Sports for Girls Encourage Self-Empowement

IMAGE: Playworks

Active bodies lead to Calm & Connected minds!

It is a proven fact that regular participation in physical activity during childhood and adolescence promotes & supports self-awareness, positive body image, self-confidence and self-esteem. This is especially important for girls.

In addition, sports and physical activity regulates hormones, releases body and emotional stress and tension, helps guard against depression, improves academic performance and reduces the risks for obesity, heart disease, diabetes, bone fractures, breast cancer, and other illnesses.

I was always involved in sports-either township sponsored or informal games played in the middle of our street. I loved learning new skills and meeting new kids. It was the best time of my life.

Over the years I have seen a shift towards a different school of thought that repeats the mantra of, "competition is bad" and I strongly disagree. Competition, done in the spirit of camaraderie, and fun, teaches empowering skills and lessons-such as self-regulation, self- improvement, trust, communication, strategy, teamwork, as well as how to win-and lose-graciously. (In fact, most times competition is a problem is when too many parents cannot just let the kids play and let the coaches coach.) When we undermine the value of competition and give everyone a medal just for showing up and participating, (that is past the age of 5 years old) then we are taking away valuable learning opportunities for our kids and sending the message that even the slackers (or unskilled) get rewarded.

Sports are a good way to get girls to focus on something other than their appearance. Playworks Guest blogger Elizabeth Labedz shares how she created an after school program that encourages girls to try new skills.  Read her post here.

Moms, what sports did you or does your daughter play? What skills were learned through your chosen sport? Leave your comments below.

Further Reading:

The Importance of Sports

The Case Against Competition

Coaches key in making competition a positive or negative sport experience for athletes

8 Life Lessons from the Winter Olympics in Sochi


.

The 3 Stages of a Lasting Friendhip

My daughter surprised and impressed me yesterday when she came to me with a declaration: "Mom, there should be a club at school for the girls in my class-a place where we don't fight and aren't in competition. I'm so tired of the fighting."

I've been struggling this year with how to guide my daughter through  the complicated world of relationship building among her 6th grade girlfriends. One minute they are "BFFs" and the next they are not talking to one another, and the next they are speaking viciously about each other to anyone who will listen, only to tun around and be friends again because someone else was talking viciously about them... I'm on the fence about how much I should intervene and how much I should just listen, & let her navigate and learn on her own. I usually listen, offer some strategies and remind her of the choice she has between being part of the problem or part of the solution.

I asked her why she felt everyone was fighting and she said she thought it was because sitting at a desk all day not being allowed to talk with each other 'normally' gets on every one's nerves. And the arguing continues via text and computer (unless an adult steps in to limit screen time.) She said there is no other time to "just be ourselves with each other."

I helped her explore her ideas further, getting out my pen to take some notes. I asked her how this club would look to her, what its purpose would be, when & where it would be held, the activities or principles that would be taught and other details that I wrote down for her in her own words.She wants "Everybody" to be included, especially those girls that are not well liked so they can be known and build confidence as they build friendships. (My daughter's own words.)

I offer help so she can better understand that friendships develop in stages and we need to be patient in every stage.

Our young ladies need to be taught that friendships do not happen overnight, nor do they happen automatically. They take time to grow. This is a theme I re-enforce in my yoga programs as well as when interacting with my daughter and her friends. I have often reviewed and explained the 3 stages to a lasting friendship:

1-Exploration: this is where 2 parties look for common interests & skills, possible after joining a team or a class. This stage is the most anxiety causing because children hate to experience rejection and may have that fear in the back of their minds. Telling a child "Its a wonderful chance to make new friends" only heightens the anxiety.

2-Trust: once the initial stage is over, trust begins to build. This stage is the most fragile & must be gradual. Some children tend to push too quickly and need to learn to observe signals from their new friends. Both parties must show genuine interest in the other in order to move beyond this stage. Possessiveness, insecurity, envy, misunderstandings and social errors can quickly end a blossoming friendship. Encourage children to be good listeners, be positive & supportive and make new friends feel valued.

3-Compatibility: this stage is marked by mutual acceptance & beneficial pairing of peers. This is the time where the friendship matures & solidifies and strengthens the bond that will create a a long-lasting friendship that can survive disagreements and misunderstandings.

As parents and educators, the key is provide activities that encourage meaningful interaction and limit those "parallel play" activities (such as watching TV or playing computer games) that are fun but don't do anything to build a relationship. 

Board games, sports and other interactive movement such as hopscotch, flashlight tag, etc. are better alternatives to TV and incorporate many activities  that build social skills naturally and help re-enforce the friendship.

Volunteer activities such as reading to pre-schoolers or creating a mural or a children's vegetable garden help children understand the concepts of working together to build something meaningful, that can then be shared with others. It helps them to become a positive example to others, who hopefully will follow their lead. The lessons that can be learned here and the natural character building possibilities are endless.

I asked my daughter who at school might be able to help her bring her girls club 'vision' into reality. She named one & I helped her format a "proposal" to give to that person today. I'm hoping that this person will be able to make it happen for these girls who, through their sometimes frustrating & perplexing behavior,  are asking for our help. I hope that its the beginning of a new way to interact & a supportive network of friendships for them all-ones that will last a lifetime.

Contact: barbara@bodylogique.com




.

Dance-Cheer-Yoga!

Over the past several years, cheer leading has become one of the fastest growing women's sports. It is estimated that in America, about 3 million girls ages 6-17 participate in cheer leading. About 15% of these girls are involved in competitions. There is strength, flexibility, conditioning, endurance, and stamina involved in cheer leading and cheer dancing, as well as focus and teamwork.

There's little doubt that activities such as dance, gymnastics & cheer leading carries an inherent risk. All sports do; even sports like ping pong or golf carry the potential risk of injury. What makes cheer leading particularly noted is the type of injuries cheerleaders suffer, most commonly muscle sprains and strains. Dancers & gymnasts experience these types of injuries as well.


This, coupled with the more serious & widely publicized injuries such as broken bones, vertebrae and paralysis (mostly on college squads) has caused many organizations to tighten regulations around the types of stunts cheer leading squads can perform and the safety precautions dance studios & cheer squads should take.

'Safety First'! is the latest of a number of safety initiatives that Cheer leading's governing bodies have implemented in past years. The results show, among other things, that cheer's total injuries were cut in half from 2005 to 2006, and continued to drop through the 2007-2008 academic year. Cheer leading's injuries per 100,000 participants is only 2.0, significantly less than the figures for other popular women's sports such as gymnastics.

CHEER LEADING SAFETY:
(Courtesy of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association)

Below are some tips compiled by the NATA that help reduce cheerleader injuries at all levels. While these tips are targeted directly at cheer leading, they also will apply to dancers and gymnasts:

1. Proper Conditioning: Physically prepare and maintain your body’s strength, flexibility, and stamina for stunting and tumbling. Strengthen your core muscles (abdominal and lower back muscles) along with the upper and lower body and include aerobic (running, jogging, cycling, swimming) and anaerobic (wind sprints, circuit training) activities.

2. Exercise Reminders: Warm up, stretch and cool down for every practice or competition and be sure to rest. (Yoga, TaiChi & guided Imagery Techniques are great for flexibility and calming nerves.)

3. Proper Equipment: Practice on mats or padded flooring until your routines are perfected. Make sure the mats are adequately sized and sufficient for the activities you’re performing. Always wear proper footwear.

4. Spotting: Have trained spotters present and engaged at all times.

5. Knowledgeable Coaches: Make sure your coaches are certified in safety, first aid, CPR and AED use.

6. No Horseplay: Focus at all times during stunting and tumbling activities.

7. Communication: Request that your coaches review safety precautions, rules and regulations with the squad on a regular basis, and that they establish and implement an emergency action plan.

8. Read Safety Guidelines: Ask your coaches to be familiar with the latest AACCA safety guidelines; the safety advice in the National Federation of State High School Associations’ “Spirit Rules Book”; and the rules and regulations pertaining to your particular school.

9. Know Your Limits: Be aware of your ability level and do not attempt advanced level gymnastic or stunting skills before mastering less advanced skills. Always have a supervisor present.

10. Treatment & Prevention of Injuries: Promptly attend to any injuries you sustain. Your school or organization’s athletic trainer can assist in the proper treatment and prevention of such injuries. He or she can also offer an injury prevention education seminar and assist in creating the conditioning routine.

Yoga provides a perfect low-impact exercise & relaxation science that works with the athlete's whole body rather than individual parts. It provides a foundation for strong technique, as well as balance for strenuous practices & performances.

BodyLogique® has designed a Sport Yoga based conditioning curriculum just for cheerleaders, gymnasts and dancers, that focuses on balance & flexibility for injury prevention, core strength, stamina, teamwork & stress management.

Due to the volume of requests we have received, we are in the process of putting this curriculum into book form with an anticipated release date of August, 2012!

To receive a sneak preview by e-mail, please send your request to:
barbara@bodylogique.com .

In your request, please tell us if you are a coach/instructor or parent, and if you are interested in dance, cheer, yoga or other sport training for young female athletes. (This information is so that we can be sure to include specific information in the final draft of the book.)

Watch a preview video here: Dance Cheer Yoga!

Watch our "What's New"  page for release announcements and other news, or subscribe to us by using the slide-out menu viewable on the right side of our "welcome" page. Click on the bottom box, type in your e-mail address and submit.

* Customized cheer & gymnastics squad, girl's youth athletic league AND youth dance & ballet company Sport Yoga workshops are available year round at your Bucks/Mont County PA location! 

Please contact Barbara for scheduling and other information!

E-Mail: barbara@bodylogique.com

Call: 215-257-3193

Visit:   http://www.bodylogique.com/Teens.html

Information on Local NJ & Pennsylvania Dance/Cheer Squads can be found on: http://www.popwarner.com/admin/pennsylvania.asp



Subscribe to S.M.Art Kids / Healthy Kids by Email



~