What is the number one reason for kids to stay in their sport? Study and research has shown that fun was the number one reason kids stay in their sport. Having fun is a motivator for kids to starve for more attention to learn more and get better on their skills each time they come back. I love my sport and I remember the fun I had in my career. It is important that I have fun with the kids. I want the kids to have every opportunity to have just as much fun as I did.
While at Woodward Camp in Woodward, PA, I know the kids are having fun. They continue to ask the staff for a spot or asking for more tips to get better or to learn new skills. The kids enjoy learning new things and challenging their own limits. Nothing more fun to watch these kids having fun achieving new skills and going farther than their own expectations. I believe if the kids weren't having fun they wouldn't be coming back for more.
So how do we put the fun in the sport and be able to achieve good results in your program? I have learned from a friend who came up with three divisions of fun. The three divisions includes the intermediate fun, short term fun, and long term fun.
Intermediate Fun: This is best describes as playing fun games and activities. These games and activities can be related to what they are learning or non-related to help keep their minds off of their own sport (nice to learn something different once in a while). This can be a warm-up or an an award for having a great practice. I know some kids like to show up late for practice so they can skip the traditional warm-up. So I use the intermediate fun as a warm-up and of course the kids who showed up late missed out the fun. Over time, kids were showing up on time for practice to find out what the fun was all about! Yes, we randomly still did our traditional warm-up.
At times kids hate conditioning. You can make conditioning fun by playing a game with the muscles you want them to work on. Example in doing V-ups, I have my kids hold the block between their ankles and have them pike up to grab the block. The idea is how many times can you transport the block back and forth with out dropping it. You can also challenge them how many times can they transport the block in such amount of time (20 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, or 60 seconds).
Short Term Fun: Short term fun is not just about playing games and activities its more about achieving through hard work. Its not about how you fall, its about how you get up. Day in and day out kids are working hard and they are starving to want it bad. Nothing more rewarding for the kid to achieve a new skill and watching them jump for joy! It is also rewarding and fun for the kid to get on the award podium regardless of the placement. It not always about the podium but it is also about beating their own personal achievement by increasing their own performance scores. I believe that this short term fun is often overlooked when coaches only see success at the highest level of achievement while everything else is failure.
Long Term Fun: After many months and years, kids makes sacrifices and determination to stay in the sport. Kids show they have fun achieving things such as moving up a level, competing nationals, world age group, world championships, collegiate level, pro level, and the Olympics games. The kids have fun traveling around the world and learning different cultures in the world they live in.
"Remember this taste no matter how many times you go through it because when you finally get it you appreciate it more" - Ray Lewis (Baltimore Ravens)
Best of luck!
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