Individual Pathways in the Development of Forceful Throwing

Abstract

Halverson, Roberton, and Langendorfer (1982) reported the development of children ages 6–13 years filmed longitudinally performing the forceful overarm throw. These authors described the children's progress through developmental sequences for trunk, humerus, and forearm actions; however, they did not study developmental relationships (“profiles”) across these components. This paper reports how the profiles changed in the same children across trials within filming sessions and over time. The data revealed both common and individual developmental pathways. The frequencies of some pathways were not chance occurrences (p ≤ .01), suggesting that within-person constraints eliminated certain movement relationships while encouraging others. The authors hypothesize that the kinematics of trunk rotation may serve as a control parameter for pattern change.

Key Words:

• developmental sequences
• dynamic systems
• longitudinal
• motor development