Reaction Sprint
Skills:
Physical: acceleration, agility, balance, lower extremity coordination, coordination of movement
Cognitive: selective attention, reaction time, auditory processing, visual processing
Social: taking turns (if doing activity with more than one person)a
Number of participants:
1 or more
Equipment:
masking tape or lines on the floor
Description:
- child sprints from one line to another for a distance of 10m when the coach signals “Go!”
- child turns and sprints back on another signal from the coach
Adaptations for Wheelchair Users:
Children who are using wheelchairs can practice wheeling when the parent/coach says go.
Encourage children in wheelchairs to practice changing directions quickly and safely.
Modifications to make the activity easier:
Change the environment:
- provide verbal encouragement for the child to run as fast as they can
- give the child advance warning to start (i.e., Ready, set, go) to decrease cognitive demand
Change the task: have the child run a shorter distance (move cones closer together) to decrease physical demand
Modifications to make the activity harder:
Change the environment: increase the distance that the child needs to walk to increase physical demand
Change the task:
- increase physical demand by increasing running distance (move cones farther apart)
- increase physical demand by increasing the number of sprints to complete the activity
Goal examples:
- child is able to sprint 10m in 15 seconds, 3 times in a row
- I can sprint from one point to another
