I’ve always led a largely sedentary  lifestyle (read: lazier than Garfield’s). I don’t fancy being outdoors. I dislike being in the sun. I have little ball sense and two left feet. My pyschomotor skills are often found wanting and it is usually quite frustrating for me to play a team sport.

I have a different vision for my children.

In order to make sure my kids have a balanced and holistic homeschooling education when I stay home next year, it’s crucial that the sporting and physical training aspects be outsourced. In light of that, I’ve singled out two suitable candidates to handle assignments in that department: enter their more athletic father, and Ready Steady Go Kids.

Ready Steady Go Kids is a multi-sports programme for preschoolers which focuses on developing a child’s motor skills through sports. Under their programme designed for age-specific groups, Ready Steady Go trainers  introduce 10 sports and cover 5 sports per term, with each term being 12 weeks. The 10 sports – football, tennis, basketball, hockey, golf, AFL or also known as Aussie Rules Football, rugby, athletics, cricket and T-ball – will be taught in an inclusive and fun manner, while challenging a child’s gross and fine motor skills, as well as balancing skills.

Ben and Becks had the opportunity to try out hockey at Burghley Lifestyle Hub last weekend. I was given a choice of a free trial lesson between golf and hockey, and I thought perhaps hockey might be more accessible, since they haven’t been acquainted with sports of any kind at all as yet. They were initially very apprehensive; and understandably so, as the only form of physical education they know includes running crazily in circles and tumbling on the floor.

The lesson lasted 45 minutes. They were first introduced to the hockey stick and puck and the technique of holding the stick properly, which was followed by a series of stretching and warm-up exercises of leap frog, galloping and zooming around like aeroplanes. They then had the opportunity to hit the puck with the hockey stick, and subsequently progressed to learning to score a goal. The lesson ended with circuit training across hoops and hurdles to make scoring fun and challenging.

The lesson was carefully and specifically designed for ages 2.5 to 4. Ben clearly enjoyed it. Although it took him some time to warm up to the coaches, he eventually got over his nervousness, and by the end of the lesson was jumping around giving high fives and tens to everyone in the room. Becks gave up halfway; she couldn’t really maneuver the puck with the stick and preferred to jump around the room and in and out of hoops instead.

All in all, they had fun. Ben asked if he could play again. I’m thinking, sure thing, since Mama would probably never play hockey or other team sports with him. Wait a minute, maybe air hockey at the arcade.

More details:

• Ready Steady Go Kids offer free trial lessons for children aged 2.5 to 6. Send an email to info@readysteadygokids.com.sg or check out their website here.
• Here’s something special for readers of this blog: get a free Ready Steady Go Kids t-shirt (worth $24) with every sign-up after the free trial. The t-shirt is a compulsory item from next year, so this is a great bonus. Remember to quote “motherkao” when you sign up to enjoy this deal!