Young guns in focus
Wednesday February 24 2010
OVER 30 children from Taghmon joined forces for a fun evening out at the McDonald's Little Athletics Agility Challenge recently.
Little Athletics is a programme designed to address the specific physical requirements of children in the 5-10 year-old age bracket. It focuses on introducing the FUNdamentals of athletic movement to children in a fun, exciting and non-competitive environment.
The Agility Challenge focuses on fun ways for children to try three different types of events including the speed bounce, balance beam and standing long jump, which are based on the fundamentals of agility, balance and co-ordination.
Ryan Montgomery, Regional Development Officer for Athletics Ireland, praised the event. 'It is fantastic to see such a great turn-out. We focus on making athletics fun and interesting for the children, particularly focusing on the 5-10 age group, the bracket identified as the most fundamental stage in longerterm physical development in children.
The Little Athletics programme is delivered by Athletics Leaders, who are adults trained by Athletics Ireland through the Athletic Leader coaching qualification.
The Athletic Leader qualification is the first step on Athletic Ireland's new Coach Education Programme and is designed for people who hope to work with children at this stage of their development.
