I was recently presented with the opportunity to oversee the K-Year 2 program within the International Football and Tennis college. It’s no secret that my passion is to provide the optimal start for an active and successful life with our younger students. Below you will find why your kids are in the best environment possible. Thanks again to everyone for enrolling your kids at our college and being on the same page as me.
Excerpt from the Australian Sports Commission AHKA Physical Literacy document
The Active Healthy Kids Australia (AHKA) 2014 Physical Activity Report Card showed that, as a nation, Australia was failing in regards to the overall physical activity levels of its children and young people. Two years on the story is much the same with a grade of D – again assigned for both Overall Physical Activity and for Sedentary Behaviours. What this means is that, despite all the evidence showing the health benefits associated with increased activity and the detriments associated with excessive screen time Australian children (of all ages) still need to “move more and sit less”.
But why are we still failing when it comes to our kids moving more? Australia is lucky in having excellent physical activity facilities in both communities and in colleges; we are well equipped with grassed playing fields, indoor and outdoor courts, swimming pools and an abundance of play areas and walk and cycle-ways. Just as being academically literate requires skills, practise and tools, being physically literate also requires specific skills and capabilities. Perhaps we need to ask “Do our kids have all the tools they need to be physically literate and engage in physical activity now and in the future?”
The term ‘Physical Literacy’ has become more widely used in recent years, however there are many questions that still need to be answered in order to understand how to unpack it, measure it, improve it and consider how it changes across a lifespan. But what is it? Physical Literacy encompasses the physical, cognitive, emotional and social capabilities an individual needs to be physically active for life.
Leave a Reply