Hiked to the top of a hill with this fine group of cub scouts today:
On the way down the steep hill, one of the kids lost his footing but tucked, rolled, and landed right back up on his feet. It was a pretty smooth move and I was then able to provide life-saving first aid by applying a small band aid to stop the blood loss from a cut on his finger.
This experience reminded me of the importance of optimizing the ten recognized fitness domains, specifically in this case: agility, balance, and coordination.
Coordination = The ability to combine several distinct movement patterns into a singular distinct movement, e.g. the cub scout's sweet tuck and roll.
Agility = The ability to minimize transition time from one movement pattern to another, e.g. the quickness of the tuck and roll.
Balance= The ability to control the placement of the body's center of gravity in relation to its support base, e.g. the recovery from the tuck and roll back to an upright, stable position.
Coordination and balance often aren't given the same consideration as the others, but they too are vital components of a fitness program. While most of the other domains (cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed and accuracy) seem more directly related to a physically fit person, we can't forget the importance of including all 10 domains in our fitness programs in order to be prepared to meet any physical challenge that may come our way.
*Tonight the Cougars enjoyed victory on the soccer field once again, beating the Manchester Gurlz 3-1!
