Magic Moments is Sports
By Dr. Melinda Bossenmeyer, The Recess Doctor
Magic Moments in Sports
This is my granddaughter Kaelyn. “She recently participated in some “magic moments in youth sports”. She actively engages in recreational basketball and competitive swimming for her City’s swim team. She experienced some of these magic moments recently which I’ll share with you later in the article. So how can we create those magic moments so that more kids will want to play sports and have a great experience?
My granddaughter is now 12. She participated in her first swim meet in November. Her coaches put her into 6 races. She was so excited to swim. Not necessarily to compete, but she wanted to swim and race. Magic Moments in Sports
The cool thing about the whole experience was that she competed in the last heat of every event. She loved it. I later found out that she was competing with other first time swimmers who hadn’t raced before. I also find out that all swimmers qualify by time. If you’re slow, you go near the last heat. If you’re fast, you’re in the first couple of heats. So simple, yet so brilliant! Kaelyn was competitive in every race. She didn’t have a clue that she was being placed with “like” swimmers but who cares? She was having fun and now, she is excited to participate in her next meet.
She’s a typical 12-year-old. See the iPod in her hand? That’s her in the picture waiting for swim practice to begin. Because she found an activity she loves, she’s receiving an extra bonus – good health. She swims 5 days a week for 1 hour each day. She meets the CDC guideline for 60 minutes a day of physical activity. She loves swimming, I love the fact that she’s getting exercise that she enjoys.[1]
Sports Then and Now
When I was in high school In California, we had an organization called Girls Athletic Association. Out of a high school with some 1,500+ students, about 350 girls each year participated in GAA. Nearly half of all girls in the school participated in sports activities. I was a high school athlete when Title IX[2] took effect. Shortly thereafter, what we called “teams A and B” became Varsity and Jr. Varsity. I don’t know why, but within a couple of years, GAA ceased to exist. This is significant because, before Title IX, nearly 50% of the high school females participated in what was basketball, tennis, softball, hockey, volleyball, and after-school sports programs, etc. for “FUN.” I remember we drove off with about 6 buses full of sports participants making up about 12 teams. The teams were A-H with the A team being the top athletes and H being the athletes who loved playing and wanted more of a recreation type experience.
Today only about 1 in 4 high school girls [3]get 60 minutes of physical activity a day or play in a sports activity.
So why did girls participate in such large numbers in the ’70s? Because like the swimming experience, they competed against “lesser skilled teams”. Team A from one school competed against Team A from another school. Team G from one school participated against team G from the opposing school. So what happened? No one got “creamed” as they say, so no one left with their head hanging.
What Can We Do to Make All Sports Fun-Filled with Magic Moments?
After my granddaughter’s swimming experience, I began to think, “What could we do to make all sports fun-filled with magic moments?” What this means is that participants experience some level of success.
It just so happened that about 2 weeks after my granddaughter’s swim meet, I attended her coed City recreational basketball league game. The game wasn’t all that close but it wasn’t all that lopsided either. But the real magic happened when the game ended.
The Next Basket Wins
The referees went to both coaches and said, “do you want to play ‘the next basket wins’?” The one rule required was they each had to play with those players who were in at the end of the game, and that ended up being the lesser skilled players on both teams. Both coaches said “yes”.
When the game re-started, it took the kids (and parents) a few minutes to understand what was happening. Even I questioned why they kept playing. But within about 2 minutes, both the fans and the players caught on and what followed was an activity with the intensity of the NBA finals! Parents who hadn’t said a word all game were standing and shouting “shoot, shoot” and the cheers when a basket came close to falling in was nearly deafening.
The “next basket wins” game went on for nearly 5 minutes. Finally, someone hit the next basket winning the game or so it seemed. I’ve never seen so many smiles in a basketball game in my life. But the best part was that every child and every adult left that gym laughing, animated, talking to their child about the game and how much fun they game was.
Nearly Everyone Left Happy
It just so happened that the team that won the real game lost in the “next basket wins” game. So clearly everyone left the gym happy.
I wondered,” How many other experiences like these examples are out there?”. It would be nice if we share these strategies with other coaches, teams, and sports. If you have witnessed a “Magic Moment in Sports.” Please share it. Melinda@peacefulplaygrounds.com I’ll share the results on my Peaceful Playgrounds Blog or in the next newsletter if I get some responses.
