Most sports have a staged framework for long-term athlete development which varies depending on the unique demands of the sport and the sport development pathway. A common factor in all frameworks is physical literacy, which is the foundation for sport participation and sporting excellence. According to the International Physical Literacy Association (2017), “Physical literacy can be described as the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life.”
Motivation and confidence are the affective components of physical literacy. They speak to one’s enthusiasm for, enjoyment of, and self-confidence in physical activity as an integral part of life. Motivation requires selecting fun, age-appropriate activities and creating numerous opportunities for engagement in the activities. Today, playing videogames is a major competitor to engaging in physical activity. According to the latest statistics from WePC (https://www.wepc.com/news/video-game-statistics/#video-gaming-industry-overview), there are more than 2.5 billion video gamers worldwide. Twenty-one per cent of this is comprised of children of high school age or less. Addiction to video gaming is a real concern and, in some countries, video gaming addiction disorder is a documented illness.
Toddlers and pre-schoolers should be engaged in active play several times a day, whilst children aged 6 to 17 years should be engaged in a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity daily. This can include free play at home as well as structured active play at school. Traditional games like Chinese jump rope, hopscotch, rounders, moral, clapping games, dancing, cat and rat, red light, statues, as well as climbing trees and throwing stones at fruits all develop basic movement skills that are an essential part of physical development of a child.
Physical competence is the physical component of physical literacy. This refers to the acquisition of fundamental motor skills necessary for the physical competence and self-confidence in sport. The focus between ages 3 to 6 should be on mastery of basic movement skill sets which allow a child to successfully transition to playing any sport. Failure to develop these skill sets will result in frustration and failure when attempting to play a sport and, eventually, to a loss of motivation to engage in any physical activity. The focus should be on playing for fun, not competition. Aggressive competition too earl y can result in most losing interest in physical activity. There is only one winner or one winning team in competition and children in their innocence can be cruel, teasing or taunting ‘losers’ and causing them to withdraw their enthusiasm for physical activity.
Fundamental skills that must be developed fall under the broad headings of locomotor, object control and balance movements. Basic locomotor skills to master include running, jumping, hopping, leaping, skipping, climbing and swimming. Object control skills include kicking, rolling or throwing an object, striking a ball or other object, catching and stopping a ball, dribbling with feet, hands and a stick and striking an object with feet, hands and sticks/rackets. Balance and stability skills include spinning, twisting, turning, stopping and changing direction, stretching, body rolling and balancing with the body in different positions.
Traditional games, mentioned previously, can aid the development of physical competence. Today, children are not adequately exposed to these types of activities, as physical games have been replaced by sedentary videogames and in schools, outdoor playtime has been reduced or replaced by indoor physical education theory. Many high schools do not include physical education post third form. Another practice which raises serious concern is parents and coaches moving towards very early sport-specific training. This will result in poor basic movement and fundamental sport skills, overuse injuries, early burnout and early retirement from competition and training. This practice is a threat to long-term athlete development.
Knowledge and understanding are the cognitive components of physical literacy. These cognitive components include the ability to identify and express the essential qualities that influence movement, understand the health benefits of an active lifestyle, and appreciate appropriate safety precautions associated with physical activity in different contexts.
It is important for the links between physical activity and safety and health to be made at an early age. Inadequate attention and emphasis are placed on the use of safety gears in school sports. In Sports Medicine practice, we see head trauma that could have been avoided if the athlete had been wearing sport-specific helmets, leg injuries that could have been prevented with the use of shin guards and injuries to the teeth and jaw that could have been prevented with the wearing of mouth guards.
Lifetime engagement in physical activities is the behavioural component of physical literacy. It involves persons consciously carving out time in their busy schedules to ensure that daily physical activity is an integral part of their healthy lifestyle.
Dr Sharmella Roopchand-Martin is head of the Mona Academy of Sport. She can be reached at sharmella.roopchandmartin@uwimona.edu.jm
