Reflective Case Review – Motor Skill Acquisition, Adaptability to Training, and The Impact of Development on Training

Reflective Case Review – Motor Skill Acquisition, Adaptability to Training, and The Impact of Development on Training

Case Analysis

1. Motor Skill Acquisition

After thorough training in ready Summer All-Star League, baseball players, 8-9 years old, are expected to acquire voluntary control over movements of joints and body segments in order to improve their competitiveness during the period they are expected to participate in the league. Some of the skills the coach expects to see in the players include riding a bicycle, jumping, running, and weightlifting (Lewis & Rodesiler, 2021). These skills are essential because they will increase the players’ shooting proficiency in baseball, which is integral both for the performance and rehabilitation of these skills. I will know that my players have advanced in their game by changing speed during the game. Acceleration is vital, and techniques such as base stealing and base rotation to retreat will mean that the players have become more competitive for the upcoming baseball all-star league.

1. Training Adaptations

Some of the training adaptations necessary for baseball players between the age of 8-9 years include an increase in muscle CSA, connective tissue stiffness, and neuromuscular adaptations. The players must be able to showcase pre-competitive conversation to power, competitive transition, and tapering. Joint and tendon adaptations are other adaptive skills that the players are anticipated to showcase during the training phase. According to research by Lewis & Rodesiler (2021), hitting pitched baseball places is a critical demand on athletes’ visual systems. Because baseball is a fast game, some coaching activities that will help in the joint and tendon adaptations include kinesthetic exercises that will help the players swing and coordinate the timing and trajectory (Sato & Driggers, 2019). Additionally, being fast will enable the players to control their movements, spin, and location of the ball.

1. Impact of Development on Training

Some of the critical developmental components of baseball players aged 8-9 years include socialization, physical skill building, and learning prosocial behaviors. Having exemplary sports participation developmental components such as physical growth and neurodevelopmental readiness, where a child develops necessary motor, physical, cognitive, social, and adaptive abilities, helps the players meet the demands of the game (Sato & Driggers, 2019). Besides, motor skills, such as strength and endurance, and cognitive skills, such as processing speed and cognitive flexibility, will impact training and competition by enabling the child to coordinate actions necessary for sports participation.

Personal Reflection

One of the lessons I learned while witnessing the coaching sessions for these young baseball players between 8-9 years is that one requires fine attention to detail in training. Because one is dealing with young adolescents are more likely to be fast in movement, and therefore, keeping this pace will help them develop their abilities to the maximum. However, I also learned that most errors made by young players could be attributed to a lack of focus and consistency in practice. During training, I noted that some players became mentally absent or missed some sessions, and when one misses a single drill, they are more likely to be left behind. Nevertheless, when such situations occur, it is essential to have private sessions with such players to offer them the opportunity to make up for the time lost. One of the experiences that I learned that will improve my coaching in the future is the need to instill discipline in all players by setting rules that govern every player. Additionally, I have learned the need to constantly check on the wellness of the players by asking them what they felt was done right or wrong on each rep.

Suggestions for Modifications 

Some suggestions to maximize athlete development include improving team strategy, teaching rules, clarifying individual roles, and identifying the strengths and weaknesses of every player. Since baseball is a teamwork game, the coach should ensure that enough team strategies are put in place because this way, players will be able to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents.

References

Lewis, M., & Rodesiler, L. (2021). Youth athletes’ activism and coaches: Representations in sports-related young adult literature. Research on Diversity in Youth Literature, 4(1), 6.

Sato, K., & Driggers, A. (2019). Strength and conditioning transfer to performance from a baseball perspective. Physical Education Journal, 52(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.6222/pej.201909_52(3).0001

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Assignment Summary: Through content exploration, students will be able to identify phases of motor skill acquisition, adaptability to training, and the impact of development on training. The reflective case reviews will ask students to read a summary case and provide an analysis of the training environment relevant to athlete development.

Assignment Instructions: Each reflective case review will include three required sections: 1) a case analysis, 2) a personal reflection, and 3) suggestions for modifications to maximize athlete development.

• Case Analysis: In this section, please include information on the following:
  1. Motor Skill Acquisition: In this case analysis section, students should describe the important elements of motor skill acquisition that are likely to be true for this group of athletes. What would you expect to see? What might you see that would indicate a group of athletes are more or less advanced than you anticipated?
  2. Training Adaptations: What are some of the anticipated training adaptations for this age group? What coaching practices or areas of focus would align with these potential adaptations?
  3. Impact of Development on Training: What are some of the critical developmental components of this age group? How would those physical, psychological, social, and emotional maturation elements impact training and competition?
• Personal Reflection: In this section, please include a summary of a personal experience you have had with this age group (either your own experience or one you have witnessed) that was either a good or poor example of maximizing development in this age group. What do you recall from this experience that will impact your coaching?
• Suggestions for Modifications: What suggestions do you have for this coach regarding modifications to the plan to make it more likely to maximize athlete development?

Submission: The written summary for this assignment should be uploaded to the Reflective Case Review #1 assignment tab in Canvas. When writing your reflection, please label each section from above (i.e. 1. Case Analysis, a., b. c.) to ensure you include everything.

Grading: This assignment is worth 50 points. See the attached rubric for additional grading details.

Case #1 Summary

A group of youth baseball players (ages 8-9 years old) have been invited to participate in a summer all-star league. The weekend tournaments will include 4-6 games played Friday through Sunday, and the season will last from May 31 through July 31. The coach has scheduled practices for Tuesday and Thursday from 6 to 8:30 pm. Most of the athletes in this group have played baseball for 2-3 seasons, and all have just completed the local recreation league season that ran from March through May.

In designing the practice plans, the coach intends to use a lot of stations that will allow the athletes to get a lot of repetitions at each station. Following a 10-minute warmup, each station will last 20 minutes. The coach has also included a 40-minute timeslot at the end of each practice to do situation work (i.e. working through various game-like scenarios).