Research regarding the development and evaluation of agility (balance, coordination and speed) in children aged 9-10 years

Authors: Dan Alexandru Szabo1, Nicolae Neagu1, Ioan Sabin Sopa2

Affiliation

 1George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology, Târgu Mureş, Romania

2Lucian Blaga University, Faculty of Science, Department of Environment Sciences, Physics, Physical Education and Sport, Sibiu, Romania 

Abstract 

Background. Physical education in school is a crucial activity in establishing a well-balanced and harmonious body from young children to teenagers, developing motor skills, personality traits and building strong and durable relationships. One of the most important motor skills developed in physical education, in school, is the combination of speed, coordination and 

balance named nowadays agility. More authors described agility as being the capacity to quickly change direction, having high levels of speed and coordination, being well-balanced and creative. 

Aims. The present study followed the idea of finding and evaluating the level of agility development in primary school children aged between 9 and 10 years old. The research group was composed of children from two Romanian schools: School “Mihai Eminescu” and School “George Popa” from Medias — Sibiu, with a sample of 105 children (49 males and 56 females) aged between nine and ten years old. The program of improvement was implemented 15 minutes in every physical education class for a 3-month period in 2019. 

Methods. The research method used was an experimental method using two agility tests (the Agility T test and the Agility L test) whose purpose was to evaluate the initial and final level of agility. For statistical interpretation, the t-Student test, Mann- Withney test and Welch correlation were used. 

Results. The results in both agility tests showed improved results from the initial test to the final test after the 3-month training period. A statistically significant difference was found comparing the initial and final results of the male subjects in both schools in agility T test and also in agility L test. In addition, a statistically significant difference was demonstrated between the initial and final evaluation in female subjects by agility L test and by comparing the initial and final results of females between schools using the agility T test. 

Conclusions. The conclusions of our experiment showed that the hypothesis was confirmed that following implementa­tion of a specific program of development of combined motor qualities, speed and coordination (agility) can be improved and significantly better results in the two applied tests, between the initial and the final testing, can be obtained. Developing agility at young ages can contribute to a future athlete’s sport career by building a strong foundation of motor skills.

Key words: agility, speed, coordination, dynamic balance, body movement.

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Research regarding the development and evaluation of agility (balance, coordination and speed) in children aged 9-10 years

https://doi.org/10.26659/pm3.2020.21.1.33