"Sports for kids" as an agent for better Children's sports in the local environments.
The aim of ”Sport for kids”
The aim of the “Sport for kids” concept is to create a secure and accepting environment where children are given optimal possibilities for physical, psychological and social development.
Why ”Sport for kids”
The free play of children today, is to a much stronger degree than before replaced by organised and adult-controlled activities away from their homes and familiar environments. The free, unorganised play, which includes everyone from the youngest kindergarten children to the older school children, has far less space in the everyday lives of children than before. An environment of learning and developing which is characterised by spontaneity and ideas does not have very good conditions anymore. The ”Sport for kids” concept aims to be sport’s answer to try to correct these conditions.
Characteristics:
- Take care of and further develop children’s wide range of motifs that lie behind their interest for physically oriented play and sports - take care of the culture of children shaped and determined by children themselves.
- A wish to give children possibilities of meeting the diversity of sports and physical activities that exist in their local environments.
- An easy way to co-ordinate the total offer of sporting activities that exist in the close surroundings, rather than to increase the “fight” for children in local environments by different sports and other organisations.
- Prevent increasing dropout and signs of early specialisation.
The program of ”Sport for kids”
A development-adjusted model for children’s sports
| Age-groups |
Day 1 |
Day 2 |
Day 3 |
| 11-12 years |
Basic training |
Introduction to/
Training in sports |
Competiton
Traning |
| 8-10 years |
Basic training 25-50%,
in form of play |
Introduction to/
Training in sports |
|
| 6-7 years |
Activities adopted to surroundings: sun, ice,snow, water, nature |
|
|
Towards the age of 8
To take care of the children’s needs for variable motoric stimulation, and give them a possibility to acquire and make automatic foundational motor skills.
The main content of the program of the programme for the youngest children shall be to offer a range of activities, which will stimulate them in relation to their natural motor-basic movements. Environmental adjustments in heterogeneous environments shall be central. The main task of the trainer/instructor will be to plan and arrange both a safe and challenging activity - and a teaching environment. The trainer will be more of an organiser and coach/mentor than an instructor.
After the age of 8
To prepare for schooling in one or several codes of sport where these sports’ basic techniques will constitute the central content. The “Sport for kids” shall both attend to the general co-coordinative foundation for each individual child, as well as the specifically co-coordinative foundation for each of the chosen sporting activities.
The main purpose is to give children training in sports, but they shall also meet a system of training, which has the purpose of motivating them to experience different types of sports, whether they would like to become competitors or just “do the activities for the fun of it”.
The children shall experience a selection of practices with a natural progression where the training shall stimulate the children to compete with themselves.
Some characteristics of a good program:
- Enjoyment and pleasure through the development and mastering of activities within a community where the children’s needs and qualifications are in focus.
- Sporting environments, which emphasise development and mastering, rather than just letting children, show their skills in traditional competitions.
- Children will play freely and spontaneously in different environments of movement with the aim of developing creativity and all-round experiences of movements.
- Children get an introduction to, and training in different sports and develop a versatile body-consciousness.
- Outdoor activities have a central place.
Direction-giving points for the planning of ”Sport for kids”:
- All voluntary sport clubs, both multiple sports and special sports shall have a children’s sport representative on the board. We refer to point five in the agreements.
- In the planning of activities for children, neighbouring clubs and groups within the sport club itself should co-operate in order to co-ordinate the total offer of activities in the local environments.
- All children should have a real possibility to participate in several sports.
- Within all areas of children’s sport, more time shall be spent on training than on competitions. This relationship should be at least 2 to 1.
- Within all areas of children’s sports, there shall be room for social activities with great emphasis on solidarity and friendship. Examples of this can be hot-dog stands, skiing-trips, visits to the movies or the theatre etc.
Recommended models of organisation:
Multi coded sports clubs/ sport specific clubs
Within a multiple sports club or a special sports club the ”Sport for kids” can be organised as a “school of many sports”. If one chooses this model, one can for example choose activities or sports that suit different times of the year. The number of sports a child will be presented for should be limited.
Multi coded sports clubs
In a multi coded sports club, children should meet an offer where several specific sports co-operate on a programme. A specific sport in a multi coded sports club can also stand alone as the organiser of a sports school.
Sport specific clubs
Training in a sport specific club can take place within the framework of a separate “Sport for kids” programme, in co-operation with a multi-coded club, or within a programme where two or more specific sports co-operate.
Evaluation of the program
The Norwegian State College of Physical Education and Sport has just handed in an evaluation-rapport concerning Sports for kids, as the programme is called in Norway, after the instructions of the Ministry of Culture. 6 minor rapports are to be handed in.
The main conclusions in the rapports are the following, according to the presentation of the leader of the evaluation project, Associate professor Yngvar Ommundsen, at the “future days” for Norwegian children and youth sports in Bergen on September 3, 1999:
The main conclusions:
- Sports for kids have, after a longer period of development, gained good footing as independent organising- and activity forms in Norwegian children’s sports.
- Sports for kids represent, as an idea and partly as a practice, a fresh addition to the thinking about children and sports.
- Sports for kids have many very satisfied children and parents.
- Sports for kids have, in practice, only to a small extent detached themselves from the traditional, sports-oriented concept of activity.
- Sports for kids have, in practice, only to a small degree detached themselves from the traditional ways off putting ideas across in forms of methods and ways of working.
- Sports for kids come across as different typologies with partly different aims and practices.
- The most prominent and widespread typologies are the ones that are in best accordance with the aimed focus on the part of NIF (The Norwegian Olympic Committee and Confederation of Sports).
- Sports for kids come across partly as a fresh addition, but still with a great potential of improvement and development.
The children have been heard and “The voice of the children” says:
Children and parents are generally happy about the “Sport for kids” programme and children themselves say that they:
- Experience a sense of mastering new challenges.
- Enjoy succeeding in many new exercises and activities.
- To a small degree miss more influence and co-determination, something, which possibly reflects the experiences, and expectations they have when they find themselves within the context of the programme.
What are the greatest challenges for NIF in the time to come?
Central questions are:
- How can we as an organisation, take greater responsibility for the arrangement and stimulation of a more individually organised play and physical activity in an otherwise institutionalised weekday for children?
- How can we take precautions against further pressure at starting earlier with the recruitment of children to special sports- meet the “fight” for the children?
- How can we meet the increasing interest for the marked of children from the commercial forces?
- How can we assure ourselves that competence about children, sports and physical activities is developed among those who daily have to deal with them?
- Shall we increase the demands for the involvement within special sports federations?
Some answers:
- We must reduce the dimensions of the sports’ organised activities for children, and take a greater responsibility for the arrangements and stimulations of individually organised play and physical activities through increased focus on this matter.
- We must further develop children’s sports on the professional basis and on the basis of values that has been created. We must work toward making a collective Norwegian sports environment wholeheartedly support the policy decisions about children’s sport. This means, in shorter terms, that we need greater involvement from the sport specific federations.
- That the organised offer of sporting activities for children that are 5 years or younger shall be activities organised together with parents/guardians and brothers and sisters.
- That all children who turn 6 and 7 years old shall be offered a common arrangement in the sports clubs which is adjusted to the local conditions, and without the special sports-competitions beyond what is natural within the group within the training activity.
- That all children from about the age of 8 shall meet a good and versatile offer in one or more sports where security, enjoyment and the mastering of skills and challenges shall be put in focus.
- That everyone who organises activities for children is personally able and has the necessary sports - and social experience.
- Evaluate the development of professional concepts of activities with children in co-operation with selected special federations.
- Work towards making more men engage themselves within the programme.
- Prospective offers for children under private direction shall follow The Confederation of Sports decisions on children’s sports.
|
Skriv ut