Abstract:

The development of versatility in children in the period of their younger school age is an important part of their motion activities. Among other things, co-ordination skills play a significant role in the formation of motor skills in children. The pilot study is intended to determine how powerful impact may an application of the specially designed (static and dynamic balance) exercises may have on the overall development of balance skills in children. The tests were carried out over the course of 5 weeks on 61 probands, in the age range from 10 to 11 years, on members of the athletic club, who regularly train twice a week. The children were randomly divided into two groups (31 with interventions, 30 without interventions). The group of children with physical intervention completed 10 special exercise units twice a week in the range of about 20 minutes, always at the beginning of their training session. For the initial and final testing, the motor test "Reverse Walking on Balance Beams" (DMT 6-18, Bös, 2008) was used. In order to determine the statistically significant difference between the pre-test and post-test in the control and experimental groups, the non-parametric Wilcoxon Matched Pairs Test (Statistica 6.0) was used. The statistical significance was determined at the boundary of alpha = 5%. The difference between the pre-test and post-test in the experimental group was significant (p < 0.00, improvement by 20.2%), while the difference between the pre-test and post-test in the control group was not significant (p = 0.26, improvement by 2.6%). The measured data support our hypothesis that even a relatively short intervention of balance exercises can increase the level of co-ordination skills of children at this age. The skills acquired in this manner can be used not only in daily lives, but mainly in physical activities where the balance is necessary for successful performance (such as skating, skiing, gymnastics, resistance exercises, etc.). With regard to the limited sample size, this research cannot be generalized.

Keywords:

Co-ordination, balance, movement intervention, younger school age, motor skills test, motion activities.