Positive youth development has been described as lifespan development because children are being taught skills, values and virtues that help them during adolescence, which will also help them thrive throughout life.
A study conducted with players, parents, and coaches in grassroots football found that life skills were important for young people to learn.
More specifically, they can be grouped into the following:
- Social skills
- Discipline
- Respect
- Personal control
- Organisation
- Leadership
Let’s take a look at each group and the skills that can be obtained from each:
Social skills
- Ability to communicate verbally
- Making friends
- Ability to work with others
- Communicating non-verbally
- Ability to listen to others’ instructions and views
Discipline
- Behaving appropriately in different environments
- Demonstrating good sportsmanship
- Being determined to achieve
- Being committed
- Working hard
Respect
- Showing respect towards others
- Showing respect towards peers
- Showing respect towards coaches
- Showing respect towards opponents
- Showing respect towards officials
- Showing respect towards parents
- Respecting your club
Personal control
- The ability to make decisions
- The ability to manage distractions
- The ability to cope with winning and losing
- The ability to cope with challenges
- The ability to solve problems
- The ability to cope with pressure
- The ability to control emotions
- Being confident
Organisation
- Time keeping
- Preparing properly
Leadership
- Supporting less able/younger players
- Taking responsibility in a group
As you can see, grassroots football is about more than just “kicking a ball around.”
It’s a great way to develop the young people of today into the leaders of tomorrow.
So, what are you waiting for?
Come and join Brundall Bolts, where we place your child’s development as our first priority.
