SPA Lions
Level Up!
If SPA Cubs is the base for your child’s physical education, then Lions is the next big step on their journey to independent exercise. Now the emphasis is on guided discovery where we begin to tease out these kid’s curiosity and interest for the other skills, techniques and tricks within football.
Furthermore, we begin to present our sessions as puzzles for our kids to think and solve using the skills they have already learnt. We want them to take initiative in trying what works and what doesn’t. “Should I take a shot from a distance, or should I try to get closer to the goal post?” We want to stimulate their minds as much as their bodies throughout this whole process, giving them a proactive role in discovering the rules and understanding behind the game!
Of course, we continue to leverage on the best practices from the National Curriculum across the areas of child education and creative story-telling to train and educate our kids in a fun and imaginative manner.
Also, older SPA Lions who having been attending our sessions long enough will be increasingly ready to be independent and may be more interested in developing their talents further. As such, we prepare our kids with the needed skills (such as concentration, discipline, and coach-player cooperation) to prepare them to advance further to our sessions at our FC Academy and/or junior soccer club.
Note: While the kids begin to play and learn independently, parents still required to participate in our SPA Lions sessions.
How It’s Done
Every session is led by fully qualified coaches.
Weekly classes of 40 minutes each
Every new starter will be given a bag and a football kit
Parents must still participate in our SPA Lions sessions.
The expected behaviour and skillsof the children for their participation is as below:
| Developmental Area | Expected Traits / Skills |
|---|---|
| Football Specific | • Develops good directional dribbling and great kicking skills • Able to keep the ball relatively close to the body while dribbling • Can stop a slow-moving ball • Can start to volley / half volley • Will be able to hold the stop position and move the ball with their sole. |
| Physical | • Understand the importance of warm-up / cool-down • Knows to performing stretching routines often to build flexibility and muscle strength • Have spatial awareness, aka the position of their body and limbs within their environment • Demonstrates and exercises control and restraint in their movements and skills |
| Social, Emotional, & Cognitive | • Good peer interaction and class participation • Develops and strong sense of identity within the group • Understands basic team-play and teamwork • Aware of their social environment • Actively involved in creative play • Confident to play, think, and make calls within game situations |
Quick Note:
As much as we’re ready to get the ball going, we know that some kids may be shy to get too involved in their sessions at first, so don’t feel obligated to rush into things even as parent. We’ll work with you and your kids to get a feel for what works for each individual and build on their confidence from there.
For a young child this will be a huge change to what they’re used to, complete with many new people and a completely new environment. So, let’s go slow and take our time in getting them to warm up and be comfortable in this new environment.