Movement Classification

Once again, I have observed the Berry College women's volleyball team! I observed the team's practice between 4 and 5pm in Berry's athletic building known as the Cage on September 9, 2010. 

Movements are classified into two systems, one dimension and two dimension. These systems can then be broken down into subcategories. One dimension systems, which we'll look at first, are split into the following subcategories; fundamental Movement, Muscle groups, Type of task, Cognitive-motor elements, and environmental predictability. The two dimension system only has two subcategories, action and environment.

As with my last post, here are some terms to aid in understanding!

One Dimension Systems 

1.Fundamental movement

   a. Fundamental movement includes three more subcategories within itself to better break down movement  classification.These subcategories include locomotor(primary purpose of travel), manipulative(Primary purpose involves the manipulation of an object), and Stability(primary purpose is body control and stability).

   b. Locomotor

      i. Shuffle

      ii. Short sprint

   c. Manipulative

      i. Serve

      ii. Bump

      iii. Set

      vi. Spike

   d. Stability

      i. Block

2. Muscle Groups

   a. Muscle groups are broken down into two more subcategories based on the muscles involved. Gross motor skills and fine motor skill. Gross motor skills include large muscle groups while fine motor skills involve small muscle groups.

   b. Gross Motor Skills

      i. Bump

      ii. Set

      iii. Spike

      iv. Block

   c. Fine Motor Skills

       i. There are not many movements in volleyball that use small muscle groups but volleyball does require quite a bit of hand-eye coordination, which is a fine motor skill. 

   

3. Type of Task

   a. The type of task can be broken down into three subcategories much like fundamental movement. Discrete motor skills, serial motor skills, and continuous motor skills are the three subcategories. Discrete motor skills include those that have brief actions and a definite beginning and end; an example would be a golf swing. Serial motor skills include those that combine several discrete motor skills together such as hammering or shifting gears. Continuous motor skills are those in which there is no definite beginning and end.

   b.Discrete Motor Skills

      i. Bump

      ii. Set

      iii. Spike

      iv. Block

   c. Serial Motor Skills

      i. None

   d. Continuous Motor Skills

      i. This may happen on occasions such as a volley between the two teams that last for an extended amount of time.

4. Cognitive-Motor Elements

   a. Cognitive motor elements are classified on a scale ranging from cognitive to motor like so:                      cognitive                                                 motor.

Cognitive elements are elements that require strategic thinking much like a game of chess or poker, while motor elements require movement such as sprinting, jumping, or squatting.

   b. Many of the moves in volleyball fall somewhere in the middle since they require movement and a strategizing thought process of where to place the ball.

5. Environmental Predictability

   a. The predictability of the environment is classified on a scale very similar to the cognitive-motor elements scale with predictable on one end and unpredictable on the other.

                      predictable                                unpredictable

Predictable environments are those in which the action performed is easily predicted. Whereas an unpredictable environment would not be easily predictable.

   b. Predictable environments

      i. Serve

   c. Unpredictable Environments

      i. Anything after the serve

Two Dimension Systems

1. Action

   a. The action subcategory is divided into two more subcategories that include body and object manipulation. To find out which category the action goes in you simply ask yourself a few questions for each subcategory.

      i. Body

         a. Moving

         b. Stationary

      ii. Object Manipulation

         a. Yes

         b. No

2. Environment

   a. Environment follows the same objective as action, has two subcategories, and requires the same questionnaire process.

      i. Regulatory

         a. Moving

         b. Stationary  

      ii. Context

         a. Changing

         b. Not changing

3. Two dimension systems, when classified are put into a table that has 14 categories. I have identified four movements and placed them into four categories as follows: 

   a. Ready position (squatted position waiting for service of ball)

      i. Body is stationary with no object manipulation

      ii. The environment is not changing nor is its context

   b. Set

      i. Body is stationary with object manipulation

      ii. There is no environmental change but the context does change

   c. Adjustment of position to the play

      i. Body transport with no object manipulation

      ii. There is environmental change but the context does not vary

   d. Serve

      i. Body transport with object manipulation

      ii. The environment changes and so does the context