The PLAYS Program, an innovative project aimed at promoting various skills for children through sports, has been successfully implemented in Portugal in the beginning of summer.
The Portuguese Swimming Federation, which is one of the PLAYS partners, has piloted the program in the framework of swimming. Various national swimming clubs were invited to participate with their coaches and a total of 46 swimming coaches attended an online workshop where the PLAYS methodology was presented along with useful information to develop the program with their swimming students.
The workshop covered the following main topics:
PLAYS Project Presentation
- Introduction of all partners, main goals, and activities of the project.
- Presentation of the results from the initial questionnaires developed with coaches, teachers, and parents, which identified the 10 dimensions of the program.
Detailed explanation of the PLAYS methodology with a special focus on the six dimensions chosen for implementation in swimming in Portugal
- Development of Cognitive Skills through Sports (attention and processing speed).
- Development of Social Skills through Sports (coordination and negotiation).
- Development of Fair Play Skills through Sports (friendship and team spirit).
- Development of Communication Skills through Sports (appropriate communication methods and confidence).
- Development of Teamwork Skills through Sports (problem-solving and collaboration).
- Development of Motor Skills (strength and motor coordination).
For each of the above dimensions, guidelines were developed, providing information on how to implement the dimension in a training context, including specific exercises. Despite these guidelines that were developed, coaches are free to adjust the exercises based on the expertise, capacity and facilities available to them.
Program Schedule and Evaluation
The program is scheduled to run from April to June. During this period, a questionnaire will be sent out at the end of each dimension to evaluate the implementation and the progress of the children throughout the process.
The successful implementation of the PLAYS program in Portugal demonstrates the importance of a structured and well-thought-out approach to skill development through sports. With a clear methodology and supportive resources, coaches can significantly influence the cognitive, social, communicative, teamwork, and motor skills development of their students.