Concern at kids’ lack of sports skills; 50% cannot kick a ball
One in four students cannot run properly and half cannot kick a ball
A growing number of school children lack the basic skills to take part in sport and physical activity with many unable to run, kick, or throw a ball properly.
As efforts to tackle childhood obesity continue, new research shows one in four students between the ages of five and 12 cannot run properly, one in two cannot kick a ball, and less than one in five cannot throw a ball.
The development of children’s basic movement skills, including running, jumping, catching, and kicking, also stalls at the age of 10, according to the research carried out at Dublin City University (DCU).
Surveying more than 2,000 children from across the country, the study found children lacked proficiency in fundamental movement skills (FMS), which are considered key when it comes to promoting physical activity.
Children taking part in the survey had their motor development tested based on their running, skipping, galloping, sliding, hopping, and jumping.
Their object-control was also tested based on their catching, throwing, underhand rolling, striking, and dribbling.
Those taking part also were tested on their vertical jumping and on their balance.
While previous research had shown that children can master all FMS skills by the age of eight, this study found a large proportion of children had not mastered these skills by the age of 10.
This milestone is considered important as if children do not reach it, it can result in young people, particularly teens, showing an aversion towards taking part in sports and physical activities, according to the researchers.
The first set of published findings from the Moving Well-Being Well project also found that there is a notable difference between boys and girls when it comes to certain skills.
Boys displayed a greater proficiency in ball skills such as throwing and catching, while girls scored higher than boys in skills requiring control of the body such as balance and skipping.
The Moving Well-Being Well project is currently assessing school children’s skill levels to develop a series of interventions aimed at improving physical fitness.
One of the most comprehensive studies of its kind ever produced in Ireland, the research highlights the poor levels of basic movement skills here, according to Stephen Behan, one of the study’s authors.
“If children don’t have a solid foundation of basic movement skills, how can we expect them to do more complex skills as part of organised sport?” he said.
“This solid foundation is what allows children to take part in a multitude of physical activities, and to feel confident in trying new things.
“There is a lot of attention on childhood obesity and low participation rates in sport — a focus on the fundamental movement skills in young children could be key in tackling both.”
Sarahjane Belton, of DCU’s Department of Health and Human Performance, said it is time now for action.
“We need to focus our attention nationally on developing physical literacy capacities and capabilities in our children and young people,” she said.
“We need to help them develop the tools needed to enable them to live long, healthy, and active lives. At the moment we are failing our kids badly, and that is a very sad situation.”
The findings are published in the Journal of Sports Science.
