Teaching Elementary-age Youth Catching Skills Using Theoretically Based Motor-development Strategies

Abstract

Participating in general physical activity during childhood may not be the strongest predictor of lifetime physical activity. Children must develop motivation to participate in physically active endeavors and become excited about being active. These feelings toward physical activity may be best obtained by teaching with a more deliberate emphasis on the developmental stages of skill acquisition. This article describes a method for teaching catching skills that is grounded in the cognition and motor-development tenets of refinement and proximodistal development. The preparatory body movement skills — the focus stage — should be a primary objective for physical education teachers and their early elementary-age students during catching instruction. The focus stage includes information gathering, foot movements, body adjustment, and arm motions. Focusing on the actual catch — the control stage — skips vital aspects of a mature catching skill that likely would lead to greater understanding and skill in the future. The control stage involves grasping an object using the hands and fingers. This article describes specific planning characteristics, teaching behaviors, and catching lesson content physical educators can use to revolutionize their elementary physical education programs.