What are pre-sports games for?

• Soccer
• Basketball
• Football
• Athletics
• Volleyball
• A wide variety more.

What are pre-sports games for?

Pre-sports games are used to:

• Introduce children to sports
• To function as a base prior to training in official sports
• Teach children the basic movements that will help their physical performance
• For infants to learn the basic rules of each sport

Pre-sport games have four main objectives:

• Mastery of motor skills
• Global execution of technical elements
• Initiation to technical-tactical learning of sport
• Knowledge of the rules of the sport

Mastery of motor skills

Motor skills include running, jumping, manipulating objects (grabbing, throwing, catching), kicking balls , etc. The technical elements of sport are highly dependent on motor skills.

For example, the mobility of a basketball player depends on the skillful handling that his hands give the ball throughout the court; the successful journey of a footballer through the field depends on the strength and speed of his legs , aided by the ability that he prints on the ball.

Global execution of technical elements

In basketball it implies, for example, that the child learns to bounce the ball and throw it towards the basket . It is not essential that the ball enters the basket; what has the attention is the adequate and optimal execution of the movements. It also includes passing the ball to other players, changing direction with it, etc.

It is the same for volleyball , in which it is taught to open the play with a good serve , to receive the ball from the opponent’s field, to take advantage of the opponent’s inconsistencies in favor of one’s own score.

Initiation to technical-tactical learning of sport

In this aspect of the pre-sport games, both the techniques and bases of the official sport as well as the team tactics are taught to develop a good level of competition .

Thus, it is understood that a sport is not only made of physical resistance, but also of skills and teamwork.

Knowledge of the rules of the sport

The rules and tactics of the sport are taught in a more serious and formal way, adding the demand and discipline to the children so that they are in an authentic sporting context.

Pre-sport game example

In learning basketball there is a pre-sport game that consists of the following:

• Two groups of children are formed. One of them forms a circle
• One or more partners stand in the center of the circle
• Players on the perimeter pass each other
• Meanwhile, the center (s) chases the ball, trying to catch it between passes (it is the classic game of “The cat and the mouse”).

The benefits of this pre-sport game are:

• Increased motor skill
• Improving the sense of speed
• The awakening of the ability of prediction and persecution
• Reaffirmation of the throwing of the ball
• The ability to catch the ball in the air is strengthened

Pre-sport game example

There is another pre-sport game related to basketball, which is carried out like this:

• A volunteer with a basket on his back
• A group of children carry balls
• Those who carry balls throw them towards the volunteer’s basket, with a desire to hit
• Meanwhile, the one with the basket starts running, dodging the balls

The benefits of this pre-sport game are:

• Development of coordination and aim in children
• Increased physical agility of the basket holder