Finding Your Inner Coach with Kids in Sports

Atlanta Area Moms Blog is proud to partner with Kids in Sports for this sponsored post.

It’s obvious you are a mom, right!?  I mean, hello! My kids have yelled “mom!” like 10 times in the time it took to type this sentence.  However, if your child(ren) is involved in a sports program, then it may help to also be called “coach”.  Once your child leaves their sports class or practice, us moms (and dads!) have an opportunity to increase their skill set by working on the skills their actual coaches are trying to teach!

 Today we partnered with the Founder of Kids In Sports, Michael Strutt, to share some great tips on how to reinforce skills learned in a sports class at home!

 Like a lot of subjects, teaching sports skills correctly to kids requires experience. I have been one of the owners of Kids In Sports (a company that focusses on teaching sports skills properly to toddlers, preschoolers and primary school-aged children) for 20 years. I’m often asked, “What’s the best method(s) to teach my kids sports skills and motivate them to practice?”  Here are a few of my favorite tips to help answer that question:

 Our beliefs in coaching start from the fact that each child is unique learns differently and at their own pace. Accepting this fact from the beginning might be the best advice I can give.  However, quickly following that would be to ensure your child is placed in the best environment to learn and for them to be happy while learning.

  1. To successfully teach your child sports skills, first you must determine what space in your house or yard will serve as a good learning environment – a space that is safe, fun and, if possible, distraction-free. Timing is as crucial as location!  What time of day is your child the most attentive? When do they have enough energy to focus?
  2. If your child is enrolled in a sports class like Kids In Sports, pay close attention to how the coaches break down each skill.  Listen for the language they utilize to communicate certain instructions and messages – you will find that the language is tailored towards the child/age.  Be mindful of what is realistic for a child to learn at each age.  We find that using quick bullet point directions are often the best approach for instructing young children.
  3. Remember that after a small amount of time you will lose their attention.  It is very important to know how long “practice time” should last.  Don’t overdo it!  30 minutes is usually plenty of time for young kids and most importantly you want them to finish happy, so they look forward to the next practice. Less is more at young ages.

 Reinforcing what is taught to them in classes led by properly trained coaches can help improve their skills – if your child is meant to succeed at sports they will have to love practicing as there is no substitute for practice and repetition. At home, try finding the right balance of fun and learning because if it gets too silly you will lose the opportunity to teach.

 At Kids In Sports, we give kids the foundation to succeed in sports and realize that kids are most successful when they have parents helping to reinforce skills at home!  

More about Kids In Sports

Kids In Sports offers age-appropriate multi-sport classes inside D-BAT Perimeter Baseball and Softball Academy.

Classes for 1 and 2-year-olds are adult participation which will offer parents or caregivers the opportunity to work directly with their child and coaches.

Classes for children 3 – 6  years old offer the opportunity for children to be challenged slightly more by their coaches and adults are able to observe class and coaching techniques.

Please contact us directly at [email protected] or call us at 678-404-0786. You can also visit our website for more information.

Kids In Sports offers free trial classes and also has a wonderful referral program for parents to take advantage of.  They also offer Camps and Birthday Parties.  Come and Play!

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Jessica
Jessica is an adventure-loving, over-committing, and previously organized mother of 2! She and her husband (high school sweethearts) moved to Atlanta in 2006 after graduating college, ready to start their life in the “real world”. They have experienced so many wonderful life milestones while in Atlanta – lived in Buckhead pre-kids, bought a house in great Smyrna neighborhood, had their first child in 2011 (a spunky little girl, Vivian), welcomed their second child exactly 18 months later in 2012 (a creative and crazy little boy, Harrison), and most recently added a Golden Doodle named Winston into the mix. Jessica and her family have since moved to the burbs of Milton where you now find them past 2 horse farms on the right. Jessica has always loved being part of a community, so when the opportunity to join the Atlanta Mom executive team presented itself it was a no brainer! She loved it so much, in fact, that in 2021 she and Natalie joined forces to lead the team and continue connecting with awesome moms across the ATL!