Diagnosis and trend in the acquisition of gymnastic and acrobatic skills in high school

Abstract

The teaching of sports skills present in most physical education programs in Secondary Education, including gymnastic and acrobatic skills, provides multiple benefits to students in training such as the development of postural control, the improvement of stability skills, general coordination, fundamental movement skills, as well as locomotor and object control skills, among others. In this line, the aim of this study was to analyze, the level achieved by Spanish first-year university students of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences in executing two basic acrobatic skills after their previous stages of training. Therefore, in this research a cross-sectional descriptive and retrospective study was developed, where through an initial evaluation of 675 first-course university students distributed over eight academic years (from the academic year 2010-2011 to the academic year 2017-2018 included), the trend of the level of execution of two basic acrobatic skills acquired was determined. The results demonstrated an insufficient level of technical achievement and physical deficiencies. The stability and body orientation of students performing basic skill were lacking, and the most deficient muscle actions were those associated with the folding and deployment of the legs, and the absence of arm–trunk–leg alignment was also observed. This study determined that in the stages of previous training, the contents associated with basic gymnastic and acrobatic skills could be underdeveloped in the curricula of physical education. These findings reflect the need to reinforce both the specific initial training and in-service training of physical education teachers to guarantee effective acquisition of motor learning and, specifically, of basic gymnastic skills.