Our KIDSPORTS 2009 Campaign for KIDS starts today, Oct. 1st! Our annual campaign is an opportunity to not only raise funds for KIDS to play, BUT as well and as importantly, to raise AWARNESS as to how important KIDSPORTS is for our KIDS and families in this community!

Please join us and our Campaign Chair, Mary Decker Slaney, in spreading the good word and work of our organization and our thousands of volunteers who provide coaching, guidance, and mentoring to thousands of young girls and boys in the community!

If you know of anyone who is interested in giving to our organization in any way; a financial gift, gift in kind, gift in time by volunteering as a coach or campaign advocate, please have them contact me directly at bevs@kidsports.org! We would love to have them join our team! GO KIDS!

KIDSPORTS as you know is our community’s leader in the development and delivery of team sports. In this day of budget cuts, elementary and middle schools struggle to offer appropriate physical education, after school activities, and school team sport opportunities for our developing children.

This is a critical situation for our children and families as physical activity is an incredibly important part of a child’s education. And if children don’t have the opportunity in schools to become “physically literate,” then KIDSPORTS becomes an even more important entity in our community to ensure the health and welfare of our youth and to teach physical literacy

Physical Literacy as defined by Canadian Sport For Life (CS4L), is the development of fundamental movement skills and fundamental sport skills that permit a child to move confidently and with control in a wide range of physical activity setting and react appropriately to those events.

The learning and practice of fundamental movement skills is the basic building block for the development of physical literacy. Much like learning the alphabet and phonics are the fundamental skills needed to eventually read Shakespeare, the development of fundamental movement skills, and fundamental sport skills, is critical if children are to feel confident when they engage in physical activity for fun, health, and for competition and the pursuit of excellence in sport. 1

A couple of weekends ago on a sunny Sunday afternoon, I watched the KIDSPORTS Flag Football Jamboree on the Jefferson fields. The games were fun with lots of action, enthusiastic and patient coaching, officials working hard to make the game flow, and I enjoyed watching our youngsters run, throw, catch, and fly all over the field.

Certainly as a coach of the age group I was watching, there is a lot to teach. Our objective as coaches is to not only teach the sports specific skills of flag football and the concepts of play, but as importantly, the physical movement and motor skills that kids need in order to feel confident in moving their bodies through the range of athletic activity any sport requires.

So what should the breakdown be for our youth practices in any sport to make sure that we provide for “physical literacy” development (that will be important for the long term development of our kids) and that of the sport specific development?

Again, according to CS4L, here are recommendations for coaches of youth sport to consider as they plan practices:

Children Aged 6 – 8 yrs of age:
 60% of practice should be devoted to movement skills – Fundamentals
 20% of practice should be devoted to sport specific skills – Fundamentals
 20% of practice should be devoted to individual decision making – Technical
(technical skill refers to “when” to apply the movement and sport specific skills when playing in a modified or game like situation/formation )


Children Aged 7 – 9 yrs of age:
 30% of practice should be devoted to movement skills – Fundamental
 40% of practice should be devoted to sport specific skills - Fundamental
 20% of practice should be devoted to individual player – Technical
 10% of practice should be devoted to multi – player – Technical


Children Aged 8 – 12 yrs of age:
 20% of practice should be devoted to movement skills – Fundamental
 20% of practice should be devoted to basketball skills – Fundamental
 30% of practice should be devoted to individual skills – Technical
 20% of practice should be devoted to multi – player – Technical
 10% of practice should be devoted to basic offense & defense – Strategy 2

As you can see, what is emphasized in these age groups, is in fact, the development of the child’s physical literacy; that is their ability to move confidently and feel in control of their bodies so that they can be in a position to run, throw, catch, land, change speed, change direction, act, and react when called upon to play the game.

Many times coaches run complicated formations and “plays” with these age groups and without the child’s ability to move efficiently and confidently, the execution simply breaks down. Or, there are one or two naturally gifted young children who tend to take over the game at the expense of other children’s development.

Our goal at KIDSPORTS is to give all of our kids a chance to become physically literate, so as coaches, don’t worry so much about winning the game; think about winning the day in every child’s life. Being physically literate is important for a life time, not just game time!

1 Information from CS4L – Canadian Sport for Life; www.ltad.ca)
2 Information from CS4L – Canadian Sport for Life; www.ltad.ca)