THE RELATIONSHIP bETWEEN COORDINATION, MOTOR AbILITIES AND ANTHROPOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS OF PRESCHOOL GIRLS

Coordination as complex motor ability in preschool age represents a base for development of other abilities and thus point out their relationships with overall motor development of a child. The goal of this research is to analyze the relationship of coordination with motor abilities and anthropometric characteristics of preschool girls. In a sample of 197 girls aged from 4 – 6 years, seven tests of motor skills were applied and five anthropometric measures. Using standard multiple regression, a statistically significant correlation between motor abilities/anthropometric characteristics and coordination of preschool girls was identified. The system of motor and anthropometric variables as a whole explains 41% of variance of the depended variable. Among the variables of the predictor system, the best predictors of girls’ performance on coordination test, were the following variables: hand tapping, standing broad jump and abdominal skinfold. The results suggest that the preschool girls’ motor skills are related in a specific way and that coordination has a large impact on other motor skills.