Youth Sports vs Education

What is it that makes youth sports so entertaining? Why can we not make education just as entertaining? These are some questions I have lately been thinking about. As I spend most of my time coaching youth soccer I find that kids are excited to be outside and playing youth sports. A matter a fact thats all they talk about when I see them, be it football, hockey, soccer. They love to be involved in those types of things....why not school?

Sport, Education and youth sports.

I believe too often we want children to see school as a job and not a place of fun. We make all these rules and behavior modifications that make children do certain things. I believe as teachers we should try to figure out a way to engage students more!

Seeing Children Improve motor skills

If you have ever watched a child play a sport at a younger age and then continued to watch them play that same sport for a long period of time you know that the amount of improvement is amazing. Observers may see large improvements or small improvements. For example, I am lucky enough to work with a 9-10 year old boys soccer team. I have been working with these boys for about a year now and the improvement in motor skill development is simply astounding. These boys went from not being able to control a soccer ball to being able to dribble and strike the ball much harder than they had when they were younger. These simple improvements seem like they are not a big deal but when you see the development happen in front of your face it is truly extraordinary.
I think motor development very important to the younger age groups because without motor development, children could never get good at a sport or activity. I see this helping K-12 teachers because they need to understand how helpful motor skills.