The Effect of the Basketball Program on the Transformation of Motor Skills of Ten-Years Old School Children

Abstract

The goal of the research is to determine the effects of the basketball program on the transformation of the motor skills of children in the younger grades of elementary school. The research was conducted in the period from the beginning of September to the end of December 2022 in Kraljevo (Republic of Serbia). The research sample included 40 participants. A battery of seven tests was used to assess motor skills: obstacle course backward, standing long jump, 20-meter running with a flying start, hand plate tapping, wide-angled seated forward bend, lifting the trunk for 60 s and bent-arm hang. At the beginning of the research, an primarily measurement was performed (“initial” measurements). After a period of 16 weeks, the children’s motor abilities were re-measured (“final” measurements). Statistical data processing included the calculation of descriptive statistics of variables, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test and the t-test of dependent samples. The programmed transformation training plan included basketball training. Based on the obtained results, it is possible to conclude that the four-month basketball program, which consisted of two sessions per week lasting 45 minutes, along with regular physical education classes of three hours per week, influenced the improvement of results in tests used to assess motor skills.