A lot of pre-school and elementary physical educators have been wondering about this question.
Should I teach sports through fundamental movement skills (FMS) or teach FMS through sports? Which is the correct approach?
Teaching sports through FMS is to first develop a sound Fundamental Movement Skills, and then branching out to the different sports.
Teaching FMS through sports is to educate kids on the Fundamental Movement skills using different sports.
Which is the ideal approach?
Here is your answer.
The ideal approach is to teach sports through FMS.
In Movement Heroes, we are a strong advocate of this approach. We believe that kids should have a strong foundation of FMS before engaging in different sports.
And this is our reason.
The different Fundamental Movement Skills classifies under several classes of actions. In this particular class of actions, they share a common invariant feature.
Learning Sports Through Fundamental Movement Skills
For example, look at the diagram below.
They are all specific skills in their specific sports. But do you know that they all stem from one single class of action, which is an overhand throw.
Hence, learning overhand throws in the beginning is important. As you master this action, you can then branch out into different sports.
How so?
With the knowledge of using the different body parts to execute a good throw, you can perform many skills: badminton overhand strike, cricket bowling, javelin throw etc.
This is because the specific skills from badminton or cricket or track and field use almost the same muscle group.
Thus, the movement of these different sports shares the same movement pattern, but the end actions are different.
And this end action is based on the specific context of the individual sport.
This is also known as the Motor Response Schema.
Once your child masters the basic fundamental movements, he or she will be able to execute the specific sport skill with ease.
In addition, these basic fundamental movements will also help in your child’s confidence.
Hence, they will be more willing to try out different sports. This will lead to them becoming more physically active.
Learning Fundamental Movement Skills Through Sports
The other approach is not entirely wrong.
But your child will risk learning a very specific sports skill and neglect the other important aspects of FMS.
For example, exposing your child to focus on one sport is not ideal.
Imagine your child learning only badminton.
He or she will develop good bilateral coordination and hand-eye coordination of the upper limb.
However, they will be less developed in their lower limb movements and will not be comfortable with engaging in any sports that require control from the lower limb.
Every child is special and we want to give our kid the very best.
With regards to acquiring sports skills, the approach of teaching them the basic fundamental movement skills first before venturing into different sports is an ideal way.
Give your child a strong foundation for them to be proficient in all sports.
As a result, your child will be able to engage in physical activities and stay healthy for a lifetime.
Recap
Let’s recap what you have learnt today.
It is better to learn fundamental movements skills first before specializing in any specific sport.
Movement heroes are here to help. We do basic physical assessments for 3 to 6 years old. And it’s FREE.
We hope to educate as many parents as possible so when they come to elementary school, they are ready to enjoy what the syllabus is in store for them.
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See you around!
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