The Christian Lifestyle Magazine, Issue 12

SPORT
"MY CHILD
CAN’T PLAY
SPORT"
Over the years, if there is a phrase
that we have heard over and over
again it’s “my child can’t play sport”.
When asking parents why they
think this is the case, it normally
comes down to one of two options.
Either the parent does not consider
themselves sporty and therefore
classifies their child in the same boat
or they say something like “my child
just doesn’t like sport”.
SO WHY AREN’T MORE KIDS
PLAYING SPORT?
During our first few years on the
planet, all our learning starts through
movement. Young kids love to go
outside and play, so why are so many
children giving up playing sport
at a young age? Our suggestion is
because they are not introduced to
sport/play in the appropriate way for
their physical development and for
them to grow a love for sport and
play. Without this love for sport/play,
it becomes something they have to
do and not something they want to
do.
SO WHAT’S THE BEST
APPROACH TO MAKE SURE
OUR KIDS WANT TO PLAY?
When I was growing up, I wanted
to be a famous cricket player. I was
told by everyone around me that the
sooner I can do my 10 000 hours,
the better. The “10 000 hour rule”
suggests that in order to become
good at a single sport, you needed
to practice at least 10 000 hours to
become professional. But that was
20 years ago…
Since then, science has come a
long way. Although it seems quite
obvious that if you want to get better
at something you need to practice,
it’s not about how much you practice
but more about the quality of that
practice. Kids who pick a single
sport from a young age often get
burnout of the sport and give it up
after a few years (as they have lost
their joy to play the sport). Evidence
suggests that there is little proof
that specializing in a single sport
early on in life will give you any more
chance of becoming the best in the
world. Sampling a variety of sports
and growing as an athlete is the way
to go, if we want more kids playing
sport for longer.
THE SPORTS HUB PROGRAM
Using the Long Term Player
Development model found in the
South African Sports for life plan first
released by SASCOC in 2012, the
Sports Hub program was designed
by its founder Henk Oosthuizen. The
program uses the sport sampling
approach (also known as multi-sport
approach) to make sure that every
child can play sport. By making sure
that a child achieves their age and
stage specific physical development
goals, the program helps children
stay active for life. This happens
whether the child wants to pursue
sporting excellence, or simply
wants to play sport to remain active
and live a healthy lifestyle. The
program takes children from Play
ready (focusing on the fundamental
movement skills) to Sports and then
Match Ready (equipping kids to learn
sport skills and play the matches of
the sports that are popular in South
Africa).
EVERY CHILD IS IMPORTANT
We realise that each child is
different that if we want more kids
to continue playing sport for the rest
of their lives, we need to make sure
that each child gets individualised
attention. That’s why the Sports
Hub program promises parents that
their children will be in a group of no
bigger than 10 kids (to one coach).
Sports Hub coaches coach sport
specific skills which is important but learning attributes
like winning and losing are also a priority of the program.
Sports Hub coaches are qualified/trained and are a massive
part of why the program has been such a success. These
coaches love kids and get the best out of our program by
making it the highlight of the kids week.
HOW DID WE GET HERE?
In June 2014, Sports Hub started at a small school in
the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town. The goal was to
become the best foundation phase sports program in the
world, that young girls and boys would love. Since then,
the program has spread like wildfire, with more than 70
schools, 2000 kids and 14 franchises around the country
all choosing Sports Hub to help unlock the sporting
potential of the kids at their school. The team of Franchise
Owners and Coaches are out in the sun doing what they
love every day, as the program reaches more and more
children every day.
ADVICE FOR PARENTS
Let’s get more kids playing and loving sport again! Putting
pressure on your young kids to win when they are young
and not allowing them to find their own joy in sport isn’t
helping. Encourage them to try as much as possible and
find out for themselves which sport they enjoy (which
won’t necessarily be the one you enjoyed!) Do your
research on the activity which you are signing them up for,
making sure that it is in the best interests of their physical
development and that it’s something which will help them
grow a lifelong love for sport and play.
BUY A FRANCHISE
Sports Hub has Franchises for sale all around South Africa! To join the fastest growing
Foundation Phase Sports Program in SA, please make contact with us!
SIMON HOBBS
SPORTS HUB CO-OWNER
26 THE CHRISTIAN LIFESTYLE 27