We've moved... #the AKAWay

We've moved... #the AKAWay to akasport.org/blog

Still can be found in Minnesota, notably at the National Sports Center, the largest amateur sports facility in the World.

Check out our latest active programs, thoughts, and projects at www.akasport.org.

See you there,

Chris Schulz
Founder and Executive Director
Active Kids Association of Sport
AKASPORT

AKASPORT at 10 - Diversification always wins in our book!!

As we celebrate our 10^th year of diverse sports experiences for kids, we will pause regularly to reflect on our founding goals and the vision that became AKASPORT.  Thank you for your continued support!

Diversification always wins in our book!!

AKASPORT – or “AKA” as many of our parents and kids call us – was founded on a belief that in a perfect society every kid deserves to experience all the world has to offer.  Our way of providing this is through sports.  Give them variety and give them variety!  In short, we believe that Diversification is greater than Specialization!!

When AKASPORT was founded in 2004, we conducted extensive research on the growing trends of kids specializing in sports.  And through all of this research, the facts were alarming.  The one that stood out the most was that studies show that an alarming 70% of the approximately 20 million children who participate in organized out-of-school athletic programs will QUIT by the age of thirteen because of unpleasant sports experiences. (Fred Engh, author and president of the National Alliance for Youth Sports, 2002).

Since 2004, there has been much more research and scholarly writing but still no true fix to this problem.  AKA believes we can help.  Keeping kids and families active by providing an assortment of sports and active programs is our #1 priority and we foresee providing for thousands of kids and families for many years!

AKA is a frame of mind...a sense of active participation and fun through sports and exercise.  As the benefits of sports diversification are well examined through research and sports medicine, AKASPORT offers programs that focus on well-rounded technical skills development and overall gross motor coordination...the kind of well-rounded development that can last a lifetime!  And beyond the motor skill development, AKA strives to foster social development and interaction among kids.  To say that kids are having fun is an understatement!  AKA kids are getting the opportunity to try out new sports and adventures and avoiding mind-numbing video games and sugar-ridden snacks.

We coach and train kids of all ages and sizes and introduce them to a variety of sports and activities for the inexperienced to the (think they are) experts.  By no means are we experts, but I will tell you that when it comes to sports and active participation, we keep it real!  We give all our kids a chance to try a little bit of everything.

Have fun kids!!

AKASPORT Weekly - Why Kids Aren't Exercising in Day Care

Recently, Time Magazine (01.04.12) posed a fitting article and conversation to which AKASPORT can address, in Why Kids Aren't Exercising in Day Care, by Alice Park.  (The professional Journal copy/link here (Pediatrics.aapublication).

Although AKASPORT and all its programs are not your traditional, Day Care, there are important principles and findings here to which AKASPORT has always strove to handle in its After School Multi-Sports and the most active all inclusive camps in Minnesota, the AKA All Sports Summer Camps.  The research team for this Journal of American Academy of Pediatrics found three main societal barriers to kids and their lack of exercise in Day Care centers — (1) concerns about the children injuring themselves while at play, (2) financial constraints that limited some centers’ ability to purchase playground equipment, and (3) a growing emphasis on academic learning over unstructured physical play time.

These factors are curtailing children’s natural desire to be active, says Dr. Kristin Copeland, and could be detrimental to youngsters’ health in the long term. “Children are naturally active — they love to play, and to play vigorously,” she says. “If given the time and place and freedom to run, they will do that. But children at this age are entirely dependent on caregivers for the opportunity to be active.”

I'll let the reader assess these findings from here, it is supported that AKASPORT programs and all of the facilities and equipment that are used, focus to ensure kids are active with safe conditions, fair costs, and a strong sense that academics and sportsmanship come first!

AKASPORT Health - Resolution #217

For your sake, please, Drink more Water!

How much water should we be drinking daily?  What's healthy...what have you been told?  Turns out, though I thought I was drinking a lot of or an adequate/healthy amount of water, well, I was way off.

Answer:  Half your body weight in ounces.  (i.e. a 200 pounder is supposed to drink 100 ounces, or 2.98 liters, a day!!)  http://www.watercure.com/faq.html And if you're an avid athlete you should be drinking close to your full weight in ounces.  Not to mention drinking more to make up for all the caffeine and sugar that we take in.

"The human body is a water machine, designed to run primarily on water and minerals. By weight, our body is about 72% water, 8% chemical compounds, and 20% bone and solid tissue."  Water - the Foundation of a Healthy Body

So if you have had a difficult time coming up with your New Year's Resolution, well, here you go.  DRINK MORE WATER: more specifically, at least half your weight in ounces.

AKASPORT Weekly - Marinovich Project

How about them Green Bay Packers!  Thinking now is the time to rest their stars to avoid any further injury as they head into another Super Bowl charge. 

Hang in there Minnesota Vikings!  Leslie Frazier is a good head coach, he just needs to be surrounded by a better coaching staff and better upper management to "shop for the best groceries".

Active Kids Association of Sport thoughts and feature of the week - Story of Youth Sports Burnout  I watched the "Marinovich Project" this past week and was impressed as I always am with ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary projects.  For those of you football fans, you will remember Todd Marinovich, the California kid better known as Robo QB, who went on to play professionally.  Great story that truly digs into the life of a prodigy driven by a parent who is living his sports dream in his kid.  Worth the hour and a half episode.

Let me say that I always support big dreams in sports and life.  I was there and I indeed know several current and former professional athletes of all sports.  Dream big...go get it!  But sometimes it comes with a price, far greater than the financial implications to get there.  I just hope that all parents can become better at recognizing what is good for their kids in sports...check in with them and to not push them over the edge.

Keep Kids well rounded through Sport...support their dreams and provide them with active opportunities and positive reinforcement.  Not overdoing it!!!  Get them involved and encourage kids to try as many sports and active programs as they want...sprinkle in some culture and the arts...take them to events and be sure to check that they are having FUN!!  Education and FAMILY come first ... but sports, recreation and physical activity are not far behind.  All the best, that's AKASPORT!!