How do we make sport more fun for children?
More and more children aged five to 17 are being reported overweight or obese in Canada over the past 30 years and this trend continues to increase. A significant reason for increase in weight and therefore risks for being overweight and unhealthy into adulthood is a result of less physical activity and is linked to children quitting organized sports earlier.
Why are children choosing to not participate in sport/activity altogether or why are they quitting early? Studies suggest the number one reason children stop participating in organized sport is that it is simply not fun anymore. Many would rather play video games than soccer and that shows in our wellness trends and health statistics.
So how to we combat this and make sports more fun so that children participate for longer and build habits for being active and healthy that can they take into adulthood?
A study done by Amanda J. Visek, associate professor of exercise science and her research team at the George Washington University, showed that there were 11 basic tenets for what makes sport fun. They asked 236 soccer players, coaches and parents (but mostly players) to create a concept map of what they believed made playing sport fun. While the study was done on soccer players, 75 per cent of the athletes surveyed also played other sports so it is suggested that these same tenets also apply to a range of sports but the study could be expanded to survey other sports to see if any of these concepts would change.
Out of the 11 tenets for what makes sport fun, the top three were as follows:
1. Positive team dynamics: Showing good sportsmanship; being supportive/getting support from teammates; playing well, warming up, stretching as a team.
2. Trying hard: Exercising and being active; trying your best/playing well during a game; being strong and confident; setting and achieving goals.
3. Positive coaching: When a coach encourages players and treats them with respect; getting clear, consistent communication from a coach; a coach who allows mistakes while staying positive; when a coach participates with players during practice.
Interestingly, having cool looking gear/equipment/jerseys, earning medals or trophies, and having team photos and other swag was reported the least important factor in what makes sport fun for youth athletes. If we can focus more of our efforts as coaches, team managers, sport administrators, parents and athletic role models on the concepts identified by athletes as being more important, we will likely see an increase in participation in sport and a lower instance of children quitting sport/physical activity due to them not being fun anymore.
Alyssia DeWolfe is the owner of Back Alley Fitness and a member of the Females in Action Moving and Empowering Committee.
