Sport for Life workshop keeps coaches on their toes

If you’re going to enroll in Sport for Life’s  Physical Literacy Movement Preparation coach workshop, you should expect to sweat. This isn’t the sort of experience where you sit at a desk and listen to lectures; instead you’ll be running through the exact same warm-ups you’ll be taking back to your athletes / participants. And along the way you’ll be introduced to educational materials that are intended to transform your program while keeping all participants physically literate and injury-free.

“The workshop is great in that it doesn’t matter what level of physical literacy or athleticism someone is at, everyone finds purpose in the movements and gets a great workout in the process,” said instructor Stephen McMurray.

“The workshop is a blast to teach because in such a short period of time everyone comes out of the course with the confidence and knowledge to take the workshop back to whatever it is they teach. It’s hard to find a program that can do that in one session.”

McMurray has been teaching the Physical Literacy Movement Preparation Coach workshop for about a year now. And though the workshop has its roots in soccer, McMurray feels the workshop could benefit just about anyone.

“I’ve taken teenagers who are taking their first workshop to be a volunteer assistant coach at a city program who have never taught before, elite-level coaches, physiotherapists, and long-time recreational leaders through this workshop,” he said.

“I’ve seen every level of athleticism go through the movements, and my experience in taking people through this workshop has been nothing but positive.”

Which means Sport for Life is booking these workshops in unexpected new places all the time.

“We have been absolutely astounded by all the interest coming from other sports and physical activities, but also from other sectors such as education,” said Nick Hastie, Sport for Life’s Coordinator of Physical Literacy.

“Secondary high school teachers and post-secondary educators alike have contacted us to help bring this program to their classrooms.”

Even expert athletes often find areas of opportunity  in their physical literacy through the workshop, such as when they’re asked to perform a simple task using their non-dominant side. Identifying these gaps and then making sure they’re addressed is the primary purpose of the class.

“People learning these skills will develop the motor commands and motor-proficiency and not only be better athletes, but have a better set of skills throughout their active life.”

To find out more about the Physical Literacy Movement Preparation workshop and how to become a host, please visit physicalliteracy.ca/move-prep/.