Currently, physical inactivity and sedentariness in children are becoming increasingly common, resulting in children’s poor ability to perform basic motor patterns. It is important to find strategies that instructors can adopt to improve awareness of the importance of physical activity for health and wellness, as well as motor efficiency. Two teaching methods can be used: prescriptive teaching and heuristic learning. The aim of this study was to compare these two methods to determine which is the most suitable for developing motor efficiency. An additional aim was to verify the children’s level of enjoyment and self-efficacy through questions on perceptions and, subsequently, on awareness of the activity performed distinctly from perception. The sample consisted of 28 children randomly divided into two groups: HEUR-L, performing activities using heuristic learning, a basic method in ecological approach; and PRES-T, using prescriptive teaching, a basic cognitive method. A motor-efficiency test (TEM) and a survey were administered. A two-way ANOVA with repeated measures was used to test differences in motor efficiency. A Chi-square (χ²) test was used to compare differences between groups in terms of perceptions in enjoyment and self-efficacy and, on a second test, awareness of the activity performed. The results were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Both teaching methods improved motor efficiency, although HEUR-L did so to a greater extent. Differences in perception were found in terms of enjoyment and self-efficacy (p < 0.05), whereas there was no difference in terms of awareness (p > 0.05). Although both methodologies led to improvements in motor-pattern development, heuristic learning was found to be the most effective method to improve motor efficiency, relationships and self-efficacy.

The Squat Jump (SJ) test is widely recognized as a reliable test for assessing lower-limb explosive strength. However, uncertainty persists in the literature regarding the optimal starting positions for maximizing vertical jump performance. This uncertainty is exacerbated by a disproportionate focus on athletes in existing studies, with insufficient consideration being given to non-athletic women. To address this gap, this study investigated the influence of leg starting angle on explosive jump height in a homogeneous sample of non-athletic women. Thirty-two female students enrolled in a Sports Science master’s degree program at the University of Salerno participated in the study. Descriptive statistics were employed to summarize data on various variables, and Pearson’s correlations were calculated to assess the relationship between knee angle in the starting position and achieved jump height. The study revealed that different starting positions had a noteworthy impact on jump height among the participants. A strong negative correlation (−0.701) was identified between Squat Jump elevation and the knee angle in the starting position. Notably, 62.5% of the subjects opted for a starting knee position of approximately 70 degrees, with all of them consistently achieving a jump height associated with this specific angle. These findings provide valuable insights into the relationship between leg starting angle and explosive jump height in non-athletic women. The observed correlation underscores the significance of the starting position in Squat Jump performance. The prevalence of a specific knee angle choice among participants suggests potential implications for training and performance optimization in this sample.

Countermovement jumping (CMJ) and free-arm countermovement jumping (CMJFA) express the explosive-elastic force of the lower limbs. Strategies to enhance performance in both types of jumping can be categorized into cognitive and ecological-dynamic approaches. However, the effectiveness of these approaches in improving CMJ and CMJFA remains incompletely understood. This study aims to investigate the impact of training protocols based on the two approaches to improving CMJ. Thirty-six subjects with an average age of 26 years were selected and divided into two groups: the ecological-dynamic group (EDG) and the cognitive group (CG). For 12 weeks, both groups followed separate protocols of three weekly one-hour sessions. EDG group followed a protocol focused on circle time. The CG group followed an instructor-led training protocol. Incoming and outgoing flight heights were measured. Pre and post-intervention differences within and between groups were assessed using t-tests for dependent and independent samples, respectively (p ≤ 0.05). CG demonstrated a 12.2% increase in CMJ and a 7.8% improvement in CMJFA, while EDG showed a 10.2% increase in CMJ and 19.5% progress in CMJFA. No statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) were observed between the groups in the improvement of CMJ; statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were found in the improvement of CMJFA in favor of EDG.

Background and study aim. The ecological-dynamic approach promotes motor learning through task variability, modification of environmental constraints and appropriate use of feedback, original and creative motor solutions. This study wants to open a critical perspective on the didactics of physical activity selecting a methodological perspective adherent to ecological-dynamic approach. The aim is to highlight the significant aspects and the uniqueness and unrepeatability of heuristic learning, starting from theoretical lines. Material and Methods. For this purpose, an accurate survey of the scientific literature has been analyzed, highlighting the points of contact and contrast of cognitive and ecological-dynamic approach. Results. In the context of physical education, the most used pedagogical approach is the linear one. Teaching is influenced by spatial and temporal constraints, spaces and equipment, with reproduction styles and with predefined tasks and motor responses. This modality promotes awareness of motor skills and not transferability to other subject areas, as indicated by ministerial documents. Non-linear pedagogy, while promoting motor learning as a consequence of the interaction between the subject and the context, shows some limits. The first concerns the learning of transversal skills and, the second concerns the use of prescriptive teaching, absent in the ecological-dynamic approach, through heuristic learning. It is necessary to overcome the areas of prescriptiveness that still resist in the paradigm most recognized by the scientific community, the Constraints Led Approach, closely related to nonlinear pedagogy. They do not favor completely a heuristic learning as the anthropometric constraints suffer from the limitation of biomechanics. Also, goal constraints are prescriptively determined by the physical education teacher, which is not compatible with heuristic learning. Conclusions. This analysis highlights the need, usefulness and usability of heuristic learning in different professional fields. The study aims to offer a new perspective on physical education objectives in the National Indications, projecting them towards a social and transversal purpose. Передумови та мета дослідження. Еколого-динамічний підхід сприяє руховому навчанню через варіативність завдань, модифікацію обмежень навколишнього середовища та відповідне використання зворотного зв’язку, оригінальних і креативних рухових рішень. Це дослідження має на меті розкрити критичний погляд на дидактику фізичної активності, вибираючи методологічний ракурс, що відповідає еколого-динамічному підходу. Мета – висвітлити значущі аспекти та унікальність і неповторність евристичного навчання, починаючи з теоретичних напрямків.Матеріал і методи. Для цього було проаналізовано точний огляд наукової літератури, виокремлено точки дотику та контрасту когнітивного та еколого-динамічного підходу.Результати. У контексті фізичного виховання найбільш вживаним педагогічним підходом є лінійний. На навчання впливають просторові та тимчасові обмеження, простір та обладнання, зі стилями відтворення та з заздалегідь визначеними завданнями та руховими реакціями. Ця модальність сприяє усвідомленню рухових навичок, а не передачі в інші предметні галузі, як зазначено у міністерських документах. Нелінійна педагогіка, пропагуючи рухове навчання як наслідок взаємодії між суб’єктом і контекстом, демонструє деякі обмеження. Перший стосується навчання трансверсальних навичок, а другий стосується використання директивного навчання, відсутнього в еколого-динамічному підході, за допомогою евристичного навчання. Необхідно подолати області прескриптивності, які досі протистоять парадигмі, найбільш визнаній науковим співтовариством, підходу під впливом обмежень, тісно пов’язаному з нелінійною педагогікою. Вони не віддають перевагу повністю евристичного навчання, оскільки антропометричні обмеження страждають від обмежень біомеханіки. Крім того, цілі визначаються вчителем фізичної культури наказово, що несумісно з евристичним навчанням.Висновки. Цей аналіз підкреслює необхідність, корисність та зручність евристичного навчання в різних професійних сферах. Дослідження має на меті запропонувати новий погляд на цілі фізичного...

Objective. One of the most widely used training methodologies in football is high intensity interval training (HIIT), which aims to improve performance through training sessions characterised by exercises that involve alternating percentage load intensity. In the literature, although there are studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of HIIT in improving quantitative aspects, i.e. different expressions of strength, there are not as many studies that attest to the same effectiveness in improving qualitative components, i.e. elements related to the precision of specific football gestures. The study purpose was to verify whether the application of a specific HIIT protocol for football over a given period of time can be equally effective in simultaneously improving the quantitative and precision components. Materials and methods. The sample analysed consisted of 16 movement players from the ASD Nuova Antoniana sports club, aged between 14 and 15 years. The sample was subjected to a mesocycle of training lasting 8 weeks characterised by the HIIT methodology. Before and after this period, data were collected by means of a battery of tests aimed at assessing rapid, explosive, fast and resistant strength, and passing and shooting skills: the parameters relating to expressions of strength were assessed by means of quantitative tests specific to each parameter; passing and shooting skills were assessed by means of accuracy score tests (from 0 to 4 according to accuracy). Results. The results showed an improvement in all tested parameters (p ≤ 0.05). Therefore, the effectiveness of the protocol in improving football performance in terms of quantity and accuracy is confirmed. Conclusions. This study has increased knowledge of the effects of the HIIT protocol on the performance of young football players.

Research purpose. The purpose of this study is to verify if there are significant differences between different anthropometric and jumping ability variables by testing two groups of elite and amateur volleyball players (under 16) after having submitted the two groups to the same training protocol performed 4 times a week for 4 months. Materials and methods. The study was carried out on 24 volleyball players divided into two groups. The following anthropometric and jumping ability parameters were assessed in all subjects: height, weight, body mass index, height with a stretched arm and height with two extended arms. The jumping ability measurement was carried out with the Vertec jump test. Results. The results of the anthropometric parameters showed significant differences between the two groups on all the variables considered: in height (p = 0.00), in weight (p = 0.00), in Vertec attack with a stretched arm, AH1 (p = 0.00) and in Vertec wall with two outstretched arms, AH2 (p = 0.01). The results of the jumping ability parameters showed significant differences between the two groups (elite and amateur): in Vertec Wall, VW (p = 0.00) and Vertec Attack with run-up, VA (p = 0.00); and a high correlation was shown for both the groups. Conclusions. Above all, in high-level youth volleyball, the anthropometric and jumping ability profile is directly linked to the evaluation; training and continuous monitoring of physical qualities and jumping ability become an important aspect for the control of performance and the possibility of selecting talented players.