essential for his harmonious development
Before dividing the twenty-four children into two groups, they all had followed the same training program for two weeks. Their postural attitude and their equilibrium/balance were assessed with a baropodometric platform
After five months from the start of the training of the two groups, there were no changes in the plantar pressures of the twenty-four children
Summary
Thanks to the continuous adaptation of the organism to multiple environmental variables, the human being can improve his motor skills and, at the same time, develop intellectual skills, as it happens during the growth of children [1].The development of physical fitness in young athletes is a rapidly expanding field of interest and recent research pointed out that a 12- to 13-year-old boy should primarily focus their training on strength, power, speed, agility, and sport-specific skill development [2].Physical activity is a child’s innate need and from the first year of life it is essential for his harmonious development. The development of physical fitness in young athletes is a rapidly expanding field of interest and recent research pointed out that a 12- to 13-year-old boy should primarily focus their training on strength, power, speed, agility, and sport-specific skill development [2]. The main movements are represented by stereotyped movements, independent from the subject’s will, which occur in response to reflex stimuli. They represent precise stages of psycho-motor development and are fundamental. They constitute a training of the neuro-muscular system and have the function of improving the control of more specific motor patterns
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