In a culture that seems to prioritize video games and cartoons over physical activity, it is now more important than ever to motivate your child to get out and play a sport. Working with kids on a daily basis and interacting with them in different sports over a variety of different ages has shown me the gap between kids of the same age in the way they move their bodies and their ability to execute basic human movement and skills is quite scary.
There could be many different reasons for this but I think the most important, is that children, are not participating in regular activity whether it be in a controlled environment (ie a sports team) or just in the backyard. It is clear that the ones that spend their time playing and interacting in different sports are the ones that I see excelling in all areas of their life.
In a four-part series, I will give you my picks for categories of sports I would put children into and why:
- Team Sport
- Swimming
- Combat Sport
- Gymnastics