Physical activity levels and motor performance in the middle school

none3Previous studies highlighetd the importance of performing physical avtivities in the youth age, showing a relationship between the amount of motor activity performed within a time period and health level. The aim of this study was to relate the quantity of physical activity performed in sports clubs or in the free time with the performance in conditional and coordinative tests in middle school students. 424 students (age: 11-14 years; M:201, F:220 attending a middle school in Bologna performed a survey concerning the time devoted to sports and motor activities, and were classified into three categories, namely low (LML), medium (MML), and high (HML) level of activity. Then, the students performed five conditional and coordinative motor tests: standing long jump, ball throwing from a seated position, launched 10-m running, balance test on a quadrangular basis, and comma test to assess the frequency of manual movements. A three-way analysis of variance was carried out to assess the differences between genders, age groups, and activity levels. Significant differences between genders and age classess were noticed for all the tests. Concerning the physical activity levels, significant differences among all the levels were noticed in the running test, with mean values of 1.69 ± 0.2 s (LML), 1.64 ± 0.2 s (MML), and 1.58 ± 0.2 s (HML). In the standing long jump, there were significant differences between the low activity group (153 ± 25 cm) and the other two groups (MML: 163 ± 28 cm; HML: 168 ± 24). In the ball throwing test, a significant difference was found between the LHL (531 ± 108 cm) and the HML (534 ± 112 cm) groups. No differences were noticed concerning the coordinative tests. In conclusion, the differences between groups observed for the running test may be explained considering that this kind of skill is frequently required in many sports disciplines and in free-time activities. The differences between the LML and the other groups in the standing long jump may be attributed to the frequent use of the lower limbs in sports and extrasport activities. Concerning the upper limbs strength, the differences considering that the upper limbs are highly used, but in a less marked way by sportsmen. In coordinative tests, the absence of actual differences between groups may be explained by the fact that such capacities (balance, frequency and accuracy of movements) are often neglected in many sports disciplines and in free-time activities. In fact, these capacities are routinely trained only in some sports as gymnastics and roller skatingnoneSemprini G.; Di Michele R.; Merni F.Semprini G.; Di Michele R.; Merni F