Laying The Foundations With Fundamental Moving Skills
There’s no denying the benefits of physical activity and literacy for both adults and children. That’s why England Athletics set up funetics: a fun and inclusive programme to help children across the country. Our aim is for children to learn, practice and develop the fundamental movement skills of running, jumping and throwing. Through sports activities for kids, we can build a healthy and confident future.
But we can’t do this alone. It’s only with the support of hard-working and dedicated volunteers that this vision can come to life. This includes the help of our fantastic club system who have set up numerous junior sections for kids’ sports across the country. Last week, we had the pleasure of visiting Yeovil Olympiads Athletics Club (YOAC) where we saw their junior sessions teaching kids’ athletics first-hand.
For more information on the importance of physical activity, see the latest Sport England Active Lives Children and Young People Survey.
Visiting Yeovil Olympiads
The weather has been a law unto itself the past few months across the UK. The night we chose to visit YOAC for their sports activities for kids was certainly no exception. The winds were high and the rain strong, but the enthusiasm amongst the athletes and coaches was better than ever.
The evening started with a foundation session for the youngest members. Athletes could choose to focus on one of three kids’ athletics: running, jumping or throwing. Later in the evening, a second series of sessions took place for the older athletes who again were split up by event group. We caught up with Geoff Cole, Chairman at YOAC, to hear his thoughts on the two sessions and on the junior section as a whole:
“The last few years have certainly been challenging because of Covid but the club is bouncing back now which is great and we are seeing new enquiries from young athletes quite regularly and our numbers are now quite strong. We’re looking forward to a summer of athletics on hopefully better nights than tonight.”
We also asked Geoff (pictured in the middle, alongside Regional Volunteer Award winners Annette and Paul) his favourite thing about being involved with YOAC. Geoff explained that there are many reasons he enjoys being involved with YOAC, but it’s the community spirit that really stands out amongst the kids’ athletics and sports:
“My favourite thing about being part of the Olympiads is it feels like a real team club. There’s a great team spirit here which is amazing and I’m really proud of that and hope it extends long into the future.”
A Unique Relationship
One of the most exciting parts of seeing these sports activities for kids was hearing about the unique relationship YOAC has with the South Somerset District County Council (SSDCC). YOAC and SSDCC have been working together to develop and promote both adults’ and kids’ athletics in the local community. This includes junior sessions held by the council on Mondays and Holiday Camps when schools aren’t in session.
Whilst in Yeovil, we were fortunate to catch up with Ashley Smalley, Facilities Manager at Yeovil Recreation Centre. He told us about the relationship between the Council and YOAC and what this means for young athletes:
“The relationship between YOAC and ourselves gives the club a platform to build their membership base and provide youngsters with a clear path from first starting athletics and running to becoming adults who love the sport and have been involved for many years.”
It was great to see the enthusiasm shown by all the young athletes at both training sessions. Rich Ayling, Club Support Manager at England Athletics, summarised his thoughts after visiting YOAC:
“Tonight has been absolutely fantastic. We’ve been fortunate enough to see some of the younger ones doing their foundation sessions as well as some sessions for the more senior athletes. What has really stood out for me this evening is the sense of community at the club. It’s wet and it’s cold tonight but the passion for athletics and running really came through with everyone we spoke to. It’s clear there’s a real family feel at the club.”
More
Are you interested in finding out more about what funetics has to offer? Get in touch to discuss the development of fundamental movement skills for young athletes within your own club or area. We run funetics Holiday Camps dedicated to sports activities for kids during school holidays, and the funetics funding toolkit to support schools obtain their own funding.
You can also learn how England Athletics is supporting clubs and facilities across the country.