So we put him-who-is-six in tennis camp. He had expressed a monocum more interest in tennis than in any other sporting endevour so why not give it a go? After the second day the coach askeds me if he’s spoken to me about his time at camp–with a pained look on her face. She went on to explain that he’d been sitting or laying on the ground durring some (most?) of the drills and games they’ve been playing.
So what are we to do about it? Several scenarios could be at play:
- Tennis isn’t his bag
- He’s inferred that participation is optional
- The instructors are not engaging
We decided we’d focus on 2 and see where that got us. Put plan ‘carrot’ into play. If he participates full and seems engaged, his coaches will tell us at the end of the day and he earns an ice cream. This incentive totally seemed to work. His coaches tell me he was much more engaged and much more into it the remainder of the week.
So where does that leave us.
Back at my first post. He had no incentive built in. There was nothing attractive about trying hard, getting better. Not even enough pay out for chasing the ball playing with a racket. (Fully enough for me as a kid.)
So we’re going to initiate plan ‘watch sports.’ Starting this weekend with the Women’s Cup Final. And having at least 15 – 30 minutes a week dedicated to seeing (either live or on tv) some high level sport.
Will it kindle interest?