Testing Seefeldt's Proficiency Barrier: A Longitudinal Study.

The idea that proficiency in the fundamental movement skills (FMS) is necessary for the development of more complex motor skills (i.e., the proficiency barrier) and to promote health-enhancing physical activity and health-related physical fitness levels is widespread in the literature of motor development. Nonetheless, to the best of our knowledge, there is no study assessing whether children presenting proficiency below a specified proficiency barrier would demonstrate difficulty in improving performance in more complex skills-even when subjected to a period of practice in these complex skills. The present study tested this. Eighty-five normal children (44 boys) aged 7 to 10 years participated in the study. The intervention took place during 10 consecutive classes, once a week, lasting 40 min each. Six FMS (running, hopping, leaping, kicking, catching and stationary dribbling) and one transitional motor skill (TMS) (speed dribbling skill) were assessed. The results showed that only those who showed sufficient proficiency in running and stationary dribbling before the intervention were able to show high performance values in the TMS after intervention. In addition, in line with recent propositions, the results show that the basis for development of the TMS was specific critical components of the FMS and that the barrier can be captured through a logistic function. These results corroborate the proficiency barrier hypothesis and highlight that mastering the critical components of the FMS is a necessary condition for motor development.

Development and Validation of a Checklist to Assess Proficient Performance of Basketball Straight Speed Dribbling Skill.

The aim of this study was to develop and validate a checklist to assess proficient performance of basketball straight speed dribbling skill. The sample was composed of 100 children and adolescents between 7 and 15 years of age with and without structured practice in basketball. The validation process tested the validity domain, decision, tendencies, reliability, responsiveness, and objectivity. The results show that the checklist contains criteria that represent the speed dribbling skill and is sensible to distinguish between different proficiency levels of performance. The results also expressed high reliability and objectivity (intra and inter-rater). In light of the findings, we concluded that the checklist can be used to reliably analyze performance and evaluate the process of learning and development of the straight speed dribbling skill.