Active Start is a golf program for kids up to 5 years old and the main objective is to get kids moving and eventually link those smaller movements together as “golf play” concepts introduced.
- During this age kids learn the ABCs of athleticisim
- Agility
- Balance
- Coordination
- Activities should be a fun and regular part of the child’s daily life, not something structured, required, or forced in an way
- Kids need at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day
- Balance
- Stability
- Object Control
- At the end of Active Start, you can start to introduce
- Plyometrics
- Speed
- Agility
- Early play also adds to healthy brain development
- Negotiating spacing, timing of movement and explaining choices require brain and nerve cells to fire together
The American Development Model (ADM) is a method scientific research. The connection between physical activity and brain development is supported by years of research. One of the most important benefits of an ADM approach for very young golfers is to make training more age appropriate.
Athletic and Technical Skills
We all may be kids at heart but kids don’t learn like adults. It’s extremely important that adults are informed about proper nutrition and the importance of daily physical activity. Children should be continually active without being sedentary for more than 60 minutes at a time.
Training
There isn’t any formal coaching in this state. Children begin to be exposed and focus on proper basic body movements. Training at this stage is designed to get kids moving and includes:
- Running
- Jumping
- Twisting
- Kicking
- Throwing
- Catching
Encourage kids to run, but not always in a straight line. They should be stopping, starting, and changing direction. Activities that translate to golf include:
- Throwing soft objects like bean bags towards a target
- Jumping on one foot over imaginary rivers while teaching how to bend knees as they land
- For young golfers, basic body movements with a club and ball are also appropriate
Development Off of the Course
Encourage your child’s growth both on and off the golf course by stepping up as a coach in our junior program! You can do it! Golf is more than just a game—it’s a fun way for kids aged 0 to 6 to:
- Tackle new challenges
- Build focus through simple instructions
- Practice skills like lining up correctly or moving from point A to point B with repetition.
Beyond physical skills, golf nurtures:
- Honesty
- Integrity, and
- Fair Play
Values that shape character. As P.G. Wodehouse once said, “To find a man’s true character, play golf with him.”
Your involvement as a coach helps foster your child’s social and emotional developoment, teaching them essential behaviors like sharing, saying “please” and “thank you,” and forming friendships that influence their moral growth.
With short, engaging activities tailored to their developing attention spans, you’ll not only guide them in a sport they’ll love but also play a key role in shaping their life skills and values. Join us to make a lasting impact on your child and their peers!
Unstructured Play Instead of Structured Practice
There are no formal guidelines for practice for kids under the age of 6. As a coach in our junior program, your role is to spark a love for play and exploration in young children, creating a foundation for lifelong growth.
Research from the Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model shows that fostering unstructured play and creating conditions for kids to explore based on their own interests leads to the most positive outcomes. Instead of rigid structure, focus on crafting joyful experiences that align with each child’s unique likes and dislikes.
Your job as a coach is to connect with players by:
- Getting down to their eye level when speaking
- Calling them by name, and
- Actively participating in activities alongside them
Demonstrate enthusiasm, praise their efforts often, and celebrate their individuality to build confidence and create meaningful, positive experiences that keep them engaged and excited to learn.
Competition
During the Active Start stage, the ADM model doesn’t call for any competition – it just isn’t considered to be appropriate at this stage. Activities should help children feel competent and comfortable practicing in groups which are mostly fun and non-competitive games.
Equipment
Safety is a high priority of any equipment use during this stage. Create safety zones or personal hitting spaces using brightly colored objects like pool noodles, cones, and rope. Help players be aware of their personal spaces as well as the personal spaces of others. Be creative about safety and demonstrate when possible. Draw a sad face on an apple and then smash it to pieces by hitting it with a club to help students remember safety.
Where to Play
Play can happen anywhere as long as it’s safe and age appropriate
- Golf Courses
- Parks
- Gymnasiums
- Playgrounds
- Living Rooms
Summary
The active start phase is all about providing opportunities for children ages 0 through 6 to learn through play. Unstructured, non-competitive games provides a basis to take the first steps toward physical literacy. Forcing children to participate in athletic activities that their bodies aren’t ready for could lead to frsutration and become problematic in future learning.
Active Start Checklist
- Provide organized physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day for toddlers and at least 60 minutes for preschoolers.
- Provide unstructured physical activity – active play – for at least 60 minutes a day, and up to several hours per day for toddlers and preschoolers. Toddlers and preschoolers should not be sedentary for more than 60 minutes at a time, except while sleeping.
- Provide infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with opportunities to participate in daily physical activity that promotes fitness and movement skills.
- Introduce healthy nutrition habits (food should not be used as a reward).
- Ensure that children acquire movement skills that build towards more complex movements. These skills help lay the foundation for lifelong physical activity.
- Encourage basic movement skills – they do not just happen as a child grows older, but develop depending on each child’s heredity, activity experiences and environment. For children with a disability, access to age and disability-appropriate adapted equipment is an important contributor to success.
- Focus on improving basic movement skills such as running, jumping, twisting, kicking, throwing and catching. These basic human movements are the building blocks for more complex activities.
- Activities should help children feel competent, successful and comfortable participating in a variety of fun and challenging games and activities.
- Games for children at this phase should be non-competitive and focus on participation.