Physical Education and high performance sports

physical education exercise from the earliest ages as well as sports, since they do not occupy a significant place in the school curriculum or

Physical Education and high performance sports
Physical Education and high performance sports

Unfortunately we are a nation with high rates of obesity, worldwide we rank first in childhood obesity. On the other hand, we have not yet achieved a medal career in the Olympics or world championships. All this is closely related to the perception of physical education exercise from the earliest ages as well as sports, since they do not occupy a significant place in the school curriculum or in people's lives.

The intention of this work is to analyze the close relationship that exists between Physical Education, as part of the school curriculum and high-performance sports, going through a series of fundamental elements in this link that allow a better understanding of the existing phenomenon.

Importance of the Physical Education subject

Physical Education was defined by the Physical Education Manifesto (FIEP / 1970), as œThe element of Education that uses, systematically, physical activities and the influence of natural agents: air, sun, water, etc. as specific means, where physical activity is considered a privileged educational means, because it encompasses the whole being.

It is unquestionable that it is a necessary subject within the school curriculum. From the early stages (0-6 years) she begins with the teaching of psychomotor skills, passing through subsequent ages as a specific area. This subject is an integral part of the multilateral and harmonic formation of the personality - seen in this way by many educational systems with proven results - whose purpose is to develop the physical performance capacities of the individual, based on the morphological and functional improvement of their organism, also to the training and improvement of motor skills and that in turn contributes to the acquisition of knowledge and the development of convictions, allowing it to fulfill the tasks of society from different perspectives.

This at the primary level favors the physical development of children, as well as their emotional and mental balance and health in general. The contents that are addressed contribute to the increase and recovery of the capacity for intellectual work, also to the control and self-control of behavior, to the formation of moral qualities such as perseverance, honesty, companionship, teamwork, all this with good teacher guidance, which is why continuous and systematic preparation is required of this teacher, so that he can contribute to the adequate training of his students, also making his classes dynamic and varied, with adequate knowledge of his students .

This subject is important throughout school education, but is usually not given such significance. Physical Education has to be structured as a pedagogical process, the activities carried out in it are not deliberate, they must be planned, organized, taking into account the characteristics of the group and each of the schoolchildren, it must establish solid bases that allow integration and socialization in such a way that it compromises the continuity for the development and sports specialization in the future life of these students.

Physical Education leads to sports development in the school environment, through each of its classes in an educational way.

It should be noted that it is a purely pedagogical subject, one more within the school curriculum, where the teacher has to meet all the requirements of contemporary pedagogy for a class, from its motivation to its evaluation based on its objective Therefore, they must have knowledge of the characteristics of their students, their potentialities, in order to develop the skills and abilities that are proposed in the program based on their level of physical development.

About education in schools and its commitment to quality, considers that œPhysical Education, due to its possibilities of developing the psychomotor dimension of people, mainly in the children and adolescents, together with the cognitive and social domains, must be compulsory discipline in primary and secondary schools, and must be part of a longitudinal curriculum.

Requirements of the subject and its teachers

In the world manifesto of the International Federation of Physical Education (FIEP) of the year 2000, the following are stated as characteristics of this subject:

Must Read: Which speech problems will disappear and which require a speech therapy consultation?

Provides a comprehensive development of the person regardless of age.

  • It is a right of the individual.
  • It is presented as a formal and informal educational process.
  • It uses exercises, games, sports, corporal expression, etc. as means. For your educational purposes.
  • It is oriented to the achievement of the learner's competences (functional organic, physical capacities, motor qualities, intellectual development, practice of attitudes).

For some authors, physical education and sport are still a social fact where different aspects of human endeavor intervene, their comprehensive approach requires this professional of physical education and sports to assume a comprehensive training based on competencies to face the dissimilar problems on this sphere. So, what competencies should the Physical Education teacher and sports coach have according to the demands of the profession and society?

 They must gather scientific, technological and pedagogical knowledge, which allows them to be updated in the subject as well as in the sports specialty, through the use of information and communication technologies, in such a way that they help them in their daily practice. Both the coach and the Physical Education teacher are pedagogues, both use teaching-learning strategies, their pedagogical knowledge must sustain the quality of teaching the subject and sports performance.

They must design, implement, execute and evaluate physical education programs and / or sports training planning, according to the needs and potential of the students or athletes. You should be involved in their planning, organization, direction, and evaluation of these programs.

It will be relevant to the extent that they communicate effectively, establishing empathic relationships with their students and / or athletes, guiding them to achieve success in education and sport, showing a creative, innovative and entrepreneurial attitude with them, exercising leadership by being a role model for their level of preparation, responsibility, motivation, collaboration and their ability to solve problems. His commitment to the institution leads him to work as a team in pursuit of achieving the best results, but not only with it, but with his country. You must act with professional ethics at all times.

 Due to his condition and pedagogical training, he must be a reflective professional, essentially of his own practice, with deep knowledge in his area that allows him to efficiently carry out his work, acting critically in the future of his praxis in such a way that contributes to the improvement of his practice professional.

The programs

Should we ask ourselves if the Physical Education programs of our educational system meet the necessary requirements of the same; allows the development of physically, mentally and emotionally healthy individuals? Are the programs functional? At the same time, the question arises, if the training of these teachers corresponds to what is currently handled in this subject, are they truly motivated by their profession?

We reiterate Physical Education, it is one more subject of the school curriculum, and therefore it must be related to the other subjects and as such must contribute to the learning of students. The contents of the Physical Education programs are aimed at the development of the subject in its motor aspect, perfecting physical abilities and skills, mainly the development of fundamental physical abilities: strength, speed, endurance, balance, spatial orientation and rhythm; to basic motor skills: walking, running, jumping, throwing, catching, pulling, pushing, carrying, climbing and crawling, as well as the formation of basic notions about physical activity and its importance for health. All this allows the development of sports as well as recreational projects.

The contents of this subject also intervene in the increase and recovery of the capacity for intellectual work, in behavior, in the formation of moral qualities, which demands from the teacher the systematic attention to these aspects in the implementation of the program, in order to gradually guide the training of their schoolchildren.

The detection of sports talents through the subject

Physical Education at the primary level is the basis for working on the detection of new talents in the sport of our country, in addition, in parallel it creates a physical culture in children that will allow a healthier people physically and mentally.

High sports performance

When the intention of the practice is to perform at its best, as is done in elite sport, a great physical involvement is required, which does not occur in recreational physical activity, but with high performance sports. In this case, the intention of practicing Physical Education is not the same as in elite sport, since in elite sport the maximum development of abilities is sought in order to achieve high results or maximum performance.

The studies and balances carried out in the sports arena give us worrying results due to the low hourly intensity, lack of resources, sports and didactic elements and materials, the loss of values ‹‹and principles in our youth, the little orientation and family attention, the lack of encouragement and support in sports practice by government agencies, the little use of free time and the rise that drug addiction, alcoholism and smoking have taken.

It is necessary to bear in mind that sport is life, it is youth, it creates health and its development fosters the balance of interpersonal relationships; for this reason it is essential that this area be seen for its importance, because it is where the body, soul and spirit approach is achieved.

It is undeniable that a large number of professionals and specialists from different areas join each day who are in charge of the analysis and improvement of sports techniques, the development of training methods and physical and mental preparation for athletes:

The sports development in the pedagogical space, occurs in the field of physical education classes, in an educational way; both to work on the physical and mental development of students through pre-sports activities, and to give the first technical-sports support, aimed at obtaining an active, healthy and integral life.

But it is appropriate to ask ourselves if the teachers in the area are giving the appropriate value to the sport in the class?

The Physical Education teacher is the main talent detector due to the direct relationship with children and adolescents during their initiation stage, in addition, through the class itself, physical qualities with great potential for the practice of high performance sports will be detected. It is important to bear in mind that physical education programs are closer to isolated places in the capital cities than sport programs themselves.

For this reason, it is imperative that the directors of the various educational institutions respect and monitor compliance with the schedules established for these Physical Education programs, being worrying to see that there are schools that do not have teachers of the subject.

"Due to its global nature, the training process requires the preparation of a series of aspects that not only have to do with the physical preparation of the athlete to develop their potential. It should also include: Technical preparation, tactical preparation, and psychological preparation, preparation biological and theoretical preparation

Unfortunately in what we live in day to day, not everything in the sports scenario is encouraging, we frequently find behaviors that go against the purity of sport, not handled properly from the same sports fields, among these behaviors we have doping, unsportsmanlike attitudes of athletes and even technical personnel, not to mention stadium goers, whose behavior leaves much to be desired in the face of their team's defeat or victory, revealing the lack of education in this regard. From the Physical Education class itself, a whole series of attitudes and values ‹‹must be worked towards a better human being in all senses: intellectual, emotional, moral.

It cannot be left out of mentioning that a correct application of Physical Education programs allows a greater number of talented young people to achieve high performance.

To end:

It is valid that each of the specialists in the area, teachers of the subject, coaches, even the directors of educational institutions themselves assess whether they are fulfilling their role. Serve this brief analysis in such an endeavor.