Motor Skill Acquisition and Motor Development in Relation to Coaching Golf

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Main body
Implications of stage and age specific developments to Coaching
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Development in human beings starts when a child is born and considerably accelerates within the first five years of life of an individual. Different theorists of human development including Piaget, Vygotsky, Brunner, Bandura, and many others whose input have shaped the understanding of human development have tracked the notable developments. It should be noted that most changes in human personality take place in childhood and into the early adulthood but at the age of five, essential characteristics of human beings that define them in the future have been developed( Gallahue & Ozmun 2002).

Aspects of development range from stages in a person’s life. In early months of life, cognitive, physical and motor developments take center stage. As the child progresses, even specific aspects as language, social and psychological developmental aspects can be monitored. According to Gallahue & Ozmun (2002) language development starts as early as three months. Motor development can also be monitored at the same time when children are able to hold up their heads for longer time than when they were born. Psychological and social developments are associated with the child’s interaction with his/her immediate environment.

Main body

In this paper, both fine and gross aspects of motor development are reviewed for stage development of children between ages of under five, under twelve and under eighteen. The investigation of the essentiality of motor development in these stages in a practical approach towards ascertaining what is best for these groups with regard to golf skills development. The writer attempts to justify inclusive or separate training based on research evidence for the groups for which this work reports.

To what is conducted and entailed of coaching gross and fine motor development in the children’s golf skills this work presents a sensible educational channel. The report not only suggest what is necessary for each group but also analyses what would be the effects of this training to those under five in their future lives and if at all this kind of training is justifiable under circumstance that it may, after all, jeopardize the sole reason for which training is necessary; negatively affect the child’s future development.

Motor development is be defined as the transformation in an individual’s abilities of reflexes and motion. It is the effective use of skeletal muscles in achieving a goal. It is generally associated with body coordination and movement both in essential moving body parts and in future, the skill with which such movement can be easily enhanced into helpful activity. Ozmun argues that “motor development follows development in the brain, the nervous system and skeletons and the joints”(2001).

Gross motor skills are associated with the movement of body parts and follow a pattern. It usually starts from top down and is responsible for further development of fine motor skills. Fine motor skills describe the development of ability to handle smaller objects. Fine skills involve development of eye-hand skills and precision in handling delicate tasks. In infants, the first motor development skill is observed in head movement and suckling.

Different theorists analyze motor development through different explanations all in a sense of understanding the human person’s motor development. There is a general agreement that motor skill development follows a similar pattern in all children and that specific developments occurs at approximately the same age for all. Environment is known to play a very vital role in enhancing these skills and is attributed to variations in rates of motor development in children (Gallahue & Ozmun 2002).

Motor development is closely associated with cognitive development. In children, the sensor motor stage, the preoperational stage and the concrete operational stage and the formal operational stages outline the achievements in motor development and distinguishes one developmental age from another. Piaget enlists the sensorimotor stage as that between birth and two years of child’s life. “During this time, the child has not known how to handle objects well, have no idea about object permanency and thus once out of sight, an object remains non-existent” (Ozmun 2001).

In this stage therefore, the only best training for motor development may be restricted to gross perceptions so that the child is only kept fit to develop the muscles. This may be done through general body exercises with little or no introduction to objects that are small. They will be forgotten once they are out of sight. Training on ability to remember objects is viable at the end of this stage. If a child is able to remember the presence of objects, then this becomes an achievement for this stage.

The next stage is the preoperational stage. In this stage, the child ahs acquired object permanency. He however suffers from egocentrism and assumes that all people and things think the way he/she does. It lasts from the end of two years through the age of five to the seventh year. The child is conserved in his thinking and does not see the change in circumstances from more than one point of view. Volume and area do not make sense if they change.

The centration of the child develops as he/she leaves this stage. During this stage, motor development has picked on basic components of fine development. There is improved aiming which becomes more accurate at four years. The child can run in a circle and is able to walk backwards, has very good hand dominance over all the body parts and can summersault

After five, the child develops greater fine motor skills and has more precise movements. There is an associated clumsiness and thus for greater motor development, they should be kept on toes otherwise this may persist. They enjoy running and do not stand still. The most important development during this time is that there is an increased attention span that can be good for programmed training (Ozmun 2001).

At the age of seven, imagination is increased but abstract thinking has not started yet. The aspect of permanency has developed but the mystery of objects not yet touched, felt or seen remains. The child can however work longer but with little consistency. There needs to be a lot of coaching or supervision at this stage. The child is able to develop interest at this stage if coordination of activities does not bog him down.

During this stage, the child develops the aspect of time and relative motion such that object movement fascinates him. This is the right time to introduce manipulation of moving objects. He understands more about seasons and the aspect of suitability of programmed play. He develops fun in solving problems. The child has a tendency to shout out and develops love for reading. This would be the best time for introducing picture instructional manuals for training (Gallahue & Ozmun 2002).

The formal operations stage sets in when the child reaches the age of twelve. A more abstract perspective of the world develops with a greater sense of abstract thinking. They appreciate the possibility of reversibility and conservation. This they can apply comfortably in real and imagined situations. At this stage therefore, the child is able to learn from self and others’ mistakes but just imagining the best solution under the circumstances.

All the gross motor skills are developed and only needs to be enhanced. In sports, there is need to introduce new skills and even teach the same through theory. There is good body coordination and the child enjoys making things on his own. Innovation should thus be encouraged here.

The child can be given the role of an instructor to develop his self-confidence in gaming. The abstract thinking has developed fully and the child likes telling jokes, enjoys slang language and continued conversation. This is the right time to enforce team-building spirit. The child asks questions and may challenge the coach for answers that are not immediately available. Let the child take control albeit with logical instructions. By teenage, the child has developed theoretical perspective of all aspects of his real and imagined life and has an idea of cause effect. The intelligence develops highest and needs constant engagement.

The teenage is associated with high activity but also with a degree of reservation due to corresponding physical developments. The child now has proper body coordination and all physical developments are at their peak. For boys, the muscles are more developed while for girls, there sets in the feeling of maturity associate with the development in breast and abdomen. This becomes the perfect age for developing exceptional skills based on specialization. Real motor Development is said to stop here and what follows is just a mastery of knowledge and skill of daily living in a chosen path of interest.

Implications of stage and age specific developments to Coaching

Having identified the most essential periodical development stages and their potential in concentrating theoretical and practical motor, development, the following should be a guideline to the pursuit of optimal if not maximum motor development in children through coaching.

Between ages of two to five, the child should be taught general gross motor development skills. These will include physical balance, aiming at objects using body parts, group singing to develop language acquisition and vowel, running and vigorous movement to exhaust build up energy and general dressing to develop keenness and to an extent, balance.

After five years, the fine motor development skills should start. The child should now use small objects to aim at long distant targets. This will increase accuracy and coherence while strengthening interest and focus. It will also enhance their commitment to learning process while the attachment to outcome of events decreases. General body coordination and special aiming skills should count in this stage. The child should be taught both theoretically, through books and practically to develop all-round body coordination through practices of more precision, responsibility and teamwork. The child’s attention span should be nurtured.

The teenage is when golf should be most interesting. Here development of complex motor skills, energy systems, strength, and understanding of warm-up takes center stage. The muscle development and the sense of being another grown up should combine to make a good committed player. Here, all body coordination should have developed and special skills put into test. Modules should be developed to ask and answer questions regarding best approaches, which must then be practically done (Gallahue & Ozmun 2002).

To actualize their training, the various age groups require diverse activity programs. The under five would require training for gross motor development with greater incentives for reward. The under twelve would require a combination of the two approaches for fine and gross motor development with moderate reward system. Training the under eighteen should call for more fine motor development skills with minimal reward schemes but with a well developed action plant to suite their interests(Gallahue & Donnelly 2003).

Conclusion

On academic companions, the under five should never be given anything theoretical since no conceptual thinking has been developed. As they progress in age and become the under twelve, picture and literature companion is necessary since they enjoy reading. The concept develops here. According to Gallahue & Donnelly, “the child should gain equal skill in both practice and abstract or theoretical perspective at about twelve of playing”(2003) golf. They should be told that golf is fun, easy, about relationship building, that it is player-teach-player scenario, that it requires the best effort and that small-repeated doses make the best of a player.

All disciplines, from swing to putting should go together either theoretically or practically and with ease. Most importantly, training young children on specialized skills continually or giving instructions without a room for self-concept development may produce best players of golf and only golf with limited innovations at later adulthood. It also comes with a tendency to get bored such that interest diminishes as opposed to when development is allowed to be as natural as possible.

References

Gallahue, D. L. & Ozmun, J. C. (2002) Motor Development: A Theoretical Model in Understanding Motor Development: Infants, Children, Adolescents & Adults.

Ozmun, J.C. (2001) Introduction to Exercise Science. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.

Ozmun, J.C. (1996) Including Children in Movement Activities. 4th Annual Early Childhood Workshop, OAHPERD, Cleveland, OH..

Gallahue, D.L., & Donnelly, F.C. (2003) Developmental Physical Education for All Children.

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