Meaning of Coordinative Capacities

Before proceeding to know the meaning of the term coordinative capacities, it is essential to know the etymological origin of the two words that give it its shape:
-Capabilities derives from Latin, specifically from “capacitas” and can be defined as “the quality of the capable”.
-Coordinatives, on the other hand, comes from the Latin verb “coordinate”, which can be translated as “order” or “combine”.

According to DigoPaul, the coordinative skills are part of the so – called physical capabilities: the body conditions that are often linked to the development of a particular action or activity. These abilities are established by genes, but can be honed through training.

Physical abilities are divided into conditional abilities and coordinative abilities. Conditional physical capacities are linked to the possibility of achieving a movement in the least amount of time possible (speed), to maintaining an effort for a long time (resistance), to allowing the maximum possible travel of a joint (flexibility) and to overcoming a resistance through tension (force).

In addition to all the above, we can highlight the fact that coordinative capacities are considered to be in charge of carrying out three basic functions. And it is that they exercise a fundamental task in motor learning, in life in general and in high sports performance.

Coordinating capacities, on the other hand, are linked to the orderly arrangement of actions to achieve an objective. The following are part of this type of physical capabilities:
-Orientation, which can be defined as the ability of a person to be able to determine both the position and the movements of their body both in time and space.
-Balance, which is the ability to maintain or even recover the position of the body during what is the performance of different movements or positions.
-The rhythm, which is the ability to repeat an orderly structure of movements.
-The differentiation, that an especially exact and economic coordination capacity.
-The coupling or synchronization, which comes to be the ability to coordinate partial movements of the body with each other.
-The change, which is the capacity that the individual must have to be able to adapt to new situations.
-Relaxation, which is the ability to release tension in an absolutely voluntary way of what is the muscles.

Specifically, coordinative capabilities are those that allow a person to execute movements efficiently, accurately and economically. The execution of a motor action that requires accuracy depends on these coordinative capacities to achieve the correct location of the body at the right time.

A professional tennis player, for example, must enhance all his physical abilities. It is clear that you need speed to move, flexibility to return the opponent’s blows, stamina to play several hours and strength to hit the ball. But he must also hone his coordination skills to react to each impact of his opponent, synchronizing his movements without being disoriented and arriving in time to execute his own blows.