Numerous studies show a decline in children's motor abilities test results compared to previous generations.
This trend is not new.
A study from Germany compared the results of identical tests among 10-year-olds in 1976 and 1996. It found that by 1996, motor abilities in various areas had declined by 10-20%. For example, in 1976, a primary school child could run over 1000 meters in a six-minute test and easily touch the floor in a sit-and-reach test (0 cm). By 1996, 10-year-olds ran, on average, 100 meters less and could no longer bend forward far enough to touch the floor.
The primary reason for this decline in motor abilities is changes in body composition.
Comparing data from 1976 and 1996, 10-year-olds were, on average, the same height (143 cm), but by 1996, they were 3 kg heavier (38 kg vs. 35 kg). The percentage of overweight children also increased from 16% to 31%.
To further explore the causes of these results, researchers analyzed children's daily movement patterns through school activity diaries. According to this data, a primary school child spends approximately 9 hours lying down, 9 hours sitting, about 5 hours standing, and only 1 hour engaged in movement—of which just 15-30 minutes involves intense physical activity.
Another study asked children and adolescents how much effort they put into sports. The results were disappointing. Many children, especially girls, avoided exerting themselves or sweating during physical activity. In school sports, only 4% of girls put in significant effort.
All these findings contradict the fact that children today have more opportunities to participate in sports and start engaging in them at an earlier age. It seems that a wide range of sports and an early start cannot compensate for a general lack of daily movement and physical activity.
I remember my own early basketball experiences. Across from my building was a small house with a slanted roof and a gutter. The gutter had segments connecting every meter, which made each segment an "ideal" basketball hoop. Of course, a real basketball (which we didn’t have at the time) wasn’t suitable for such a hoop, so we used a regular plastic ball the size of a handball. A larger ball wouldn’t stay in the gutter anyway. It took a lot of skill and creativity to make a shot, but over time, it became second nature. I remember playing tag, hide and seek, dodgeball, climbing trees—so many different outdoor activities that naturally developed motor abilities.
The world children grow up in today has changed significantly. It is a world dominated by technology, where movement is no longer a necessity because children play outside less and less. Virtual entertainment and social media have replaced outdoor play with their constant allure.
As a result, children no longer have a natural need to develop motor abilities. And what isn’t learned at an early age is difficult to correct later…
That’s why it’s crucial to incorporate activities into your regular training sessions that promote the development of motor abilities—skills that children attending your sessions likely haven’t developed through free play with their peers.
You may feel there are obstacles in your way:
Limited training sessions
Inadequate space
Lack of equipment
Uncertainty about how to structure training or which exercises to use
Let’s say you train a group of 25 young handball players aged 6-9, twice a week for 45 minutes.
You might think that in such a short training session, there’s no time for targeted motor abilities development alongside learning handball techniques. But you can address this by starting each session with dynamic warm-ups. Seven to eight dynamic exercises, lasting around 10 minutes, will not only prepare children well for training but also provide enough stimulation for developing coordination, speed, and agility. Certain exercises can even help build strength. If you finish the session with a five-minute game, you’ll have done everything in your power to support motor abilities development—and the children will leave with smiles on their faces, eagerly awaiting the next session.
No special equipment is needed for this. By organizing children along the length of the gym and having them perform exercises across its width, you can manage large group sizes while still leaving enough time for skill development.
This is just one small example. A complete and much more detailed guide to methods and activities for developing motor abilities in today's children and youth can be found in our:
"Integral Physical Conditioning for Young Athletes"
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Wishing you success,
Igor Macner
Reference: Motorische Kompetenzen von Kindern und Jugendlichen: Klaus Bös, Institut für Sport und Sportwissenschaft, Universität Karlsruhe (TH)
