by Tanner Rohne & Pam Rinn
Each year millions of youth take part in some form of organized sport. These sports programs are starting younger and offer a variety of options.
There are a number of sports that children and youth can become involved in to help build character, spend time outside getting fresh air and exercise and developing a positive self-image. With everything from dance, soccer, gymnastics, t-ball and football it can be challenging for a family to know exactly which activity is right for their child and when the right time to start is.
Think about your child’s interests and natural abilities. If you were the star football player or a prima ballerina, you probably have dreams of your child following in your footsteps and choosing the same sport or extracurricular activities. These dreams might come true – or not. Try to really “see” your child. What does he or she want to do? What are the strengths? Parental expectations that don’t match with a child’s true self can cause a lot of grief for both parent and child.
Consider your priorities. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of youth sporting events or cultural performances, but keep an eye on the big picture too. What do you want your child to gain from an activity? Do you want these activities to help build friendships, physical fitness, self-esteem or work ethic? Many different types of activities build these abilities. By keeping the big picture in mind, you’ll avoid tunnel vision and can more readily embrace your child’s choices.
Try new activities and sports. Try several sports through inexpensive recreational sports leagues. Through experimentation, parents can help children find the activities that they’re passionate about.
Is it too early?
While sports do start as young as 2-years-old, very few parents should expect to see a child sports prodigy emerge in these early years. Prodigy or not, there are a number of developmental benefits for children who do choose to get involved in sports in their pre-k years. The most obvious is the physical aspect of sports but please remember that making friends and beginning to take turns at this age is more important than winning.
2-5 year olds
Gross Motor Skill Development
Organized sports use large muscle groups in arms, legs and supporting body muscles. Many people believe children automatically acquire and perfect motor coordination for running, jumping, and throwing. It is important to provide the opportunities to develop these skills in a fun and safe way. Maturing muscles and bone structures are in the beginning level of coordination so there will be mistakes made. For example a preschooler may not be able to stop before running into another child on the field or be so excited about kicking the ball that he or she scores a goal for the other team. Remember these possible mistakes are part of the learning process. The ability to perform gross motor skills is related directly to physical fitness. These younger athletes become more aware of their bodies, how to maneuver and increase stabilization skills that will serve them well beyond their time on the court, field or mat.
Social/Emotional Skill Development
Pay attention to the child’s temperament. Some children are naturally “busy” while some children want to watch for a while before joining in. The role of the parent is to support and guide your child to try new activities as they are ready. The best way to do this is to model the activity and have fun playing, too. Playing is the language of child learning.
Learning to work as a team is a skill that is never too early to start working on. Younger children who are involved in sports learn not only how to work with their peers, but also how to take instruction from adults other than their parents.
Problem Solving Skills
Many of the warm up drills help children hone their problem solving skills. Evaluating how to maneuver a ball around a cone or pick up and dribble a ball are just a few examples of how sports support this skill. Since young children are in the beginning stages of development one of the biggest problems is realizing that it’s OK not to be the “best” at everything. Frustration, tears and tantrums are part of the problem solving process as children navigate working together with friends and team mates.
Beyond the pre-k years
5- 12 years old
Teamwork
Yes, teamwork again. Ideally children should try some form of team sport at some stage of their childhood. Playing a team sport builds resilience and teaches many skills that are invaluable throughout life. School-age children can identify the things they are good at as well as the strengths in others. Again, provide opportunities but pay attention to the preferences of your child. Of course, you can think outside the square. Team sports don’t necessarily mean only football or netball. Rowing, Gymnastics, Dance and Swimming all have team aspects and provide all the benefits.
Competition
Involvement in sports allows youth to learn how to deal with competition and how to cope with both winning and losing. These learning aspects highlight the impact of sport on a child’s social and moral development beyond physical skills and abilities. The appropriate setting can promote the five ‘C’s of positive youth development: competence, confidence, character, connections, and compassion/caring.
Exercise
According to the Center for Disease Control, childhood obesity rates have doubled for children and quadrupled for adolescents. Regular exercise is one aspect of preventing childhood obesity. With 18% of youth considered obese it is important to engage children in daily physical activity. Sports allow the opportunity for youth to get concentrated time engaged in physical activity, learn new skills and have fun with friends.
Thinking Outside the Field
As children grow, so do their interests and it is important to let them know there are a number of sports beyond those traditionally seen or offered through a local recreation department or school district.
These non-traditional sports typically combine several factors such as health, team-work and competitiveness. Sports like rock climbing, kayaking, horseback riding and archery help build fine and gross motor skills, coordination, balance and perception.
While it may be difficult for families to find opportunities to introduce their children to this variety of outdoor or non-traditional sporting options, there is one place that houses many, if not all, of them. Summer camp is a perfect place for youth to be introduced and spark their interests in these sports.
In a traditional camp environment, campers are introduced to a number of different activities in a relatively short amount of time ranging from the traditional, like basketball, soccer, tennis and swimming, to the non-traditional, like rock climbing, archery, horseback riding and kayaking. With supervision and external support from camp staff, campers are free to explore these options in a safe and secure environment.
Unique benefits seen with many of these types of sports includes:
• reducing gender biases
• can be enjoyed for many years beyond a physical “prime”
• problem solving opportunities
• allows for individuality and self-expression.
Encouraging Words
One of key benefits of sports is the opportunity it allows for a child to find something they enjoy and take pride in. As family members, it is your role to encourage and build children up through this process. How that is done is just as important as how often.
How many times do these statements come out of our mouths?
“Nice job.” “Great goal” “You played great today!” “Wow! You’re a natural.”
While this level of encouragement is not damaging, it can put too much focus on the outcome and not the effort.
Challenge yourself to shift encouragement and praise to the effort and hard work that the child puts into their sport. Instead of saying, “You played great today!” try “All of your hard work at practice paid off!”
Instead of saying “you’re a natural pitcher.” Try instead, “All that extra time throwing last week is really paying off.”
On the flip side of that, when a setback occurs and your child says, “The other team is better.” Or “Why don’t I get to start?” Responding in a way that focuses the solution on areas they can affect, such as practice time or skill development.
By focusing on the effort that builds the skills, you reinforce the idea that hard work and effort are what drives success and when they hit a road block or a bump in the road later, instead of feeling like their “natural ability” has failed them, they have the tools to re-direct and work harder to achieve their goals rather than giving up.
Layering all this information should help find an activity or sport that suits your family and your child while helping meet your goals.
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Tanner Rohne is the Director of El Tesoro Overnight and Family Camps. The 223-acre camp is located in Granbury, Texas and has welcomed four generations of campers. An outdoor enthusiast, himself, he is excited to pass on an appreciation of the outdoors to his campers young and old.
Pam Rinn is Program Director for Community Professional Development – Instruction at Camp Fire First Texas. She has a passion for helping families navigate growing up and with each other. Playing sports with children is a great way to develop trust and life-long skills for a healthy life. She has more than 25 years of experience working with children families and community outreach programs and is a Certified Family Life Educator and doctoral student.