Be a Sport4All Coach

Almost every child, not just the athletically gifted, wants to and deserves to have an enjoyable experience through active games and sport.  After all, when properly designed, sport and active games can contribute to healthy development in all developmental domains: physical, social, emotional, and mental. Sport4All is designed to meet these needs, and for every child.  BUT, there is no Sport4All for every child unless parents volunteer to lead the practices.

Anyone who enjoys being with and nurturing children can be a Sport4All coach.  A key skill is to create a playful and caring environment.  A warm smile and joyful enthusiasm are key attributes.  Skill instruction abilities are minor assets because the game itself is the best teacher.  The role of the Sport4All coach is to teach simple games and to let the game, itself, be the instructor.  Sport4All supplies you with the games!

In the Sport4All Program coaches, or play leaders, are provided with: 1) practice plans which outline the games and activities for each practice; 2) a games manual which describes the games and activities listed in the practice plans; and 3) coach’s clinics at which some of the games and activities are demonstrated.  It usually takes only a few minutes to review the games and activities to prepare for a practice.   This does not require a large time commitment, yet it provides a wonderful sense of contributing to the life of young people.

The abundant research now being published on brain-compatible learning gives tremendous support for the approach of the Sport4All Program.  Researchers, using sophisticated instrumentation, have found that the higher structures of the brain actually start to shut down during repetitive drill work and get invigorated in holistic, game-like, experiences where there is a constant challenge for problem solving.  You could say that sport and active games provide uncountable opportunities for brain stimulation and “thinking on your feet” – especially in small-sided games where the participant is constantly engaged in the action of the game.  The research is even clearer now on the importance of low stress environments for optimal learning.  In situations that the participant perceives as stressful or threatening, the primitive part of the brain short-circuits the higher structures, leading to thoughtless reaction rather than mindful decision-making.  The research further supports the idea that external evaluation, and especially criticism, restricts the development of creativity, a quality that is now highly valued and compensated by employers.

In the programs for children under 7, we minimize or eliminate situations where children are playing against each other.  The lesson plans are rich in skill development activities where the ball, itself, is the challenge, not an oppositional player.  In the program for children of 7 & 8, we try to make games as close to cooperative as possible.  Children at this age benefit by experiencing how enjoyable cooperative play can be.  Many early childhood educators stress the importance of experiencing cooperative play prior to the introduction of competitive games.  There are many situations where children will be playing against another, but I believe we can create the mindset that we are playing with playmates, not competing against an adversary.  In the program for children of 9 & 10, most games are informally competitive, but the idea that an opponent is someone to be appreciated because he or she helps us to improve our skills is promoted. The fact that there is no formal league structure is the key!  League-structured programs create the mindset of  “us versus them”.There is no research evidence that a competitive orientation meets any developmental need prior to puberty.

This brief background is provided to give you insights into why we want the S4A coach to be:

• A Play Leader – you regard joyful play to be more important than perfect play
• A Games Teacher – you let simple games and peer role modeling do the teaching for you
• A Facilitator – you use methods that promote discovery, cooperation & creativity
• Child-Centered – you regard the player, not the sport, as your ultimate concern
• Holistic - you honor all developmental domains: social, emotional, mental and physical
• Enthusiastic – you generate enthusiasm and motivation in others through your example

Please consider being a coach.  You will enjoy having a valuable influence on the development of young children and will, in all likelihood, experience valued growth in yourself and your relationship with your own child!!!  Being the coach gives you a new way to experience and appreciate your own child.

Each coach or team of coaches has enough players to play a variety of games that teach the fundamentals of each sport in a non-competitive, non-league structure.