Lil Kickers

Ask yourself, when do you think it is too soon to place your child into a sporting program? In today’s society sports are more than just an activity to place your child into. Many people use sports as a way to learn life lessons, gain a sense of who they are and adapt to different situations, and even use sports as a way to make a living.

Lil Kickers is a new program at the Rivers Edge sporting complex. What is Lil- Kickers? It is a program for little kids starting at the age of 18 months up to two years old. Each child must be accompanied by a parent at all times. Lil-Kickers are just the first time a toddler learns the basic skills of following instructions, working with others to share and learn to kick the ball in a way that begins these kids thinking about the bsic concepts of learning to play together and have fun doing it.. I now have two little nieces Lauren and Bailey and they both have taken part in the new program Lil kickers. Bailey is only 18 months old and Lauren is 22 months. I asked my sister if I could come with her and take part in watching them learn and adapt to playing soccer. My sister’s daughter Bailey had been taken part in Lil kickers for a few weeks now. Bailey was the youngest Lil Kicker out on the field and sure wasn’t letting her age hold her back. The day I went to watch was Lauren’s (my brother’s daughter) very first time taking part in Lil-Kickers. I was taken back how fast Bailey was able to learn the rules of not using your hands; soccer was a game of “kicking the ball”. Lauren wanted to use her hands a lot at first and wasn’t sure how to kick the ball without falling.

Many of the games and actives used were some of the same techniques of what I do every time I am getting ready to play a game myself. They had a warm-up to skipping, hopping, running and many other games to get them warmed up before playing soccer. I found myself relating to the coach using little key terms that the kickers would understand. When I coach swimmers, I find myself relating and making my teaching skills easy for kids at such young age listen and grasp a better understanding.