1A) Early childhood - 5 years old
This is Alexis, a 5-year old female. Her previous experience with dribbling is limited to playing with other children in kindergarten class.
In both videos, Alexis is able to dribble through the course with basic control of the ball when using two hands. Alexis holds her head down and relies on visual cues in order to keep track of the ball relative to her body. Sometimes the ball bounces out of reach causing Alexis to alter her speed in order to regain control. Significant trunk flexion is visible, along with slight difficulty maintaining a consistent bounce-height while dribbling. A sharp slap can also be heard as her hand makes contact with the ball.
Dribbling requires development of walking; a skill that is present with advanced components as early as 4 years old (ch. 7, pg. 129). Alexis exhibits this through her use of a small base of support (BOS), increased stride length and opposition of both her arms and legs while dribbling. This differs from 70-year-old Jack, who tends to have a larger BOS, smaller stride length and minimal arm swing to increase stability while dribbling (ch. 7, pg. 131).
Alexis requires constant visual feedback while dribbling. This suggests that she perceptually relies on her visual system during a complex task. This aligns with the age at which a shift in reliance to kinesthetic perception required for advanced dribbling begins to develop (i.e. between 5-6 years old; ch. 10, pg. 218). Kinesthetic spatial orientation (perception of the body’s location and orientation in space) starts to improve between 6-8 years old (ch. 10, pg. 223). At 5 years old, Alexis still has some time before her perceptual abilities will advance to kinesthetic status.
It’s important to note that although Alexis is able to dribble, she struggles to use only one hand. This could be because her coordination and concept of laterality isn't sufficiently developed. It’s clear Alexis understands how her body has two distinct sides that can work independently, because she is able to bounce the ball with either hand at one time. This concept of laterality is usually intact between 4-5 years old (ch. 10, pg. 221). However, Alexis has difficulty executing tasks when a limb must cross the midline of the body. This is a typical challenge for children 4-5 years old, but can also persist in children up to 10 years old (ch. 10, pg. 222). In comparison, 7-year-old Peyton is able to dribble the ball with one hand because her perception of laterality - particularly in terms of crossing midline - is intact.
Haywood, K.M., & Getchell, N. (2014). Life Span Motor Development (6th Ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics
