Sports center for kids
- Posted by Cristian on December 12th, 2006 filed in Education, Entertainment
Opportunity: offering services for kids
After a talk with some colleagues and relatives who have small children I came to the idea that in Bucharest we’re missing a sports center for kids. And I don’t mean that sports clubs don’t accept children of 5 years or above, it’s just that when accepted they follow strict rules on what to practice. Trying to orient them in achieving performance at this age can be a mistake.
I consider this to be a factor to why most children quit and get to resent that sport. For instance some children are so fascinated by what they see at older students that they want to practice that immediately, but can’t because someone decided other things for them.
The idea is to have different sports instructors in a center, make groups of students for each sport and have the instructor train them. Instructors need to be patient and not necessarily the best in the business, but good professionals, because when kids learn some techniques if they choose to continue studying some will have issues adapting to the performance training regime later.
Also if a kid decides after 5 months of practice that he doesn’t like football anymore, he can take a taekwondo course at the same center with the same or other teacher. That way you don’t lose too many customers.
A way to reduce initial costs can be renting an aerobic room in a gym for a few hours a week and just bringing in the staff.
Of course, a safety code must be followed and it’s a must that students don’t injure themselves, but wouldn’t you think that doing the exercises they want, children will be motivated to practice harder and harder?
Written by Cristian
December 13th, 2006 at 1:24 am
What’s wrong with sports for performance? It builds character, creates strong team spirit and so on. I think kids that go to a center like that will grow into losers. You can learn a lot from failing, that builds character too, it’s not like life’s gonna’ be a stroll in the park. I still think it’s a good idea for making money but…
December 13th, 2006 at 1:32 am
Nothing wrong - just that by their very definition, performance sports are not for everybody. I remember as a kid my parents tried to find a place for me to practice sports, but all they could find were these ‘performance sports’ places. They did nothing but stress me out. I used to be afraid to go!
While sports for performance have their place, there certainly is marketspace for places where ordinary kids can enjoy friendly, relaxing physical activity.
December 13th, 2006 at 1:34 am
Interesting idea….however I don’t have very clear in mind the link/connection between the trainers - not the best in their branch but good professionals, students and children. I can almost see a job announcement for one potential trainer - “Looking for sport trainer for kids, good professional (but not necessary,if it is too much for you) having experience in working with kids( maybe own kids?). Students might be accepted…we are still considering”.
In the same time it would be a bit difficult to organize in a rented aerobic room specific sports that kids like very much (like football or basketball etc. that ususally need specific infrastructure).
The idea is good …but has to be polished a bit, don’t you think?
December 13th, 2006 at 3:04 am
I guess the “not top professionals” refers to that these people don’t need to be Octavian Belu or Mariana Bitang. Rather than being top athletes, they need skills in working with children and the ability to learn new structures.
I don’t know about rented aerobic room - maybe something could be arranged with inflatable toys or other equipment that can be brought in on a temporary basis?
December 13th, 2006 at 3:07 am
Two similar franchises in the US:
Kickin’ Flips Kids Fitness
The Little Gym
December 13th, 2006 at 2:48 pm
To initiate a kid in sports he first needs to be informed of his options. You don’t need to push him into turning pro at 6 years…. it’s about showing him the way. I don’t know how experienced you are with kids, from what I know you can’t bring logical arguments to a kid.
And just to “show him the wayâ€, the trainers don’t need to be karate experts, practiced for 20 years and still going. They need to have skills and knowledge about different sports. Also it is important to differentiate sports for example there is a thin line between karate ashihara and karate shotokan, but there is one.
Of course they need to be good with kids, doh….
December 13th, 2006 at 3:00 pm
But have you considered that those trainers need to be prepared to face crisis situations?
December 13th, 2006 at 6:19 pm
A sport club for kids is a wonderful idea - it’s a way to make them more attracted to sports than video games. Team games, tennis, martial arts, dances … are to be taken into account. The idea is great, don’t know about the implementation…
December 24th, 2006 at 1:20 am
[...] Cristian was discussing a few days ago about creating a sports center for kids. The idea is good, but I was thinking of something else to complete the portfolio of services that the center may offer: What do you think about fitness activities for mothers with small children? Most of them are “damned” to stay at home with the kids and take care of them for one or two years (in Romania the legal maternity leave is two years). No interaction with other people (except for family and close friends), weight gain and sometimes even health problems after the pregnancy, tiring caretaking for the baby….these are only some challenges in the life of a woman that has recently become a mother. [...]
March 15th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
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