Coordinative abilities are a separate category of motor ability from the conditional abilities (strength, endurance, speed) and from flexibility — they depend primarily on how well the central nervous system controls and regulates movement, not on muscular force or energy supply. As Zimmermann and colleagues describe them, coordinative abilities are "relatively stabilized and generalized patterns of motor control and regulation processes" that let a sportsperson carry out a group of movements with better quality and effect. A player with excellent strength and speed can still perform poorly in a sport if their coordinative abilities are weak, because coordination is what lets raw physical capacity translate into correct, efficient, game-usable movement.
Seven coordinative abilities are recognised. Orientation Ability is determining and changing the body's position and movement in the available time and space of a playing field relative to a moving object (a ball, an opponent) — vital in gymnastics and in team games where peripheral vision matters. Differentiation Ability is the fine-tuning and accuracy of different phases of a movement, built through experience and mastery of motor action. Coupling Ability is coordinating several body-part movements toward one goal-directed action — a footballer's leg movements for dribbling coupled with the whole-body action of running is a coupling-ability task.
Rhythm Ability is perceiving a movement's rhythm and reproducing it accurately, either from an external rhythm (music in gymnastics or figure skating) or from rhythm stored in motor memory. Reaction Ability is responding quickly and effectively to a visual, auditory or tactile signal, and is classified into simple and complex reaction. Adaptation Ability is adjusting or completely changing a movement programme when a situation changes — expectedly or suddenly — and depends on how fast and accurately a player perceives that change.
Balance Ability is maintaining or quickly regaining equilibrium, and has two forms: balance during a stationary position or slow movement (depending on kinaesthetic, tactile and some vestibular sense), and balance during rapidly changing positions (depending mainly on the vestibular sense organs). Together, these seven abilities explain why two athletes with similar fitness test scores can still look completely different in competition — one simply coordinates movement better than the other.