Overview
Through instruction and specialized games in our Interactive Arena, Players have fun mastering 24 essential skills for six sports – soccer, baseball, basketball, football, floor hockey and volleyball.
We work on one skill per week. We start with a brief instruction period to learn proper technique (see below). Then we play a series of games to apply the skill. As Players move up to more advanced classes they will master more complex versions of each skill being taught.
Our objective is to make sure that when they get out on the field, court or playground, children are confident and successful. That will help make playing fun and help lead to a self-reinforcing cycle of physical involvement.
More important than the specific skills and sports, Players will be developing a strong athletic foundation, including a variety of motor skills, agility, and overall coordination.
Experts recommend “cross-training” with a wide range of sports and physical activities at these ages, rather than specialization, to help children reach their full physical potential – even if they choose to specialize later.
Complementary Skills
We generally alternate between two sports for several weeks and work on complementary skills in consecutive weeks. For instance, floor hockey dribbling follows soccer dribbling. The general skills relating to moving around defenders and varying speeds while controlling and protecting a ball is common to many sports, even though the ball itself and the specific motor skill for moving it are very different.
By using different sports in complementary ways, players are able to draw from past experiences and continue to refine and expand their overall athleticism each week.
Sport Skill Training System: SCORE
We use a structured, positive method for teaching sports skills called SCORE, which focuses on achieving initial success quickly and then building on it. Each sport is broken down into a handful of key skills, and each skill is broken down into a series of repeatable steps with discrete check points (see sample).
At beginner levels, a child does the minimum steps necessary to achieve a positive result using proper technique. As they progress, they do a more-and-more complete version of the movement.
In each class, we spend a short time learning a skill, and then a longer time exploring and then applying the skill to begin the process of developing "muscle memory" through fun, high energy games and activities.
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