Journal of Motor Learning & Development

New accepted paper by Osman Imal from @charlesuni.cuni.cz 🇨🇿 & colleagues who assessed functional movement & lower body strength in soccer players, grouped by age and peak height velocity (PHV) status. Pre-PHV players showed lower knee strength & older groups recorded higher jump and strength scores

New study by Sandra Santos from the University of Porto 🇵🇹, with A. Santos, M. Duncan, A. Andaki, S. Vale, and J. Mota, found preschoolers at risk based on waist-to-height ratio were more likely to show poor motor competence, especially in aiming 🎯, catching 🎾🤲, and balance ⚖️ tasks.

New accepted paper by Dr Hulteen et al. 🇺🇸 who aimed to test construct & concurrent validity, & internal consistency of the Perceived Movement Skill Competence scale in 254 children. Findings showed good construct validity, ICC=0.66–0.78, & α=0.51–0.83. Both versions are reliable for use in children

New accepted paper by Dr Nobre & colleagues presenting normative reference curves for fundamental motor skills (TGMD-3) in Brazilian children aged 3-10.9 years. Findings showed Brazilian children had lower motor proficiency cut-off points than U.S. norms, with clear differences by age and sex.

New study by Natalie Lander from @deakinuniversity.bsky.social 🇦🇺, with colleagues including @lisabarnettphd.bsky.social, who developed a deep learning model to assess motor competence in children. The model reached 83% accuracy & is accessible for practitioners via a user-friendly web platform.

New accepted paper by @klmulvey.bsky.social from @ncstate.bsky.social 🇺🇸 and colleagues, who tested a gender-equity motor skill program (SKIP-GE) for preschoolers. Results showed a reduction in boys’ gender bias, suggesting early interventions promote equitable gender attitudes in development.

New accepted paper by Katherine Spring et al. from Auburn University 🇺🇸. The SUNRISE study assessed how well three product-based motor skill tools align with the TGMD-3 in 3–4-year-olds. Results showed moderate to strong associations, supporting SUNRISE as a feasible tool for large-scale use.

New study by Masahiro Yamada from Whittier College, with M. Babak, H. Mohammadzadeh, H. Kivett & J. Dehghanizade, who found that athletes’ familiarity, liking & usefulness ratings for external/internal instructions didn’t always align. Participants sporting background shaped these perceptions

New accepted paper by Cameron Olsen from @utah.edu and colleagues on how motivational climate and goal orientations influence linear (MAE) and non-liner (SampEN) motor performance. Findings suggest that they jointly shape motor learning, affecting performance in distinct ways.

New accepted paper by Thomas Hawkins & colleagues from @leedsbeckett.bsky.social ‪🇬🇧 who conducted a systematic review of focus of attention (FoA) research on muscle activity and movement kinematics finding external FoA instructions resulted in superior muscular activity & movement kinematic profiles

Here is a graphic abstract from the authors showcasing some of their key findings.

New accepted paper by Promise Robinson from @utaresearch.bsky.social et al, comparing early gross motor milestones in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) to past and current expectations. Focus is on improving early screening to better support children later diagnosed with DCD.

See also the JMLD full abstract ⬇️

New accepted paper by @action-explorer.bsky.social from
@hmsgroningen.bsky.social 🇳🇱, with J. Smith, D. Travieso & @raoulbongers.bsky.social, who used a body-machine interface to test interception. Both groups learned the required coordination, but random practice increased exploration behaviour

New accepted paper by Samantha Snow from @deakinuniversity.bsky.social 🇦🇺 with T. Brown, @lisabarnettphd.bsky.social, and N. Lander who explored primary PE teachers’ MC assessment practices finding that valued, evidence-based tools were underused, indicating a need for teacher-informed solutions

New study by Saroosh Bilal from the Autonomous University of Madrid, with R. Bongers & D. Jacobs, used a vibrotactile glove to test reach & grasp finding that variable practice improved performance across all tasks but constant practice only improved performance in familiar tasks

See more details in the abstract for this exciting position paper ⬇️

New accepted paper by Caterina Pesce from University of Rome "Foro Italico" 🇮🇹, with E Mazzoli, C. Martins, & D. Stodden, who propose a line of research and practice for physical activity that involves effortful learning of novel movements to elicit cognitive engagement & develop brain function

🎉 Welcome Phil Kearney to our Ed Board! Based in the Sport & Human Performance Research Centre at the @unioflimerick.bsky.social 🇮🇪, @kearneype.bsky.social's work focuses on coaches' application of skill acquisition & development pathways for high performance athletes

New paper by Ayoub Asadi from @iastateresearch.bsky.social 🇺🇸, with Z. Dodangeh, M. Shojaei, A. Daneshfar, T. Simpson & @harjivsingh.bsky.social, found virtual and real-world quiet eye training to increase quiet eye duration, with only real-world training significantly improving aiming accuracy

New accepted paper by Danielle Salters from @uwindsor.bsky.social 🇨🇦, with Sara Scharoun Benson who conducted a systematic review including 19 studies finding that PE-based interventions should focus on quality PE rather than quantity, and emphasis fundamental movement skill concepts

New accepted paper by Anne den Uil from Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences 🇳🇱, with V. Busch, M. Janssen & R. Scholte, who explored the spiral of (dis)engagement in children finding physical activity predicts motor skill competence, but motor skill competence does not predict physical activity

New accepted paper by Kara Palmer from University of Michigan with D. Stodden, B. Terlizzi, A. Pennell, M. Numu, & L. Robinson, who found weak to strong correlations in process- and -product scores & provide a novel insight into motor development performance trends in early childhood (3-5 years)

New accepted paper by Rob Gray from Arizona State 🇺🇸, who investigated baseball batting comparing a group who learned by always aiming for accurate swings, to a group who explored different outcomes. Findings showed the latter group made significantly more hits & improved their affordance perception

From the volumes 🗃️ , research by Nadia Valentini from Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul who compared children with, at-risk for, or without Developmental Coordination Disorder on motor control, finding that children who perform poorly on one assessment, are likely to perform poorly on another

From the Volumes 🗃️, research by @shikhaprashad.bsky.social now at The University of Texas at Arlington, with colleagues Y. D & J. Clark. They investigated motor learning using fixed, probabilistic, and random sequences finding both fixed and probabilistic sequences improved response times

🎉 Welcome to the new BlueSky page for JMLD where you can find information about our:

🆕Newly accepted papers
🧑‍🏫Editorial Board members
📜Highlights from previous JMLD articles
🏙️Society partners NASPSPA and I-MDRC

We are looking forward to sharing the amazing research from JMLD with you all 👍

We are editing a special issue for the Journal of Motor Learning and Development on "motor skill learning: beyond the individual". Please spread to people in your networks who might like to be part of this special collection of articles. Thanks! journals.humankinetics.com/fileasset/JM...