As I write this I do so with a great deal of passion, I truly do believe the title of this article.
However, I find myself a little conflicted in my actions. The reason being, some of my roles, Strength & Conditioning coach & Basketball coach contribute to some of the issues I will elaborate on in this post.
Now more than ever we are; inactive, sedentary, sore, anxious, and unhealthy.
It’s blunt, but it’s true.
Like anything, there are a variety of reasons that this is the case, but the one I want to write about is Physical Activity.
The World Health Organization defines Physical Activity as the following:
“Physical activity refers to all movement. Popular ways to be active include walking, cycling, wheeling, sports, active recreation and play, and can be done at any level of skill and for enjoyment by everybody.“
It is important to emphasize that ‘any skill level’ can do it and that the purpose is ‘enjoyment’.
It is also important to note that yes, Sport is a form of Physical Activity but it is not the sole modality of Physical Activity, there are other avenues listed.
Unfortunately, I don’t believe the culture of Physical Activity in our society demonstrates the definition above.
Instead here are the trends (issues) I am seeing with societies Physical Activity practices:
- To me, it seems like Physical Activity and Sport have almost become synonymous. Adolescents who play Sport are Physically Active and those who don’t aren’t.
- Because of this, Physical Activity is becoming less and less inclusive in society. Junior Sport is becoming more and more elitist, which is causing it to prioritize high skilled kids more. Sure any skill level can play, but will they enjoy it? Will they have the same opportunities as the high skilled kids?
- This current trend in society leads to many kids with tarnished movement experiences. They don’t enjoy it, they are excluded, maybe even humiliated, and then we wonder why they won’t explore other opportunities for Physical Activity, even things as simple as going outside for a walk.
Being in both the Strength & Conditioning and Sporting sectors I do see potential for adjustments in both that can help make those environments more inclusive to all skill levels and enjoyable for adolescents.
However, I also believe the amount of change we can have in those areas is somewhat limited.
Whilst more enjoyable and inclusive practices in those environments might keep adolescents around longer and will certainly improve there movement experiences, both do, ultimately prioritize one of the following three:
- Aspiring youth athletes (with potential to achieve one of the next two dot points)
- Semi professional athletes
- Or, professional athletes
Instead I believe the change is needed outside of these fields, increased opportunities and inclusive environments will provide opportunities for all adolescents to be Physically Active, so that they don’t have to rely on Sport or the gym.
This year I have taken my Support Work for adolescents with developmental disabilities from the gym to outdoors.
I have learnt so much about these adolescents by moving them simply from the gym environment, to the outdoor environment.
It is incredible to see the shift in there engagement levels when you get them participating in Physical Activity that is:
- Interesting to them
- Enjoyable
- Challenging, but achievable
For some it is games such as; down ball, keep ups or relay races.
Others love different movements; hanging from bars, crawling with a cone / ball on there back, balancing on beams, scaling boulders and jumping from rock to rock.
And some just enjoy walking & talking – even better yet when they love doing it with a peer.
It’s interesting that once people reach adolescents we stop promoting activities like the ones I’ve mentioned above or the ones detailed in the World Health Organization’s definition of Physical Activity.
What I’ve found is that there is actually a large percentage who still really enjoy these activities (even athletes). And for those that don’t enjoy them, promote walking instead.
To me it is outside of the Sporting and Strength & Conditioning worlds where we can have the greatest impact on our Adolescents Physical Activity levels.
Yes, there are improvements that can be made in those fields, but ultimately both have ulterior purposes (whether they admit it or not) that solely revolve around creating high level athletes or sports players.
Instead we should focus on the proportion of adolescents outside of those sectors, who are being given zero opportunities to still be active.
It would be really cool to see the creation of communities / environments that promote all inclusive and explorative movement, which is done purely for the purpose of enjoyment.
Imagine a space where all adolescents could come to participate in a variety of different Physical Activity modalities – even the Sporting kids.
I would love to see society reach this point – and when we do I think it will correlate with; decreased sedentary time, increased time being physically active, less soreness, decreased feelings of anxiety, and a healthy happier adolescent population.
