The Spot Athletics is now offering programs designed for children 18 months - 7 years old called Spot Tots and Spot Minis. But what could we possibly be doing in a program for toddlers at a gym? We get this question a lot here, which is understandable because there really is nothing comparable to these programs anywhere else. However, if you know anything about The Spot Athletics, you know that we are always striving to create a world-class facility, so our addition of the children’s programs should be no surprise.
The necessity and demand for a program like this was clear both from a coaching and a parenting perspective. As coaches at The Spot Athletics, we work with youths and adolescents and see a common trend among them. Many of these athletes come into our facility lacking proficiency in foundational movement skills such as running, jumping, throwing, and kicking. At a very young age (8-11 years old), we are constantly seeing kids who have not developed these skills or have developed incorrect movement patterns. While we should be spending our time with these athletes building strength, speed and improving agility, we are forced to use this time to redevelop fundamentals that were either learned incorrectly or never learned at all.
While we should be spending our time with these athletes building strength, speed and improving agility, we are forced to use this time to redevelop fundamentals that were either learned incorrectly or never learned at all.
Most parents will agree that there are limited choices available for young kids to develop gross motor patterns other than dance and gymnastics. This leaves parents with the choice of a sport or activity that focuses on a single skill set rather than a class that focuses on the overall development of correct movement patterns and athletic ability. We created this program to teach kids proper fundamentals earlier in life so they can grow into better, well-rounded athletes. We do this by combining different educational and physical activities for children into one creative class.
Our program combines extensive knowledge of early childhood education with physical activity and fitness to create a fun, new way to get kids moving and learning in structured sessions. Not only do the kids learn fundamental movements such as run, jump, squat, throw, and kick, but they also are working on various aspects of youth development. Our programs are designed to aid in cognitive and social development, body awareness, and language skills as well as improve motor skills and confidence. Each session sets your child up for success in all of these areas and reinforces the concepts learned through creative games incorporating color matching, basic counting/math, teamwork, proprioception, gross motor skills, and fundamental movement.
Each session begins with a “Get to Know” portion to introduce all the kids to each other and give each child a chance to work on their social skills and confidence by making them feel comfortable in a new setting. Next, we move on to learning a fundamental movement in physical activity then incorporating that movement into an individual or team based game in order to practice the movement in a fun way. This avoids a monotonous classroom style of learning and keeps the kids engaged at all times.
After the fundamental movement games, we go over a basic educational point related to health and fitness. While physical activity is a main focus in the program, we also understand the importance of engraining healthy habits into children’s lifestyle in other ways. These educational points can range anywhere from nutrition (for example, the benefits of eating vegetables and how they help your body grow) to basic body parts (for example, where your heart is and what it does in your body). Following this educational portion of the session, we review fundamental movements and education learned in previous sessions. We then incorporate all that they’ve learned, and briefly introduce future movements and educational points, into a new game or obstacle course that the kids help build. The session ends with up to 10 minutes of free play so that the kids have a chance to explore any equipment we didn't use that session and expend any extra energy before going home for the day.
While physical activity is a main focus in the program, we also understand the importance of engraining healthy habits into children’s lifestyle in other ways.
Because we are a facility with older athletes and adults, we’ve created a designated space specifically for the kids program and the kids programs alone in our facility. This is to ensure safety, decreased distraction, and to reinforce a comfortable environment for the kids to learn and play freely. We’ve outfitted the kids room with an extensive amount of equipment including climbing ropes, tumbling mats, a rock wall, balance beam, basketball hoops, and sensory development toys. This allows variety in sessions over the course of the program and helps prevent boredom.
In addition to an extensive background in program design, our Spot Tots and Spot Minis coaches have significant experience in youth training, exercise science, childcare, and early childhood education, so you can be sure that your child is always getting the best experience around and having a great time while in our facility.
We understand that you have a busy schedule as parents of young children, so we have multiple sessions a day available at various times for each age group. The programs are broken up into separate age groups with our Spot Tots programs being 18 months - 3 years old (adult participation required) and 3 - 5 years old and our Spot Minis program being 5-7 years old.