Can We Teach/Learn Athleticism?
While genetics may predispose individuals to certain characteristics, athleticism can be learned and is a key to lifelong health and fitness.
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As a coach, parent or athlete, the way a young person moves will catch one’s eye for any number of reasons. The ease or difficulty of movement will immediately capture attention. Coaches at higher levels are known to look for athleticism in recruits. Competence in a sport is often defined by athlete’s ability to move and meet the demands of the skills of the game.
With athleticism being such a coveted skill, the question becomes can it be learned?
Athleticism is the ability to repeatedly perform a range of movements with precision and confidence in a variety of environments, which require competent levels of motor skills, strength, power, speed, agility, balance, reaction time, coordination and endurance.
Someone who displays athleticism has coordinated movement patterns, a smoothness and ease in performing a specific skill.
Athletic performance describes the efforts made by an athlete to attain specific performance objectives over a period of time. The natural talent and fitness of the athlete will impact the level of performance.
By definition then, if athleticism is defined by physical skills such as coordination and balance, then they can be learned. An Olympic athlete would need a predisposition to these skills in most cases, with learning and practice mounted on top but all athletes can improve in these areas.
Athletic performance is a complex trait that is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Many physical traits help determine an individual's athletic ability, primarily the strength of muscles used for movement (skeletal muscles) and the predominant type of fibers that compose them.
Why is developing athleticism important?
Movement competency, athleticism, can be part of the foundation in developing strength of character, self-confidence, problem solving and social skills. This foundation is critical in physical activity as a lifelong pursuit which leads to increased health and wellness. While many will view athleticism as critical to success in sport, the benefits are not limited to sport or to youth.
Is there an age limit to developing athleticism?
While learning new skills is easiest when young and gets harder as we get older, the development of the skill components of fitness are just as important as the health components of fitness. While the health components of fitness (muscle strength and endurance, cardiorespiratory endurance, flexibility and body composition) have become the target for the adult population, the skill components are just as important later in life and when young.
In the adult fitness world, the skill components of fitness take a back seat to the health components to the point of neglect which leads to rapid decline. That is another topic for another day!
This also explains how young athlete’s physical skill development can change dramatically through puberty and as they get stronger. It is not uncommon to see 14-16 year old athletes start to stand out in competition when they did not do so prior to 12 years old. Adversely, many who dominated under 12 years old do not keep progressing into the teenage years as their development slows down.
What should be the priorities and when?
Children under 8 years old should be exposed to as much as possible that allows for development of fundamental movement patterns. Back in my elementary school Phys. Ed. teaching days, we spent a lot of time on low organization games that highlighted running (speeding up, slowing down, dodging and changing directions), jumping and hopping, throwing/catching/kicking. These activities allow for coordination, balance, endurance and strength to be developed a byproduct of the skills. Skills are not practiced other than in these fun focused activities. There should be nothing under 8 that requires a tryout of any kind.
Ages 8-11 is where the focus should be on general athleticism. Evolution of movement skills while introducing sport skills becomes a natural evolution. Sport specific skill development evolve the movement patterns that have been started earlier on. Introducing strength and power work can be helpful, highlighting the movement fundamentals as a base of success. High levels of individual sport specific skill instruction are not usually recommended at this stage, but rather exposure to different activities and sports. Committing to 1 sport at this stage is likely way too early as it blocks out development in other areas. Martial arts, gymnastics, racquet sports and dance are great examples of activities that supporting base skill and strength development at this stage. In our house, this was the stage when our child explored tons. Fencing, swimming, soccer, martial arts, basketball, baseball/softball, tennis, ice and ball hockey, cross country and downhill skiing, skateboarding and volleyball were some of the activities our young guy tried. As he got older, he gravitated to what he liked the most.
Ages 11-15 is where strength and skill development can go to the next level (11-14 for girls, 12-15 for boys). This where kids get stronger and faster while developing more coordination of movements. This is a great time to build on fundamental movement patterns and interests developed in younger years while introducing strength training to further enhance athleticism. Strength training becomes an important component to not only enhance strength and speed development but perhaps most importantly reduce chance of injury. As young athletes speed up, they need the ability to slow down and absorb the forces generated safely. While many start specializing in certain sports at this age, it has been found that most college athletes play multiple sports through this stage.
Ages 14-19 is the time to continue to build on sport specific strength as interests evolve. The development of team skills, individual skills, and functional strength all become essential for success in competitive sports. Athletes who have taken the long approach to development, as explained in previous phases, will have a significant opportunity for nearing full athletic potential during these years.
There is enough information supporting each of these developmental phases, and they are clear enough to ensure that each age group does not have the same goals or processes. Often, we observe inappropriate level of focus for the age group in question which leads to unhappy campers and kids leaving the sports.
A last word, the over 19 word: The connection between athleticism and life long health can not be overemphasized. While athleticism helps performance in sport at a young age, these are the same skills that slow down the decline in later years of life. The practice of balance, power, coordination etc. is not something that should stop when competitive sport stops for most. These become real life skills started in youth that continue to evolve over a lifetime.
Athleticism thus becomes a critical foundational skill that should be taught and can be learned at all age levels