Motor competence (MC) is defined as a global term that describes a person’s ability to be proficient in a wide range of motor acts. Based on this principle, we have created a training program that aims to determine the effect of 12 weeks of enriched athletics sports training with complementary motor activities on MC in children aged between 6 and 10 years old. The subjects will be divided into two groups: (i) the athletics training group (IG_A) that will participate in athletics training three times a week for 12 weeks, with 60 min sessions; and (ii) the athletics training + other activities group (IG_B) that will participate in athletics training twice a week and will have another activity training (gymnastics, handball, swimming, and motor games) for 12 weeks, with 60 min sessions. The two groups will be assessed at baseline and 12 weeks later. The KTK3+ will be used to assess MC. A between–within ANOVA-RM (2 [groups] × 2 [time points]) will be conducted. The results and conclusions of the implementation program will be presented in another study.

This study aimed to evaluate the reliability of a manipulative eye–segmental (hand and foot) coordination task, namely the Wall Drop Punt Kick and Catch test (WDPK&C), over two weeks. Forty-one children and adolescents (18 boys, 23 girls) with a mean age of 10.2 (SD = 1.62) years old were recruited for assessment. Subjects had 30 s to perform as many ball impacts as possible on a wall two meters away, following a drop punt kick, rebound on the wall, and catch sequence. The Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC = 0.896) for unique measures, Cronbach Alpha (α = 0.945), and Lin’s Concordance Correlation Coefficient (CCC = 0.896) provide evidence of reliability considering two consecutive measurements. These results further support the reliability of the WDPK&C test in a sample of Portuguese children and adolescents. Thus, the WDPK&C test can be applied to Portuguese boy and girl children and adolescents. Forthcoming studies should test the reliability of this test across different age groups since it is intended to be a test with a wide lifespan coverage.

The present study aimed to verify whether, in children of 10 years of age practicing athletics, a greater number of years of practice of this modality would correspond to higher values of motor competence (MC), as determined by the Motor Quotient (MQ) in the Körperkoordinationstest Für Kinder (KTK). The cross-sectional and descriptive study was conducted in an athletics club in Portugal. Thirty-two children were evaluated, 15 female (10.4±0.25 years of age, 2.5±0.92 years of practice) and 17 male (10.4±0.22 years of age, 2.2±1.1 years of practice). Although no significant differences were found between children with one or two years of athletics practice and children with three or four, a moderate positive correlation was found between the time of practice (TP) and MC in girls (ρ=0.543, p=0.036). Mean MC results were considerably higher (both sexes) than the generality of studies often reveal. Finally, there were no significant differences on MC of boys and girls. The present results allow us to speculate that athletics may have helped to fill some gaps in motor coordination so often observed in girls, and the time of practice may have been especially beneficial for this group. It is suggested a longitudinal study to, more than confirm the detected association, verify what happens with boys’ and girls’ MC throughout the years of athletics practice. Keywords: athletics; children; practice time; motor competence; KTK test.

El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo comparar la Competencia Motriz (CM) de niños de 10 años que practican atletismo con la de niños que practican otros deportes, determinada por el test KTK. El KTK es una prueba de coordinación motora gruesa centrada en los componentes locomotoras y postural. Se evaluaron 64 niños, 30 de sexo femenino (15 atletas: 10,4±0,23 años, 2,5±1,13 años de práctica; 15 Otros Deportes: 10,4±0,32 años, 2,8±0,92 años de práctica) y 34 varones (17 Atletismo: 10,3±0,22 años, 2,1±0,88 años de práctica; 17 Otros Deportes: 10,4±0,29 años, 3,7±0,59 años de práctica). Tras comprobar la normalidad de los datos, se utilizó el ANOVA de una vía para examinar las diferencias entre los grupos. Los resultados revelaron que los chicos que practicaban atletismo [MQ= 113,5±13,8; puntuaciones brutas (RS) = 255,1±24,1] presentaban mejores resultados para MC (p<0,001) que los que practicaban otros deportes [MQ= 94,3±17,0; RS = 199,7±23,5]. Lo mismo ocurrió con las chicas, ya que las que practican Atletismo (MQ =114,7±10,24; RS = 262,4±22,8) presentan mejores resultados de MC (p<0,001) que las que practican otros deportes (MQMC = 89,1±10,89; RS = 203,8±36,2). En el primer caso, los resultados son aún más relevantes porque hubo diferencias significativas (p<0,001) en los años de práctica favoreciendo a los chicos que practican otros deportes [3,7±0,59 vs 2,1±0,88]. Se especula que el atletismo favorece el desarrollo de MC, posiblemente debido al tipo de entrenamiento que se realiza. Palabras clave: Atletismo; Niños; Competencia motriz; Test KTK; competencia motriz The present study aimed to compare the Motor Competence (MC) of 10 years-old children practicing athletics with that of children who practice other sports, as determined by the KTK test. KTK is a gross motor coordination test centered on locomotor and postural components. Sixty-four children were evaluated, 30 female (15 Athletics: 10.4±0.23 years old, 2.5±1.13 years of practice; 15 Other Sports: 10.4±0.32 years old, 2.8±0.92 years of practice) and 34 male (17 Athletics: 10.3±0.22 years old, 2.1±0.88 years of practice; 17 Other Sports: 10.4±0.29 years old, 3.7±0.59 years of practice). After checking for normality of the data, One-way ANOVA was used to examine differences between groups. The results revealed that boys who practiced athletics [MQ= 113.5±13.8; raw scores (RS) = 255.1±24.1] presented better results for MC (p<0.001) than those who practiced other sports [MQ= 94.3±17.0; RS = 199.7±23.5]. The same happened with girls, since girls who practice Athletics (MQ =114.7±10.24; RS = 262.4±22.8) present better results of MC (p<0.001) than the ones that practice other sports (MQMC = 89.1±10.89; RS = 203,8±36.2). In the former case, the results are even more relevant because there were significant differences (p<0.001) in the years of practice favoring boys that practice other sports [3.7±0.59 vs 2.1±0.88]. It is speculated that athletics favors the development of MC, possibly due to the type of training that is performed. Keywords: Athletics; Children; Motor Competence; KTK Test; Gross Motor Coordination

Background: Motor competence (MC) is defined as the ability to perform a wide range of motor skills with proficiency and control. The present quasi-experimental study design examines the impact of two structured intervention programs on MC in children who practiced athletics at the same club, aged 6 to 10 years, implemented over 12 weeks. Methods: The sample consisted of 64 children, assigned to two intervention groups: Intervention Group A (IG_A) composed of 15 male and 17 female children (9.57 ± 0.86 years) and Intervention Group B (IG_B), of 14 male and 18 female children (9.08 ± 1.33 years). IG_A received athletics-based training exclusively, three times per week, while IG_B undertook two weekly athletics sessions and one complementary activity session, such as handball, gymnastics, swimming, and motor games. MC was assessed using the modified Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK3+). The KTK3+ consists of three original KTK tasks, [Backward Balance (BB), Sideways Moving (MS), and Jumping Sideways (JS)] and an additional Eye–Hand Coordination (EHC) task. For statistical analysis, ANOVA repeated measures 2 × 2 was used. Results: In relation to JS, the performance on this test did not change with the intervention programs in either of the two groups. For BB and MS, both groups improved their performances in a similar way through the program implementation. Differently, for EHC, results showed that only IG_B improved its performance significantly (p < 0.001) with the program’s intervention, with a large Cohen’s d effect size (0.84). Finally, as a general analysis, the KTK3+ raw results (RS) and results translated to Global Motor Quotient (GQM), revealed significant differences between IG_A and IG_B post-intervention, with p < 0.001 for both variables’ comparison and with large Cohen’s d effect sizes for both (1.581 for RS and 1.595 for GQM), favoring IG_B. Conclusions: Both programs led to improvements in the various KTK3+ battery tasks. However, only the program that combined athletics training with multiactivity training led to significant improvements in the EHC test and in the overall KTK3+ results of the children involved.