Week 4: Development and Assessment of Ballistic Skills

Question 1

Describe Ballistic Skills (3 points)

Answer 1

• Skills where the performer applies force to an object to project it.
• Examples of ballistic skills include throwing, kicking, punting and various forms of striking.
• Throwing, kicking and two-hand striking are ballistic skills that have similar developmental patterns because the mechanical principles involved in projecting objects arevery similar.

Question 2

List the assessment methods used to determine progress (3 points)

Answer 2

• One of the key things needed to consider in regards to skill development is how to gauge progress, there are two assessment methods:
  
  • Quantitative Assessment (Product)
  • Qualitative Assessment (Process)

Question 3

Describe Quantitative Assessment (6 points)

Answer 3

• Quantitative assessment measures the outcome or “product” of the movement and generally involves numerical scores (Logan et al., 2017).
• Quantatitive assessment includes, for example, the distance or speed a ball is thrown, the time taken to run or swim a certain distance, or performance accuracy (Spittle, 2021).
• Quantitative assessment of performance is generally efficient; measuring the distance of a throw or jump can be completed quickly with minimal training required for this type of performance assessment.
• BUT product measures have some drawbacks, particularly, when we are working with children of differing ages
• For example when measuring throwing accuracy, when working with different age levels, we may need to change an accuracy task (e.g., stand closer to the target or use a larger target when working with younger learners).
• There is also the problem that bigger, stronger kids are advantaged and smaller kids are disadvantaged.

Question 4

Describe Qualitative Assessment (4 points)

Answer 4

• The most commonly used form of assessment in PE and coaching settings is qualitative assessment (Knudson, 2013).
• Qualitative assessment focuses on the process of how the skill was performed in comparison to established standards (Walkley & Kelly, 1989)
• Also assesses the verbal descriptions of the qualitative changes that occur in movements (Roberton & Konczak, 2001).
• Qualitative teaching assessment examples would be systematically observing a student’s performances and identifying discrepancies between the actual and desired performance characteristics (Gangstead & Beveridge, 1984).

Question 5

Describe Throwing (9 points)

Answer 5

• There are many forms of throwing:
  
  • Underhand (one- or two-hand)
  • Sidearm
  • Overarm (one- or two-hand)
• Roberton’s Developmental Levels (1984) is an assessment system created to assess a learner’s overarm throw.
• With over 40 years of research, Roberton’s levels is one of the more prominent qualitative assessment systems used to gauge fundamental motor skill (FMS) changes.
• It uses a body components approach, dividing the body into segments or components. Roberton’s and her colleges determined that there were six critical components to the overarm throw.
• Each component is then broken into levels that are verbal descriptions of the common sequences that learners exhibit as they perform the skill over time.
• The levels are ordered according to their appearance in most individuals as the performance of the motor skill develops.

Question 6

Describe the critical components of throwing (7 points)

Answer 6

• The critical components of a kick, according to the Roberton’s Development Levels, are:
  
  • Backswing action: Circular, downward backswing. Ball moves away from the target to a position behind the thrower via a circular, down-and-back motion, carrying the hand below the waist, at the end of the backswing the ball is within the outline of the body (when viewed from behind)
  • Stepping action: Long contralateral step. The thrower’s step with the opposite foot is over half his or her standing height
  • Follow through: Follow through across the body. Throwing hand follows through across the body so that the whole hand disappears from sight when viewed from the side
  • Trunk action: Differentiated rotation, the hips precede the shoulders in initiating forward rotation. The thrower rotates away from the target then begins forward rotation with the hips then the shoulders begin rotating slightly after
  • Humerus action: Humerus lags. The upper arm moves forward to ball release horizontally aligned, when shoulders are front-facing, the upper arm remains within the outline of the body (as seen from the side)
  • Forearm action: Delayed forearm lag. The forearm and ball ‘lag’ and the largest lag occurs at the moment shoulders are front-facing

Question 7

Describe Kicking (12 points)

Answer 7

• There are multiple types of kicks, such as a strike, also known as a shot on goal.
• Assessing the development of fundamental motor skills can also be completed by using component checklists.
• The critical components of a kick, according to the Victorian Department of Education, are:
  
  • Eye Focus: It is important that the learner has their head up to help them try to find the target, such as a teammate. However, when the kick is being performed, the kicker’s eyes should be focused on the ball throughout the kick.
  • Stepping Action: the kicker should step forward with the non-kicking foot, planting said foot near the ball. The kicking leg is essentially a pendulum. If the planted foot is near the ball, it would mean that contact is occurring at the bottom of the pendulum swing.
  • Bended Knee: the kicker should bend their knee of their kicking leg during the backswing of the kick
  • Backswing: Kicker should extend his hip and and flex his knee at least 90 degrees during the preliminary kicking movement. This allows the kicker to generate power in the kick
  • Ball contact: contact with the ball should be with the top of the foot. It is often easier to tell the learners to kick the ball with their laces
  • Arm movement: As the kicker places his non-kicking foot near the ball, the arm opposite the kicking foot should be swinging forward and side ways. This arm swing helps the kicker counter balance while they are on one foot
  • Follow through: the kicking leg should follow through towards the target after ball contact. Learners will often ‘stab’ at the ball and the foot stops right after ball contact, which is incorrect technique.
• Assessing a kicker’s performance involves viewing multiple performances of the skill and identifying whether the components are being performed correctly or not
• When analyzing the technique, the camera should be placed side on to the kicker on the open side. For the kick, the camera should be closest to the kicking leg.

Question 8

Describe Two-hand Strike (12 points)

Answer 8

• There are multiple types of striking techniques, such as two-hand, side arm strike.
• The critical components of a two-hand, side arm strike, according to the Victorian Department of Education, are:
  
  • Eye focus: batter’s eyes should be focused on the ball throughout the strike.
  • Hand Grip: the dominant hand grips above the non-dominant hand so that when contact is made, the dominant hand will be closer to the ball
  • Stance: the batter needs to stand side on to the target so that their shoulders and feet are lined up with the pitcher or where the pitcher would be standing
  • Initial Bat location: the bat should be held behind the should prior to the strike. When hitting a stationary target, learners often forget this component, and instead hold the bat near the ball. This causes the learner to do a bat swing when they perform the strike, followed by a striking action. This is not ideal.
  • Stepping Action: the batter should take a small step towards the target with their foot from their non-dominant side during the strike. The length of the step should be around 5-10 cms.
  • Hip to Shoulder Rotation: the hips and the shoulders both rotate but in a sequence. The hips will rotate before the shoulders. By doing so, the batter is able to produce greater torque and greater bat head speed, which leads to hitting the ball with greater power
  • Ball Contact: ball contact should be made opposite front foot with straight arms. This allows the batter to make clean contact and help control the direction of the strike. Because they need to take that small step, their front foot needs to start slightly behind the line of the ball
  • Follow through: Hitter should follow through with the bat around the body
• When analyzing the motor skill, the strike can be performed with a stationary target, using a T ball stand or the ball can be thrown from 5-10 meters away.
• The camera should be placed side on to the learner on the open side so that it is pointing towards their chest as they perform the strike.

Question 9

Describe the assessment process of ballistic skills (5 points)

Answer 9

• Developmental sequences and critical component lists can be used to assess performance and development
• Performances can be inconsistent, to help decide what level a component is, watch multiple performances, if a majority of executions (usually out of 5 attempts)fall into one level, that is the level that should be ticked.
• Observation should be conducted from the appropriate direction, as a general rule, the performance should be viewed from:
  
  • side on
  • the rear