Focus on the fundamentals, why it is important and should not be rushed

In education, teachers prepare children for the future by exposing them to a wide variety of learning to allow them to sample different subjects. This starts in primary school where the curriculum is designed to allow children opportunities to learn foundational subjects such as math, languages, humanities, sciences, and arts to allow them to find their passion. As they grow older, they start to choose certain subjects to delve deeper as part of their higher education, such as GCSEs then A-Levels. Even with education systems such as the International Baccalaureate that allows pupils more opportunities to have a rounded education compared to other curriculums, it ends up having a more specific, streamlined focus towards certain subjects through their higher and standard level subjects as pupils progress through the years. In sport and physical activity, a similar approach can be taken to the academic system in the form of prioritising fundamental movement skills (FMS) when children are younger to create a foundation for them to build upon more sport-specific skills in the future (9).

FMS is a term to describe the building blocks of movement (13) with the different movements being categorised into locomotion, object control, and stability skills (8). The aim of developing FMS is to allow the body segments to work in a coordinated manner (3). These building blocks subsequently form the foundation for more advanced and sport-specific skills that apply to different sports and PA. Previous research into FMS has shown that children as young as 7 years-old begin to apply elements of FMS into their PA and sport, hence being exposed to more complex movements that build on from FMS (8). FMS competence has been linked with numerous benefits in the short and long-term spanning across PA, health, and other psychosocial factors (15), such as increasing competence and confidence to take part in more PA and sport, and through more engagement, increasing the enjoyment levels as well. This has been demonstrated to continue as they transition into adulthood, highlighting the prolonged effects of early immersion of FMS (16).

According to recent statistics, most youth in the world do not meet the current recommendations for physical activity (PA) levels (1). Compared to previous generations, the current population of children have sub-standard levels of FMS, muscular strength and general physical fitness (10). This is due to a number of reasons – more distractions in the current era including technology (social media and video games), and less of a focus on play-based activities. The result of having more structured youth sport programmes leads to over specialising of sport-specific skills too early on, resulting in overtraining, injuries, and burnout (10). Although these examples could be linked to reasons why FMS levels in children are decreasing, it does not highlight why it is important to focus on this in youth athletic development. Therefore, this blog will aim to clarify why focusing on fundamentals such as FMS is important and could be extremely beneficial for the long-term development of youth sport and provide some practical applications as to how it could look in different settings. This blog does not claim that developing FMS is the ultimate solution to solving the problems of children’s PA levels, it demonstrates that this could be a way of being more effective in developing the foundations in youth sport. The end goal of this would be contributing to greater engagement within sport during childhood and beyond into adult participation, as well as improving the potential for those individuals involved in elite sport pathways.

During adolescence, children are undergoing growth and maturation of the body both physically and in the neuromuscular (NM) system, with a significant period of growth taking place from childhood to adolescence (6). The rapid change in height has been termed “peak height velocity” (PHV) which allows researchers to define different stages of growth according to the percentage of adult height with pre PHV being defined as below 85% of predicted adult height (PAH); circa PHV being 86-95% PAH; and post PHV being over 96% PAH (5). Recommendations from researchers have suggested that FMS should be a primary focus during pre PHV and circa PHV alongside the development of foundational strength (10,12). This is to ensure that individuals who are going through PHV that may be experiencing “adolescent awkwardness” maintain their movement skills as they get used to their increase in limb length, motor coordination, and general changes to the body (10). With an emphasis on FMS competence allowing for movement coordination and flexibility to be prioritised, this allows for a smooth transition over time from FMS to a greater emphasis of sport-specific skills, while decreasing the risk of developing potential overuse injuries in the future.

In the short term, equipping children to have competency and confidence in their FMS allows them to be better prepared to sample more sport-specific skills having had a solid foundation of movement skills to develop from as suggested by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) in their position statement on long term athletic development (LTAD) (12). The development of FMS in children would allow them to be able to transition into a diverse range of sporting activities without being hindered by more advanced motor skills and coordination due to their FMS foundation. Longer term, as children continue to take part in more PA and organised sports, it continues the learning of new motor skills and movement competency (MC), while providing them with the confidence in their ability to perform FMS and subsequently engage in more PA opportunities. A recent study proposed that there is a positive relationship between FMS proficiency and physical fitness which continues to improve from early childhood to early adulthood (16). This is apparent as youth who continue to develop mastery in sporting skills will have a greater willingness to regularly participate in PA, while synergistically developing their physical fitness, which continues to improve their health, ultimately promoting the long-term involvement in an active lifestyle (6).

A few studies have looked at the long-term effects of an FMS programme on the subsequent fitness and health benefits associated with it. The Belgian government created a nationwide public FMS programme called MultiMove targeted to early childhood which consisted of 12 different types of movements (2,4) that were categorised as fundamental motor skills. A 6 year follow up study on the long-term effectiveness of the intervention and a 20 year follow up study that investigated the long-term association of FMS proficiency and adult PA levels. In the 6 year follow up study, while there was no long-term effect of FMS on motor competency (MC), with the control group demonstrating same levels of MC as the intervention group, this could be attributed to the length of the intervention which was 30 weeks (4). Considering that the period of growth for children spans over multiple years, with children experiencing rapid changes physically and in the NM system, it may take longer for an intervention to truly have an effect on the long-term retention of MC, and for a genuine learning opportunity of FMS in children to take place. The study did however demonstrate that participation in organised sport had a positive relationship with the improvement in MC, therefore emphasising that increased participation in sports complements improvements in FMS (4). The 20 year follow up study of MultiMove demonstrated that children with a greater MC could have had a higher association with PA when they were adults (11). Although the sample size of the study was potentially too small to truly represent a group of individuals, or to allow significant suggestions to be made, it still leans towards the fact that promoting an emphasis on developing FMS in children could have a further positive effect on the PA of adults. Both studies therefore indicate that while the FMS effects are potentially longer term and require a consistent long-term application in practice, it is worth the investment as it will lead to a lifestyle with increased PA.

In summary, focusing on the developing FMS is a valuable opportunity to allow children to engrain a solid foundation to increase opportunities for sport and PA. This is achieved through allowing children to have the confidence and enjoyment to take part in sporting opportunities which continues to allow them to develop more complex and sport specific skills through immersion in the sports and practice. Since this takes long-term investment of time and effort to see the benefits, early engagement during childhood is crucial in ensuring that it has the potential to make a positive contribution to the health and wellbeing across a range of populations, promoting a longer lifespan of engagement in sport and PA, leading to a healthier and fitter lifestyle.

References

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