Effects of coordination exercise on the motion capacity of preschool children : Quantitative and qualitative changes in throwing and catching ability

This study investigated the effects of a coordination exercise program on quantitative and qualitative changes of throwing and catching ability with the subjects of 5 and 6-year-old 30 preschool children. A4-week control period and a 4-week exercise period were separately set. The exercise program was conducted for 40 minutes a day following the instruction guidance, during 8 days over 4 weeks. The subjects performed motion capacity tests (standing broad jump, side jump) and ball handling tests (control, catching,tennis ball handling) in each period. We evaluated the throwing and catching motions by using five typical developmental stages of motion patterns. As the results, we found a statistically significant increase in the side jump, catching, tennis ball handling and score evaluation for throwing and catching motions in the exercise period compared to the control period. The same results were obtained in both genders. These results suggested that, the coordination exercise program focused on basic ball handling technique may be beneficial to enhance the agility and ball handling capacity in preschool boys and girls aged 5-6, who need an adequate exercise instruction to improve their throwing and catching motions.