Course:KIN355/2020 Projects/Sliding
Defining the Concept and Its Importance
Sliding is a locomotor skill that is important for children to learn as they discover how to move their bodies from place to place. Childhood development of basic locomotor skills is influential on the child’s ability for physical activity and enables them to experience lasting physical benefits continuing into adulthood. The sliding (or side-sliding) movement has to be developed as any basic movement skill like a building block for proficiency and success in physical activities later on. As one of the basic locomotor movements, a child’s ability to slide is linked to a trajectory of better health outcomes starting in childhood, as motor competence is strongly linked to fitness via participation in physical activity and muscle function (Utesch et al., 2019). Sliding is performed as a sideways action, beginning with the leading leg stepping in a sideways direction to where the legs are a distance apart, and the trailing leg then moves in a leap-step to meet the leading leg in a smooth manner. The leading leg always takes the initial step each time, and the trailing leg always follows throughout the motor pattern. Learning how to side-slide at a young age better equips the child for play in future sports that use the sliding movement. As the child shifts their weight between the leading and trailing leg during the sideways step of the slide, they learn to gauge spatial awareness of their bodies using their legs as position markers, and they learn to balance on their leading foot for a short time. This gives the child an opportunity to become familiar with their own balance, as they need to steady themselves when their feet come together. Sliding also strengthens coordination and promotes hip-joint flexibility as the child practices their sideways stepping. In a 2016 study on preschool age children by Kim & Lee where the Pearson correlation coefficients between FMS (fundamental motor skills) and BMI (body mass index) were obtained, it was found that a statistically significant correlation (P < 0.05) was observed when sliding was the FMS component in testing. This correlation between sliding and BMI can be interpreted as evidence for a relationship between sliding as a basic locomotor skill and the BMI of the child performing the skill. A negative relationship implies that as ability to perform the skill increases, the BMI of the child decreases. If a child is less proficient in executing the motor skill of sliding, they may be at risk for not exploring further physical activities and developing muscles needed to participate in a healthy, active lifestyle (Wick et al., 2017).
Role in Childhood Development and Contemporary Considerations
Learning a basic motor skill like sliding lays the foundation for the child to be able to fine-tune simple movements into more advanced and precise movements that come with typical neuromuscular development. Youth with proficiency at simple motor activities such as sliding may find it easier to engage in physical activity when compared to their peers with poorer motor skill competence (Wick et al., 2017). Children with poor motor proficiency may subsequently choose a more sedentary lifestyle to avoid potential movement difficulties. Much of basic locomotor skills involve the child’s body moving forwards or backwards in space. The simple practice of sliding allows the child to move their body laterally in a sideways direction. The slide encourages the reaching of certain motor milestones. While lateral movements are less common in the basic locomotor skills, it is a helpful exercise for development, for their proprioception, and for an opportunity to use muscles in the hips, pelvic joints, thighs, and lower legs that may normally not be as engaged in other movement directions. As typical playgrounds do not have much equipment that caters to lateral movement, this particular motor skill is best learned in simple activities that the child can execute by themselves with basic instruction or in pairs. A child can slide along a pre-drawn line (perhaps with chalk) or do the same with a partner back-to-back, which will exercise their sideways movement and coordination. A study conducted measuring pedometer function in fifth- and sixth- grade children yielded data that showed a metabolic difference in sliding compared to other locomotor movements (Smith et al., 2019). Heart rates of the children that were measured during sliding with the pedometer were significantly greater than the heart rates measured during all other locomotor movements. This implies that the movement experience of sliding can have positive effects on cardiovascular function in children.
With contemporary considerations moving forward after the Covid-19 pandemic, it is important to ensure that children stay active when not in school or when public playscapes are not available. The slide is a movement that kids can experience and practice anytime or anywhere with no equipment, which makes it accessible. A potential limiter for a child being able to partake in this movement would be physical limitations like hip dysplasia or other disorders with the hips or joint laxity. The sliding action of the body in lateral motion may mitigate and lessen the chances of hip and leg muscle tightness, a negative effect which may have consequences for the child in school settings where they must sit at a desk for a prolonged period of time (Rethlefsen et al., 2020).
Sliding is an important basic locomotive motion to introduce early on, not only for its developmental benefits but for its essential and practical use in team sports, either competitive or leisure based. The sliding side to side movement is used when guarding an opponent in basketball, and to allow faster repositioning during a tennis match (Pavailler & Horvais, 2014). If the new guidelines surrounding team play as a result of the pandemic reduces the opportunity for organized sports where they would get more opportunities to experience the sliding motion, children may experience less lateral movement and less physical activity, which could lead to the aforementioned negative effects on children’s leg and hip movements.
Practical Applications
Side-sliding is a skill that encompasses many functional abilities; coordination, muscular strength, mobility, and endurance are all tested during this movement. Sliding is a crucial movement within many sports and is fundamental to the comprehensive movement abilities of children. A possible rate limiter to the side slide may be lack of lower body muscular strength. This movement requires strength in the glutei, quadriceps, hips and calves, and this strength must be translated to body position, coordination, and form. In a non-sport setting, the side slide can act as a reflexive movement to sustain or regain balance after an unexpected movement, and also helps mobility for all multi-directional movements so it is important to be familiar with this type of movement.
In sports such as basketball or soccer the side-slide is used by athletes primarily on the defensive end of the court and is crucial in their success of guarding their opponent. The ‘defensive slide’ is often transitional in nature where athletes will shift from sprinting, walking, or shuffling to fast side shuffling in order to stay in close contact to the offensive player. Side-sliding requires immense coordination to control various segments of the body while also focussing on speed and efficiency of movement. Although when done slowly and by itself the side-shuffle is fairly straight forward, in progressed states the skill is complicated by the need to incorporate sprinting, shuffling, the use of unique arm movements, and cross-over steps while still acting fast and proficiently. In order to effectively progress within this movement, technique and form must be correct. An absence of proper technique may result in hindrance or injury.
Drill 1: Z-Drill
A basketball specific grassroots drill that can help to improve the proficiency of the side-slide, is a drill called “Z-Drill”. The side-slide does require proper technique in order to be efficient in the movement but when used at a progressed level, this skill relies mostly on muscular endurance and practice for success. This goal of this drill is to help athletes practice moving quickly and proficiently in the side-slide; if practiced at a high-speed in an energetic way the athletes will be more able to translate that into game play. The Z-Drill can be altered and increased in complexity in order to suit older age groups, but this version is most appropriate for athletes in the 8-12 age group, with the more difficult progressions being more appropriate for older ages. All that is needed to instruct this drill is a sports court of any kind, a field, or any sort of open, flat area, and some cones or pylons. On a basketball court, the cones will be placed in the centre of each half court at the top of the circle and at each sideline at the half court line for a total of 4 cones total. If done on another type of field or court, the cones should be placed in a zig-zag pattern with 8 to 10 metres between each spot. The first few times that players complete this circuit should be slow (nearly walking speed) and with a focus on sliding technique. The main points for sliding technique are: stepping first with the leading leg and following with the back leg, knees and hips staying bent throughout the movement, and keeping their chest and eyes up.
The players will start at the left baseline corner (from an aerial view). They will initiate the drill by facing the baseline and start to slide towards the first cone leading with their right leg. Once they have reached the first cone (at the top of the circle), they will then slide towards the cone at the half court line, now leading with their left leg. This pattern will continue down that side of the court until they have reached the corner of the court parallel to where the drill started. Once they reach the baseline corner, they will jog across the baseline to the corner at the opposite end of the baseline. Once again, they start by facing the baseline and slide towards the cone at the top of the circle. Once they have completed the zigzag on the second side of the court, they will fill the line and start the progression over again. Each player should wait until the previous one has made it to the half court line on the same side before they start in order to give adequate space between players.
Once players have mastered the sliding movement and have their technique solidified, a progression should be made to increase the speed. When the speed increases, instructors must watch closely to ensure that the speed has not overcome proper technique. Further progressions could include:
a) Introducing an ‘offensive player’ that jogs along in front of the slider to simulate guarding an offensive player. The slider must keep the offensive player in front of them at all costs. Increase speed of offence with mastery. When an offensive player (and the ball in the next step) is introduced, athletes must also keep their arms up while the slide. By having their arms active out to the sides they will increase their success in guarding the offensive player.
b) Once technique is solidified as well as the idea behind having an offensive player to guard, instructors may want to introduce a ball. The offence would be responsible for protecting the ball while the defence slides along in front of them.
c) While at first the defence should not try to steal the ball, but instead work on keeping the ball in front of them, instructors may make the progression to competitive 1 on 1 play. During both these progressions athletes should still slide all the way to each cone and maintain proper technique.
Drill 2: Crab-Crab-Rattlesnake
This activity is an example of a game in a non-organized sport setting. The side-slide is a fairly easy movement to practice as you can easily substitute it into any game that requires running or jogging. This game is exactly like duck-duck-goose, except instead of running around the circle, the kids have to side-slide around. The purpose of this game is to introduce the side-slide movement and get children used to moving in different ways. By increasing their movement capabilities to sideways movements, they will improve many different physical development skills. This game also includes transitional movements from sitting to sliding, walking to sliding, and sliding to sitting. This game is best for younger kids from age 5-10 but can still be competitive and fun for older kids as well. The only equipment needed is flat ground (a field, court, or classroom).
The kids will all start by sitting in a circle. One player will be determined the ‘crab’ and will start by walking around the circle tapping each player, saying “crab...crab...crab…”, just like in duck-duck-goose. At the crab’s discretion, they will tap a player and say “rattlesnake”. Once this player is selected, those two individuals must side-slide race in the opposite direction back to the rattlesnake’s spot to sit down. Either the crab will reach it first and the rattlesnake will then be the new crab, or the rattlesnake will tag the crab and the crab will go again. Whereas in duck-duck-goose the race back to the spot is running, in crab-crab-rattlesnake, the race back is side-sliding.
Some potential progressions or modifications may include:
a) Having the players in the circle standing and doing stationary side steps. They would bring the left leg to their right, and then back to its original position. Then they would bring their right leg to their left, and back to its original position.
b) Having the players in the circle doing side-steps in one direction, while the crab side-steps in the opposite direction to do their tapping.
For older kids or once the drill becomes too repetitive, it may be helpful to increase the size of the circle or introduce other implements such as dribbling a basketball throughout the game.
Summary
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References
Kim, C. & Lee, K. (2016). The relationship between fundamental movement skills and body mass index in Korean preschool children. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 24, 928-935.
Pavailler, S. & Horvais, N. (2014). Sliding Allows Faster Repositioning during Tennis Specific Movements on Hard Court. Procedia Engineering, 72, 859-864.
Rethlefsen, S. A., Mueske N. M., Nazareth, A., et al. (2020). Hip Dysplasia Is Not More Common in W-Sitters. Clinical Pediatrics, 59, 1074–1079.
Smith, J. D., Schroeder, C., & Smith, R. M. (2019). Pedometer Accuracy and Metabolic Cost in Elementary School Children While Walking, Skipping, Galloping, and Sliding. The Physical Educator, 76, 1-23.
Utesch, T., Bardid, F., Büsch, D., et al. (2019). The Relationship Between Motor Competence and Physical Fitness from Early Childhood to Early Adulthood: A Meta‑Analysis. Sports Medicine, 49, 541–551.
Wick, K., Leeger-Aschmann, C. S., Monn, N.D., et al. (2017). Interventions to Promote Fundamental Movement Skills in Childcare and Kindergarten: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine, 47, 2045-2068.