Vol. XXI, Issue 2/ 2020 G Y M N A S I U M Scientific Journal of Education, Sports, and Health 5 Original Article The Influence of Exercises in Athletics on Teaching Speed and Coordination in 7-8-Year-Old Children Rață Bogdan 1 Rață Marinela 2* Rață Gloria 3 1,2,3 “Vasile Alecsandri” University of Bacău, 157 Calea Mărășești, Romania DOI: 10.29081/gsjesh.2020.21.2.01 Keywords: child, improvement, coordination, speed, athletics. Abstract The aim of the study is to highlight the improvement of the coordination and speed skills of the children by using an operational training programme during the sports training lessons, based on the acquisition of the motor skills specific to the athletic events. This operational programme was applied for 4 months, three times a week, on a sample of 20 children aged 7-8 years. The evolution of the coordination and speed skills was assessed by the Touch-the-Plates Test, the Denisiuk test and the 20 m sprint test, carried out at the beginning and end of the experiment. The experimental research took place between at Bacau Athletics Hall, a 200m circular track room. In order to achieve the objectives we used game exercises, which aimed to learn the basic technical school elements of running, jumping and throwing, games of movement, relays, sports tracks. The conclusions highlight the improvement of coordination and speed. 1. Introduction The practice of simple and complex exercises in an organized and supervised way leads to the improvement of the motor skill, “facilitates the formation and improvement of motor skills in preschool and small children” (Badea, 1993) and implicitly ensures speed and coordination. In athletics, as in most sports, the beginning of initiation takes place at 6-7 years. Studies and researches carried out over time in the field of sport, in children, have shown that the activity of motor training, constantly performed contributes to the optimization of the motor potential, to the harmonious development and the maintenance of the child’s health. The importance and influence of the learning process is underlined by Čoh, Babić and Maćkała (2010), when he notes that “inadequate training can lead to the * E-mail: marinela_rata@hotmail.com