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Wednesday, 05 May 2010 |
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Agderposten 30/04/2010 Many dream about being a young professional footballer. In Froland, children are learning to play football before they can walk.
2 year olds playing football
Socatots is the name of the project and behind the name, an activity club for pre-schoolers is revealed.
Ida Marie Selseng (3) is one of the children who is developing through playing with the domes. Both her Mother and Father come with her to Socatots.
‘I think it is a very positive arrangement, Ida Marie really looks forward to training every Friday’, says her father Rune Selseng.
He explains that his daughter loves playing with balls but isn’t especially focused on football itself. ‘We want her to try all positive activities that are pleasurable’, says Selseng.
The youngest member of Socatots is no more that 10 months. At Socatots it’s all about football. The groups are divided up into ages. This makes it easier for the instructors to specify the types of activities for the particular group and what especially to focus on.
During the class all the children develop through several activities. The training aids both co-ordination and communication. They dribble the ball from one end of the hall to the other, the youngest crawl after the ball. Those that are a little older learn to kick the ball with both their left and right feet. The instructors praise them and then give them new activities to carry out.
The parents also take an active roll and help with the training of the children. They learn to use the insides and outsides of their feet, their leg and thigh and they learn how to ‘carry’ themselves properly.
“I missed being able to take my children to an activity before they were 6 years old” Kate Dahlen
There is a maximum of 8 children in each class. This is primarily for safety reasons but it is also easier to control and oversee.
‘The whole point of this is that the children enjoy themselves and have fun, this is not a competition based activity’, says Instructor, Kate Dahlen.
When Kate Dahlen moved from England to Norway in 2006, she missed having an activity she could take her 2 year old son to. He was used to going to Socatots in England and he really wanted to continue a football based activity when we moved here. But when we came to Norway, Kate Dahlen thought that activities for children under 6 were few and far-between.
‘I missed being able to take my children to an activity before they reached the age of 6. I was after some sort of football based activity for my son, since he thought it was great fun, but I was just advised that he needed to wait until he started school. That would be the first opportunity for him to play football here’, says Dahlen.
That was when Kate decided to do something about this situation. She took the initiative to start up a Norwegian version of Socatots – in other words, an opportunity for children who are under 6 years.
‘Football is important for many. To start playing when you are 6-7 years can be a little late’, says Kate Dahlen.
The children don’t play against each other but get lots of praise and can collect stickers in a book to show that they have managed something new.
Just because the children come, it does not mean they want to be footballers. Even though the dream of being a professional footballer is often that that many young boys have, the classes that are running at present both in Froland and Arendal have more girls than boys.
Facts
Socatots
- Socatots is a concept that was established in England in 2003
- Socatots is a football and play program for pre-school children (under 6)
- The intention of Socatots is that children shall be introduced to ball play
- In the classes, children should improve their balance, co-ordination, motor skills and how to ‘carry’ themselves properly.
- Socatots focuses on that everyone can have fun during structured play
- In the classes, the children learn about colours, numbers, playing football, dancing and singing.
- There is no competition in Socatots, it’s all about having fun while learning |
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