Both physical education and youth sport are essential for the motor development of children. Sport-specific skills should be built on a sound movement foundation. Children need to be allowed to mature and to develop to higher levels of proficiency before being thrust into a competitive environment. (JN)

Beginners and advanced bowlers should understand the importance of basic principles of motion in developing an effective and competitive game. This article presents important mechanical principles of bowling, along with their applications. Topics include body balance and motion, transfer of momentum and creating force, and ball direction and pin…

This article discusses the combination of skills into sequences. Combining skills into usable, challenging, and meaningful sequences is often neglected or under-used in many school and community game programs. Reasons for this under-use are discussed. Combinations of skills build on proficiency in performing separate skills and serve as…

One purpose of the McCloy Lecture is to remember C. H. McCloy. Previous presenters have provided excellent summaries of McCloy's career (Christina, 1999; Lee, 2002; Thomas, 2000) and highlighted his scientific and academic contributions to our field and the organization now known as the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation…

When physical education teachers provide skill cues, they do so with the intention of focusing children's attention on a particular aspect of the motor skill to be performed. Rarely do physical education teachers notice if their cue was provided to the student in figurative or literal language. This article explains the types of figurative…

Resources for self-defense training programs have become more popular and available over the last few years. Introducing a self-defense unit as part of a school physical education program is a wonderful way to address a number of psychosocial issues that prevail among teenagers today. The physical skills learned in this type of program allow…

Two experiments investigated the effects of a single reminder trial on immediate and delayed retention. Experiment 1 determined if beneficial effects of a reminder mat were a function of task order. Immediate retention performance benefited only when the reminder trial was practiced in the first block of trials. Experiment 2 added a 24-hr delayed…

The concurrent validity of the New Zealand Ministry of Education's Health and Physical Education Assessment (HPEA) (Crooks & Flockton, 1999) was examined with the respective items from the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Henderson & Sugden, 2000) and the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (Bruininks, 1978) on manual…

Most authorities consider balance to be a component of skill-related physical fitness. Balance, however, is directly related to health, especially for older adults. Falls are a leading cause of injury and death among the elderly. Improved balance can help reduce falls and contribute to older people remaining physically active. Balance is a…

The additive effects of self-regulation training in forethought, performance, and self-reflection phase processes on acquiring a novel motoric skill (i.e., basketball free throws) and self-reflective beliefs were studied with 50 college students. The results showed a positive linear trend between the number of self-regulatory phases, in which the…

This guide is organized around a suggested list of physical education skills that all students should know and be able to do at each grade level from kindergarten through grade 6. The guide will help provide parents, teachers, and students with knowledge of what is being taught in a logical scope and sequence by grade level. It is designed to help…

This booklet presents three model content standards for physical education in the state of Colorado, noting that there must be developmentally appropriate physical education programs for all students, from the physically gifted to the physically challenged. Physical education provides opportunities for students to participate in activities that…