PDFE #1

Susan Rumble

KIN 330 Motor Learning Behavior

August 30, 2010

Assignment #1:  “Observing Movement”

            The setting in which I chose to observe movement for one hour was at the men’s and women’s running team practice held on August 24, 2010 at 4pm.  This was the first practice of the season for both teams.  The teams practice together (they are one of the only sports to do so), and consist of roughly 20 males and 20 females between the ages of 18-22.  Practice began at Berry’s dirt track on mountain campus known as “Cinders.”  The runners then took the “Duggars” loop through mountain campus.  I chose to observe this practice session because I am the student Athletic Trainer for the run teams and go to their practices every Tuesday and Thursday, so it was convenient and practical for me to observe and record their practice.    

            For the most part, the activities that the runners partake in are safe for people who are fit and have a high caliber of stamina and athleticism.  Without extensive backgrounds in endurance running and a lack of stamina, these runners would not be able to perform as they are able to.  One major factor that comes into play on a regular basis during practices is the heat index, which can lead to heat stroke, exhaustion and other ailments.  By being in physically excellent shape and hydrated, these runners are able to participate safely in practices.  Today, all of the runners were in good enough shape to finish their set course in appropriate time and were not fatigued.    

            While practice is being conducted, students are actively engaged in activity, they are always moving.  During this practice, they had a brief warm up jog, then went on a 5 mile fartlek run, and finally finished practice with a cool down and some core strengthening work.  All of the students were actively engaged in the activity.  During the run, they do not concentrate much on form and/or enhancing movement skills, but during the core work session led by Coach Paul Deaton, they were all taught movements to help them strengthen their muscles. 

            Today’s workout was developmentally appropriate for most of the athletes present.  The coach specifically did an easy 4 mile run so that he could gauge how conditioned his seasoned athletes were, and evaluate the freshmen runners.  A four mile run is a short run for an endurance runner, so they were all able to finish the workout.  All students seemed to enjoy the activity, the run team is very close-knit and have a good sense of humor to help them get through long, strenuous runs.    

            The only modification I would make if I were leading this activity would be concentrating on movement and form during the run to make the athletes more efficient and better runners.  Precise form is very important to runners to prevent injuries.  One observation I made was that the coach did modify workouts for those who were injured.  I think this is a good idea to prevent further damage.