Developing motor competency in youths: Perceptions and practices of Strength and Conditioning coaches

Abstract

Motor competency is integral to the long-term athletic development of youths. Strength and conditioning (S&C) coaches are recommended to deliver motor competency interventions, yet there are no studies investigating their perceptions and practices for developing motor competency in youths. Seventy-one S&C coaches (n=67 male; n=4 female) completed an initial and follow up questionnaire using a 5-point Likert scale, rating 1] the importance of developing competence, and 2] how frequently they developed competence across 90 motor competencies. Over 55% of S&C coaches reported a broad range of “important” (69/90) and ”frequently developed” (48/90) motor competencies. The most important motor competency was “deceleration” (4.9±0.3), whilst “hip hinge (bilateral)” was the most practised (4.4±0.5). Upper body pushing and pulling competencies were targeted more than S&C coaches perceived their importance, whilst agility (e.g., turning) competencies were targeted less than their importance. Linear mixed model analysis showed S&C coaches who delivered 3-4 sessions per week targeted 15-18% more motor competencies compared to ≤ 2 sessions per week. Overall, these findings have strong implications for developing motor competency within youths including the reflection of importance vs. practised competencies, coach education programmes, and consideration for how S&C coaches should seek to optimise motor competency development within youths.