A special event is coming to Lethbridge this week.
On Wednesday, November 6, the Lethbridge Sport Council hosts its second annual Southern Alberta Sport Leadership Conference.
The council’s executive director Susan Eymann says this year, they have expanded the program. “Last year, it was just for high school students [and] this year, we’ve included post-secondary students as well,” she remarks.
“It’s a way to provide them with some information about how to stay involved in sport, after high school or after post-secondary school.”
Eymann notes the event will feature panelists discussing topics like coaching, officiating, working and/or volunteering in sport. She adds the council has a focus on getting young people into sports and recreation, saying, “We need our youth to be involved.”
“Our youth want to see themselves in the coaches. To be a youth coach, you don’t need to be an expert in your sport,” she notes, adding anyone interested in coaching needs a passion for teaching youth and being a leader in their community.
“The sport organization can teach you how to coach that sport.”
ROVING GYMS
One of the Lethbridge Sport Council’s programs, ‘Roving Gyms’ helps teach physical literacy to a younger crowd: children five and under.
Available at various locations, with equipment provided, Eymann says it helps children develop skills and confidence to be active from an early age.
“It’s about providing them with an opportunity and equipment to really learn the joy of movement – learning the fundamental movement skills, [learning] how to throw and hop and jump and skip and catch,” she says.
“It’s informal, so they can just come and play. We have facilitators there, too who, if someone wants to learn a skill at a higher level, they can, but it’s really about developing social skills [and] connecting.”
Eymann says the program has received a great response over the years.
“The caregivers, the parents, they love it. You see them come back year after year and it just help develop community.”
More about the program is available at the Lethbridge Sport Council website.
The Southern Alberta Sport Leadership Conference is on Wednesday, November 6 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Rocky Mountain Turf Club in Lethbridge. Those interested in attending can register online.
