Do you recall the days of your childhood when you would meet
your friends outside in the morning and play all day long? You made up teams and played tag,
baseball, and dodge ball, capture the flag whatever you felt like that
day. It was unstructured and while
there may have been rules you and your friends made them up to suit your
particular situation. Many
“experts” are lamenting the lack of free
play in current society.
“Remarkably, over the last 50 years, opportunities for
children to play freely have declined continuously and dramatically in the
United States and other developed nations; and that decline continues, with
serious negative consequences for children’s physical, mental, and social
development,” Peter Gray, a research professor of psychology at Boston College.
Gray has presented research showing a correlation between
the decline of free play in developed nations and the rise of depression,
suicide, feelings of helplessness, and narcissism in children, teens, and young
adults.
Gray also notes that the modern segregation of kids into
same-age groups, common in today’s classrooms and schoolyards, may not be
optimal for child development. He says that during age-mixed play, older, more
skilled participants “provide scaffolds that raise the level of the younger
participants’ play” and stretch their abilities to higher levels. He cites
other studies in which older children were observed exposing younger children
to more complex concepts of literacy, math, and sociability. By interacting
with younger children, older students develop increased capacities to nurture,
lead, and learn by teaching. [1]
On Professor Gray’s last point I agree wholeheartedly! When I was a kid I always had to bring
my brother along whenever I would play with my friends, he was 5 years younger
than me. We didn’t take it easy on
him and he learned how to compete and “survive” against more mature stronger
kids. But he was better for the
experience; he endeared himself to my friends because he always dusted himself
off and got back in the ring. He
also developed an enthusiastic group of supporters. It was fairly common to attract half dozen or more teenagers
to his little league games. Not
only did he earn respect and how to interact with older kids he also developed
into quite an athlete. By the time
he was in 7th grade I would always pick him first to be on my team
and he would run circles around the stunned older kids.
In my 10-14 youth classes I occasionally make allowances for
younger siblings (age 9) to make the scheduling easier for the parents. And inevitably the older sibling will
“look out” for the younger by giving them a few coaching tips. It’s also very common that non-related
older children will take the younger kids “under their wing” by providing a pat
on the back or other subtle but powerful boosts to their confidence. This all occurs without any prodding
from me I just watch it happen and make a mental note of it, and it’s a
beautiful thing for a coach to see!
And therein lies the power of free play the kids take
ownership and learn how to create their own culture. As coaches we need to provide a general outline for kids
while still allowing and encouraging them to create and find their own unique
way of doing things. What I mean
by that is there is no one-way or even right way to throw a football, kick a
soccer ball, or evade a defender.
Kids if given the opportunity will find the way that works best for them
and that type of instinctive and reflexive execution of skill is a key element
of advanced athletic talent.
Think about the great athletes of all time do you think they
honed those skills by playing nearly year round in adult organized
leagues? I believe the skill and
drive to excel was born at an early age on the playgrounds with friends and
neighborhood kids. Once that
passion and raw talent is in place then it can be harnessed by coaches and
directed by parents. The current
youth sport culture compels parents to get their kids involved in leagues and
travel teams at a very early age.
The idea, though flawed, is that if they don’t start their sport “clock”
early their more advanced peers will leave them behind with no hope of catching
up. That line of thinking is
actually backward but that is a story for another day.
All kids are grieving the loss of free play! Back to my 10-14 class, I was wrapping
up a session with the group and while we do all of the necessary speed,
agility, core, mobility, and strength training (by the way you can still make
this type of training fun) I still like to reward them with free play at the
end of the class and they always look forward to it. One of the girls as she was leaving saw two brothers in the
next class pulling all kinds of equipment to the middle of the floor. She curiously asked me what they were
doing? I said they are building a
fort for an active game that we play.
She responded with an incredulous look on her face, as if to say, “hey,
you’ve been holding out on us!”
Yes, even the athletic kids
like and crave unstructured creative play.
There is a time for more dedicated focus for young athletes
in a single sport/endeavor but only when the time is right (late to-mid teens…),
and even then there should be a plan in place to counteract those demands
(off-field training and more free play).
Until that time free play with as little structure as is necessary
should dominate their physical culture.
Reference:
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