Something that I think often goes under the radar on this subject...
The combination of being 'good' at a sport together with 'enjoyment'.
Often the case, in my opinion, that proficiency enhances enjoyment.
Not often that I see a kid over the age of 10/12 that really enjoys a sport that they're not reasonably proficient at.
This, I think, is the challenge... to find the sport/s that appeal to a young child, develop a degree of proficiency so that they're enthused to continue with that sport in their teens and later.
I agree. When I was coaching I knew that keeping new athletes who were not yet proficient meant making it fun for them to be there. If I could keep them involved to the point where they gained a little success or learned new skills then the enjoyment became internal. I refer to this as "investment." Once athletes are invested in the activity it's much easier to keep them in the sport and they enjoy it a lot more because of what they want rather than what I'm providing.
As always, great read, thank you Bill.
Something that I think often goes under the radar on this subject...
The combination of being 'good' at a sport together with 'enjoyment'.
Often the case, in my opinion, that proficiency enhances enjoyment.
Not often that I see a kid over the age of 10/12 that really enjoys a sport that they're not reasonably proficient at.
This, I think, is the challenge... to find the sport/s that appeal to a young child, develop a degree of proficiency so that they're enthused to continue with that sport in their teens and later.
I agree. When I was coaching I knew that keeping new athletes who were not yet proficient meant making it fun for them to be there. If I could keep them involved to the point where they gained a little success or learned new skills then the enjoyment became internal. I refer to this as "investment." Once athletes are invested in the activity it's much easier to keep them in the sport and they enjoy it a lot more because of what they want rather than what I'm providing.