Movement Coordination in Ball Catching

Abstract

This investigation examined the catching coordination of 12 boys (M age = 9.9 years, SD = .8) with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD; M age = 10.5 years, SD = .8), under different task constraints. Participants attempted a total of 60 catches in central and lateral locations, under blocked and randomized conditions. No effect of randomization was found for the number of balls caught, but a significant Group x Location interaction effect (p < .0001) showed that typically developing boys had nearly perfect scores. Boys with DCD caught more balls in central (73%) than lateral trials (47%). During the latter, grasping and positional errors were also evident. Due to pronounced functional difficulties in the lateral trials, and coinciding differences in the arm and leg actions, it was concluded that intersegmental coordination constituted the organizational limits for boys with DCD.

Key words:

• constraints
• qualitative analysis

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Eryk P. Przysucha

Please address correspondence concerning this article to Eryk Przysucha, Lakehead University, School of Kinesiology, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada P7B 5E1.