Influência da prática esportiva no desenvolvimento motor de escolares da cidade de Fortaleza

Abstract

Motor development can be characterized as the daily challenges and changes that are part of human beings lives and, in this way, they are constantly involved in processes of motor learning and development. The present study aimed to analyze the influence of the practice of sports activities and developmental processes on the motor coordination and physical fitness of children. The study involved 80 children of 7, 8, 9 and 10 years old, 40 of them participating in sports activities and 40 participating in physical education curricular classes. All children assessed on tests of manual dexterity, throw and receive, static and dynamic balance, flexibility, upper and lower limb strength, localized muscular endurance, and cardiorespiratory endurance. Analyzes of variance were made to compare the performance of the children among the age groups and between the groups of practicing and non-practicing children. The results showed that the practicing children showed better performance in the tests of static and dynamic balance, localized muscular resistance, and lower limb power than non-practicing children. In addition, it was observed that older children showed better performance in manual dexterity tests, general motor coordination, upper limb strength test and cardiorespiratory endurance test than younger children. The results found in the present study corroborate the idea that physical and motor skills develop with increasing age, and it leads to understand that developmental processes have a greater contribution in the development of motor coordination and physical fitness than the practice of sports, although some data from the present study suggest that the influence of practice of sports on physical fitness and motor coordination of children is positive.