Kiddies Programme to host 1500 participants

The Annual Kiddie Sport demonstrations will take place on Friday and Saturday at the indoor hockey court of Wanderers club in Pioneers Park.
More than 1 500 children between four and nine years old have taken part in the Kiddie Sport programme this year, with the help of 15 coaches in Windhoek, Omeya, Outjo and Stampriet.
This event has been taking place annually for the past 26 years. Coca-Cola is once again sponsoring $45 000 towards hosting the event.
The Kiddie Sport programme consists of exercises to improve the children’s hand-to-eye coordination, their foot-to-eye coordination and total body coordination.
“I believe that training for young children should be all-round, incorporating different sport codes. Children must be wary of specializing in a particular sport too soon. Sport is fun and children love to have fun and that’s our aim at Kiddies Sport. One reason why pupils enjoy the Kiddie sport program is because a lot of the skills are taught by means of games,” said programme Director, Amanda Van Dyk.
The children are also coached in basic sport skills, including all ball games such as hockey, tennis, cricket, soccer and golf. The Kiddie Sport programme makes it possible for a coach to detect talent at a young age and then recommend advanced training in a specific sport code in advance.
“The purpose of the demonstration is to give parents the opportunity to evaluate the progress their children have made during the year and is also an opportunity for interested people to come and evaluate the program,” said Van Dyk.