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Many parents may wonder when their child should start to engage in sporting activities and Harbour Sport believes there are many benefits of starting young.
Harbour Sport community sport coach Miguel Gallardo says 85 per cent of brain development happens in the first three years of life and that sport can contribute to this.
“The most important skills young children can learn through sport are social skills and self confidence,” Miguel says.
“These are core skills for life that will allow children to overcome challenges and be part of different groups.”
Those are the mental positives and Miguel believes modern lifestyle means the physical benefits are important, too.
“These days there is an increase in sedentary habits due to technology, meaning movement is vital to develop strength from an early age.
“This will also help them to understand their physical limits and assist weight control to avoid obesity.”
Miguel says that unfortunately there are a number of factors that either prevent young children from participating in sport or cause them to drop out.
One of these is introducing a competitive environment too quickly.
“Adult models of sport focused around winning are sometimes adopted too early when children are not ready to face the psychological pressures that come with that.”
He says it is also important to let children try as many sports as they can until the age of about 14 when they can begin to specialise.
Some of the options that children can try around Rodney include rippa rugby, football and netball.
The Mahurangi Rugby Football Club has introduced two rippa rugby teams for four year olds this year.
Coach Bernie Kose says the teams work on ball skills, fitness and developing team work.
“Starting young gives them good grounding not only in the way rugby is played but also in working together as a team,” he says.
Cam Gray coordinates First Kicks football for children aged three to five years. There are no competitive games, but instead, team challenges to meet the mental capabilities of the age group.
“They enjoy the chance to be part of a team and follow in the footsteps of their footballing idols,” Cam says.
Lynette Gubb is president of the Rodney Netball Centre, which hosts the ANZ Future Ferns programme introduced by Netball New Zealand in 2014.
“This provides progressive development stages for players with the emphasis on developing fundamental movement skills, introducing netball skills, providing a game that grows with the players and the focus on having fun,” she says.
On May 13 the centre hosted a muster day to measure interest among pre-school children for the introduction of a Fun Ferns programme.
