Marcus Agnew: Physical literacy in kids vital

Marcus Agnew

IT'S NATURAL, we all want to give our kids the chance to be the best they can be. The most common fundamental question is: what should my child be doing at each stage of their development to give them the best chance of confidently engaging in lifelong healthy physical activity, and/or competitive sport?

Yes it's a parent thing, but also a community thing.

Not only as a parent do we want to feel satisfied that we are doing a good job, but as a society we surely want to be proud that we have done our bit to provide a quality environment for the long-term development of all the kids around us, whatever they choose to get into later in life.

In general we see too much early specialisation, ie, kids focusing on one or two sports, and parents too worried about the results and how well the child is doing now, rather than the development their child is getting with the long-term outcomes in mind. Ideally the focus would be on achieving the critical development steps for the child, which will best equip them for a wide range of participation options in their future.

So if we do focus on the long-term development, and get the system right, we will achieve two major goals of a) developing the physical literacy of our children, and b) increasing the societal levels of physical activity.

Physical literacy is about establishing the necessary foundations for a lifelong involvement in health-enhancing physical activity and sport, and involves the development of fundamental movement skills and fundamental sport skills.

It's more than just a physical focus, it's the work habits, the self-esteem from achieving physical tasks, the confidence to forever continue engaging in activities, and the fun! Therefore the critical link is obvious, the link between developing physical literacy and establishing healthier habits to combat the increasingly prevalent (and costly) lifestyle-related health conditions our society is burdened with.

Combating such health conditions in our community is only going to become more of an issue. In the modern digital age we live in, utilising technological gadgets for entertainment is the norm and thus so much more playtime has become completely inactive.

Of course that is not to say there is not a place for physically relaxing entertainment with digital devices or reading a book; we don't have to be running around like physical maniacs. There are plenty of people who live a healthy life without being engaging in organised sport, and some kids just aren't interested in it, but it's not these people we are talking about ... it's the people who struggle to manage a healthy lifestyle, those who would love to be more physical, even engaged in competitive sport, and those who had the potential but were not given the tools during their youth and have since gone so far off the track that there is almost no return.

For any groups involved in promoting physical activity, they are up against billion-dollar industries of video and computer games. Therefore we need to be proactive and find ways for everyone to participate, and certainly we need to have a targeted approach for our children with whom we can make the easiest gains, and who are still in the process of developing their lifestyle habits.

Physical activity of course also includes recreation, some activities of which are now merging with and into competitive sports, such as canoe slalom which is already in the Olympics, and rock climbing which is on the shortlist for Tokyo 2020.

Developing fundamental skills such as run, jump, throw, catch and swim can have a long-lasting and profound impact on a sporting and physical activity life - eg, if a young child can't throw they are unlikely to confidently attempt, let alone enjoy, sports such as cricket, softball, baseball, netball or the athletics throwing events.

So physical literacy developed in kids sets them up for "Active for Life" - which for the majority will be healthy general participation but for others will enable involvement in competitive sport, and for some with the real desire to complete all the stages of development, to being put on the pathway toward fulfilling their potential and achieving sporting excellence.

And that is what long-term athlete development is all about - providing a structured framework enabling people of all ages to confidently engage in sport or activity for life. We need to avoid kids having too much continual competition and not allowing enough time for the proper development at each stage.

Ideally all kids regardless of background would have the opportunity to access programmes and develop the necessary fundamental skills enabling them to confidently participate in any sport or activity they choose, at whatever stage in life they choose.

If we get it right in Hawke's Bay we will have a healthier and happier community, and this is what the main focus of AUT Millennium Hawke's Bay will be - physical literacy education for our kids, healthy lifestyles education, and programmes for all - and then, even more great things will grow here.

-Marcus Agnew leads Talent Development and the Pathway to Podium for AUT Millennium Hawkes's Bay. He is also a lecturer in sports science at EIT.

-Business and civic leaders, organisers, experts in their field and interest groups can contribute opinions. Views expressed here are the writer's personal opinion, and not the newspaper's. Email editor@hbtoday.co.nz.