Synergistic development of muscular strength and motor skill competency is central to long-term athletic development. However, these qualities need to be developed in a logical and progressive manner, and training methods need to be developmentally appropriate, engaging, and enjoyable for young athletes to help them build a positive association with strength and conditioning-based activities. This article aims to provide a resource for coaches to use when developing the athletic motor skill competencies in youth, including game-based activities, and a more structured resistance training curriculum.

Leading global physical activity guidelines advocate that young children need to engage in activities that strengthen musculoskeletal tissues and improve movement skill competency. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of delivering strength and conditioning as part of the physical education curriculum on athletic motor skill competencies (AMSC), physical performance, and psychosocial factors. Forty-six school children aged 11–14 were included in the study, and sub-divided firstly by sex and then into intervention and control groups. Intervention groups received nine lessons of strength and conditioning based activities over a six-week period, while the control groups continued with traditional physical education curricula. The resistance training skills battery (RTSB) and tuck jump assessment (TJA) assessed AMSC. Standing long jump distance assessed lower limb strength, and online surveys examined motivation, physical self-efficacy and self-esteem. Male and female intervention groups significantly improved RTSB (p > 0.05) whereas no changes were observed in the control groups. No changes were observed in the intervention groups TJA and only trivial and small non-significant changes in standing long jump performance. Significant increases in motivation of the male intervention group occurred. Strength and conditioning integrated in physical education can improve AMSC in short-term interventions.

Leading health organizations and long-term athletic development models have identified the need to develop movement competencies in children and adolescents. The athletic motor skill competencies (AMSCs) have been identified as key skills that form the foundations of all athletic movements. The AMSCs form an integral part of the long-term athletic development of youth, and improving these qualities should be central to coaches working with young individuals. Multiple movement competency screens assess some aspects of the AMSC spectrum, but there is no consensus regarding which screens may be most appropriate for a given cohort or coaching environment. This review provides an evaluation of the movement screens available to assess various AMSCs and in turn considers their reliability, feasibility, strengths, and weaknesses when used with youth populations.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between athletic motor skill competencies (AMSC), maturation, sex, body mass index, physical performance, and psychological constructs (motivation to exercise, physical self-efficacy, and global self-esteem). Two-hundred and twenty-four children aged 11–13 years old were included in the study and sub-divided by sex. The athlete introductory movement screen (AIMS) and tuck jump assessment (TJA) were used to assess AMSC, while standing long jump distance assessed physical performance. Online surveys examined participants’ motivation to exercise, physical self-efficacy, and self-esteem. Trivial to moderate strength relationships were evident between AMSC and BMI (boys: rs = −0.183; girls: rs = −0.176), physical performance (boys: rs = 0.425; girls: rs = 0.397), and psychological constructs (boys: rs = 0.130–0.336; girls rs = 0.030–0.260), with the strength of relationships different between the sexes. Higher levels of AMSC were related to significantly higher levels of physical performance (d = 0.25), motivation to exercise (d = 0.17), and physical self-efficacy (d = 0.15–0.19) in both boys and girls. Enhancing AMSC may have mediating effects on levels of physical performance and psychological constructs in school-aged children, which may hold important implications for physical activity levels and the development of physical literacy.