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Mike Rubick 

Playball NZ Ltd.

Specialised Sports Coaching for 2-9 Year Olds

Playball© is a sport and movement programme for children between the ages of two and nine. All of the programs are taught in a fun-filled, energetic positive, environment and for the last 25 years. children from all over the world have loved it! At face level, Playball© is a program which seems to have, as its main objectives: improving basic movement development skills and refining sport skills and technique. The success of this seemingly "sport programme" is in actual fact that it is not only that! it has been developed, improved and re-designed over the past 25 years resulting in a coaching system that is educational in every aspect. Playball programs are age specific, with each of our programs taking into account the difference in the cognitive, emotional, social and motor development of the children in each age group.

Age Specific Material According To A Childs Physical Development

All of the our teaching material and our Coaching Systems© are "outcome" based meaning that they are defined by what the children being taught require at a specific stage in their developmental level - all of our programs are thus age specific and align themselves with the sound educational principle of teaching children well within the boundaries of their age profile. Our programs for younger children are more focused on movement development - with a smaller ratio of sport skills, whereas programs for older children have a bigger ratio of sport skills and a smaller percentage of time is spent on consciously developing movement skills which is so necessary in the younger years.

An Educational Approach According To Emotional And Cognitive Development

Playball© coaches are sport teachers who know that when coaching young children sport correctly, it is not possible to simply teach physical skills in isolation. The emotional/social as well as cognitive development of children has an equally important role to play when considering coaching techniques. The way in which Playball©coaches teach, is to instruct children about life skills, values and norms whilst developing their physical skills. This approach is educational and holistic, ensuring that the focus is the development of the "whole child". Our approach is a positive one - we believe that positive encouragement and giving the child an opportunity to experience success (however small) will improve self-concept, confidence and this in turn will improve competence. In short, we believe that all our sport coaches not only have knowledge about the physical aspect when coaching, but have knowledge about the emotional and cognitive state of the children, and all contribute to the child`s total development.

Playball© is taught in an organized and structured manner similar to a classroom situation. Children are taught to listen to instructions, to observe demonstrations attentively, to concentrate while attempting the skills. Healthy values are also instilled in participants like treating other students with respect, co-operating well, taking turns, being flexible and being a good sport who can win and lose with dignity.