The Potential Role of Functional Motor Competence to Promote Physical Military Readiness: A Developmental Perspective

Abstract

Decreased physical fitness in military recruiting populations is problematic for the development of physical military readiness (PMR) and presents a threat to national security. The demonstration of low levels of fitness may be an indicator of a more foundational problem in the physical development of military recruits. We propose the development of functional motor competence (FMC) across childhood and adolescence as a necessary antecedent to advanced PMR training and military-specific tasks (i.e., rucking and obstacle course navigation) and as an integral part of sustained PMR. The development of FMC supports increases in cardiovascular and muscular endurance through repeated efforts performed during practice and in sport, as well as muscular power as many FMC movements mimic plyometrics in a strength in conditioning sense. We posit that an inadequate foundation in FMC will serve as a barrier to achieving sufficient PMR and combat success of the fighting force. We propose three possible solutions to ensure sufficient PMR levels through the implementation of developmentally appropriate FMC-based training. First would be promoting FMC-based training in junior reserve officer training corp and ROTC programs. Second would be a more global approach, on the scale of the National Defense Education Act, specifically focusing on promoting quality daily physical education that could reach millions of children. Third, individual branches could begin promoting the tenets of foundational FMC training concepts in their physical training manuals, which ideally would address FMC before and throughout basic training, as well as subsequent active duty training.

A Multidimensional Approach to Talent Identification in Youth Volleyball through Declarative Tactical Knowledge and Functional Fitness

“…At the same time, a key role in expert performance is noted by eye-hand coordination, multijoint coordination, perceptuomotor coordination, and speed of movement [3,[10][11][12][13][14]. These capabilities are inherently demonstrated in the assessment of Functional Motor Competence (FMC) skills and are key elements of the perceptuomotor integration process needed to perform goal-direct movements [15][16][17]. Previous studies suggested addressing how several performance-related factors (e.g., MSF and FMC), together as a multicomponent concept (i.e., Functional Fitness), impact on talent identification in sport [18,19].…”