Increase participation within the team or training group
For children and youth, the team and training group represent the most immediate and significant environment for influencing their sporting experience. Some young people may not wish to interact with other groups or individuals from different parts of the association—it may feel unsafe or uninteresting. It is important to respect this and focus on increasing participation within the small group. This is often a first step toward later feeling confident enough to engage more deeply in the life of the association.
Children and youth often express a desire for social activities outside of training to strengthen the community and get to know one another better. Leaders can meet this need by arranging kick-offs, social activities that replace training sessions, or season finales—before, during, and after the season.
If these activities are structured throughout the year, natural forums are created where children can:
- Provide feedback on training sessions and request specific exercises
- Discuss the season and topics such as tactics and selections
- Talk about nervousness, menstruation and sports, performance anxiety, mental health, etc.
- Share thoughts on the qualities of a good leader and the group’s conduct toward one another
This can be done in playful and simple ways, adapted to the children’s age and maturity. A tip for fostering discussion could be to use RF-SISU’s digital card deck “What do you think?” You can find it here!
In our association, we have on several occasions arranged meetings featuring a mix of play, food/refreshments, and dialogue—where each group can discuss what is most important to them at that moment.
