IT was once a given that children would hone their sporting skills through hours of playing football in the streets.
Now a new initiative is aiming to reintroduce the "jumpers as goalposts" culture to today's young – the iGeneration – amid concerns they are not learning such basics as hopping, skipping and catching a ball.
The idea was developed after a project which encourages youngsters to "reclaim the streets" for play found many had not developed the skills to carry out these simple hand-eye movements, thanks to increasingly sedentary and indoor lifestyles,
Adult "play rangers" who supervise outdoor sessions are now teaming up with sports coaches to introduce activities such as tennis, basketball and athletics to children while they play in the streets of the east end of Glasgow.
It is hoped the one-year pilot will help youngsters to develop "physical literacy" – having the ability to be active throughout life – and may encourage some to take up a sport.
Julia Abel, performance adviser at venture philanthropy organisation Inspiring Scotland, which is funding the initiative, said an increase in the amount of time children spend indoors, and issues around lack of fitness and weight problems, meant many did not have "fundamental movement skills" by certain ages.
"It is about the ability to hop, skip, jump, balance, catch a ball – all these things used to be developed through natural outdoor play and street play," she said. "Because that's not happening now, kids are going into school and PE and they are not able to take part in sports activities and games because they haven't got a lot of these fundamental movement skills.
"This pilot is testing out the ability of street play to rebuild these fundamental movement skills, in order to make sure children can progress into more sporting healthy lifestyles as adults."
The Active Play scheme, formally launched tomorrow, is aimed at children aged between five and 13 who take part in established street play sessions run by the charity Possibilities East End Kids (PEEK).
Sports coaches will offer a 10-week "taster" programme for youngsters who show a particular interest in any of the activities.
Abel said the Active Play model could be extended to other areas where the street play initiative operates – such as Stranraer, Aberdeen and other areas of Glasgow – if the pilot proved successful.
Michaela Munro, senior play ranger with PEEK, said: "Quite a lot of kids are not getting access to good quality play provision or even just playing out in the street, so they are not used to running about or jumping or skipping or hopping.
"When they are doing that, their co-ordination skills are really poor and they are falling over and hurting themselves. It deters them as they don't think they have the skills and capacity – when it is the case that practice makes perfect."
MUNRO said an important aspect of their work was encouraging youngsters to think about how they can play without the need for expensive equipment or dedicated facilities. "We don't look at it as if you need to have a tennis court or basketball court or anything like that," she added.
Aidan Gallacher, programme manager at charity Active East, which is aiming to increase physical activity as a legacy from the 2014 Commonwealth Games, said: "We are going to give children the chance to try different sports in this community setting that they may otherwise have had to travel to a club further afield to get access to. But we are not going to have huge amounts of equipment - You basically pick up what is around about you and make the games and activities work."
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