SCORE™ Training Method

We break complex skills down into steps that can

be learned at different levels of complexity as

children progress.

As children progress from basic motor skills to multi-step sport skills, the complexity of the coordinated movements needed to execute each skill grows considerably (as does the risk of failure, leading to potential discouragement and drop out).

Traditional "sink-or-swim" teaching methods, found in rec leagues everywhere, do little to address this.

By contrast, Great Play uses a unique teaching method, which divides skills (such as a swing) into a number of steps, starting with the minimum number of steps necessary for a positive result, even if it is a small one. As the child masters each stage of learning, we add additional steps and advance to the next stage.

This method, which we call SCORE (Successes COntinuously Reinforced and Extended) helps children succeed quickly, and then keeps expanding on that success, when they are ready, until they are doing the full skill.

The benefits of this are:

1. Players succeed immediately, which is fun and builds confidence and self-esteem, even if it is a relatively small success.
2. Learning is individualized and more predictable: Our coaches help Players advance individually through discreet stages as their skills progress. If a stage proves too difficult, coaches simply return to the prior stage.
3. Players will be more likely to stick with it because it is enjoyable and they always feel they are doing well -- because they are always challenged right at their current level.

Our coaches have to work hard to make the learning easy! Each coach receives extensive training to be able to teach in the SCORE system, and each skill is supported by detailed documentation of the step-by-step process used for learning that skill. This ensures that each class will help each child make progress on the skill being covered, and that you'll get a consistent learning experience at each and every Great Play!