Learning the language of active living

Learning the alphabet is a key step in building literacy to read, just as Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) are the key steps toward physical literacy. Physical literacy is the ability to move with confidence, play with skill and the competency to be active for life.

At the Richmond Olympic Oval, each and every Oval Sport leader is FMS NCCP accredited, allowing our leaders to combine the science of athlete development research with the soul of apparently "simple" children's games to keep the learning fun!


We get a lot of questions from parent and kids about the games we play. For example, how is a game like British Bulldog relevant to developing movement skills? And how is it relevant to athlete development in general?

We know that fundamental movement skills such as running, jumping, catching and throwing are best learned during childhood. The research shows that there are biological windows of trainability when kids are best suited to develop these skills.

The fact is that many apparently "simple" games help to develop these very important movement skills - and just as importantly, they are fun.

Therefore, we might be playing a game like Dragon Tag, but our instructors ensure the kids working on accelerated hand and foot speed. This is important during that early window when kids are five to nine years old, which is the time when they can make the biggest gains in speed development.

Here are some other examples we use with parents and children to help them visualize the value of the games we play.

DRAGON TAG: "Tag isn't just a kid's game! You're training for change of direction and change of speed. You're developing agility, balance, coordination, and power! What do you think Kobe Bryant does on the basketball court every night? He plays Dragon Tag!"

OCTOPUS (British Bulldog): "Octopus is all about evasion and agility ... What do you think CFL Football star Jon Cornish did all season? These are all-purpose yards!" It might not sound scientific to explain our activities with these images, but it sure helps to give kids and parents a clear picture. Physical literacy is not an easy thing to explain, so we do everything in our power to make it simple, meaningful and fun!

— Source: ActiveForLife.ca

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