Sara November 11, 2014

How do you get a 20 something-year-old professional ice hockey player to do something that they don’t want to do?

…Those of you with children might make pretty good athletic trainers 😉

I am a trainer by trade and I run a non-profit with every bit of my free time. I am a movement specialist. I spend a lot of my time helping people change habits, change patterns of movement, and become better, more efficient movers.

I may be tasked with helping a hockey player become faster. When I am trying to change the way a hockey player accelerates, it requires a whole lot of habit breaking and pattern building, as well as, lots of practice and repetition separated by only brief periods of rest. Accompanying coaching queues include, “C’mon, get low and lean!”, “Stop moving that foot before you’ve extended your hip!”, or the dreaded, “Stop. Let’s watch the video of that last repetition to see what went wrong.” Eventually, the desired movement becomes the new habit and the athlete is able to move faster and with less effort. Success! Well, almost.

indoor fun with kids pittsburgh

Even though the athletes were expressing their new movement effortlessly in drills and practice, I would see them slipping into old habits during their games. The drills did not necessarily result in better habits once the athletes faced the additional challenges of the competition, the wildly high pace, and the chaotic nature of the sport.

So, I had a problem. How was I supposed to get these good habits to stick? I decided that I had to do a better job at recreating game-situations – the competition, the decision making, and the chaotic multitasking – while also emphasizing the movement that needed to be practiced. I began introducing “games”. (In the purest sense of the word, and trust me, it matters to kinetic-game nerds like me, they were actually activities and exercises. To be considered a “game”, there are some additional specific requirements). Anyways, instead of continuing training as usual, I created games based around the movement or the situation that I needed the athletes to experience and improve. Needless to say, our training sessions became more engaging, more challenging, as well as more fun and effective!

Fast forward a few months to when I was asked by Pediatric Alliance and Pediatrics South to develop a program that was able to capture children who were left uninterested or unsupported by traditional sports or after school activities…

Foundations of Athleticism, Structured-play and Fitness

About a year ago, I started meeting with a small group of 6-12 year olds. The majority (though, not all) of the children in the group had never played a standardized sport. Many lacked social opportunities. A few even lacked a play-supportive environment at home. About half of the children were described to me as being on the autism spectrum. I began teaching them how to move, run, and jump “correctly”.
This did not last long.

Despite my attempts to be entertaining, I simply could not hold their attention. They were uninspired by promises of being faster, or jumping higher than they had ever before. They were not particularly interested in expressing their new-found athleticism in any sporting arena either. One week, during our pre-session ice-breaker discussion, I learned that several participants spent their weekends building computer circuits and tinkering with other electronics. It dawned on me – These kids are ‘makers’! They use their imagination, creativity, and intelligence to make things – from computer circuits and simple motors, to virtual worlds and video games. I had been dangling the wrong carrot in front of them. I was approaching them with the wrong perspective.

things to do with kids in pittsburgh

I decided to provide the group with the materials they would need to become the engineers of the class. I came to class with whiteboards, toys, and props. I challenged the class to conjure, create, test, and teach their own kinetic-games.

At first, it was rough going. Imagining themes and scenarios came easily. The process of moving from imagination to application took some effort. Initially, it is difficult for kids to make the leap from video gaming to creating a working game that takes place in real time and is played by real players. This is where the whiteboards come in handy. They are clean, fun to use, and the perfect canvas to channel imagination toward game creation.

I began teaching the group how to create a game by first modifying one that they already knew. Take the basic game of Tag, then add a twist – they enjoyed adding safety zones, jails, and shields to protect themselves from the “it” player. We progressed to turning single-player virtual games into multi-player kinetic games. When you make the leap from virtual to kinetic, and from single- to multi-player, it requires some work to ensure that the game is fun and fair for everyone. This necessitated that we discuss the importance of designing goals, rewards, and rules, that promote a great experience for everyone playing, not just the lead developer.

When I began, I would see one or more of the students tear up and shut down each week. For many children on the autism spectrum, and those who lack play- or socially-supportive environments, entering a class with new children, new concepts, new games, and new freedom is difficult. Many have not gained the experience necessary to self-construct appropriate responses to contact, unfairness, or criticism. Additionally, the noise, movement, and sociability of the experience can be overstimulating.

Today, almost all of the participants are able to create new games from scratch. Each week, a student will approach me asking for an opportunity to teach the class a new game they invented. My hope is that these students are inventing the games at home, and using them to connect with their neighborhood peers.

pittsburgh autism

As for the games that I developed, unbeknownst to the children, they were still being taught how to run correctly, jump correctly, problem solve, speak before a group, give and receive feedback, and respect others’ contact-sensitivities while learning how to manage their own. Success.

I am delighted to say that these children have evolved into playful, outspoken, creative, athletes and teammates. One child whose anxiety left his voice nearly indiscernible is now the first to hop up and teach his newly invented games to the class. Another child, who avoided all contact and responded aggressively to contact, is now inventing games with rules necessitating contact like tagging, carrying, and hugging. For other children, the class is simply the only place where they can go and allow their imaginations to rule the day without fear of being ostracized, isolated, or punished.

I have learned that game creation and game play are worth more than meets the eye. These strategies are a way to solve problems. Creation and play bring people together. They bridge social and physical gaps. It is my goal to have an army of these youngsters imagining, creating, and playing together. My priority is to recreate this experience in safe play spaces all over the Greater Pittsburgh Area. Please help me.

All the best, stay playful!
Ian M. Neumaier
Founder & Director, Find Some Flow Inc.

GeneralGameLabSign

The name: Live Game Lab …imagine real games, play real games!
Where: Carnegie Boys and Girls Club …in the downstairs studio.
630 Washington Avenue
Carnegie, PA 15106
When: Saturdays @ 10-11a. beginning November 8th.
Who: Anyone 6-12 years old, with a Membership to the Boys and Girls Club ($10 a month)
Limit of 14 participants.
What: Every week we’ll gather to explore movement through kinetic-gaming. Create, test, teach, and play your own games and the games of your classmates and coaches! Come experience original class favorites like Diamond Heist, Ninja Tag, Ultimate Obstacle Course, and more!
Cost: Membership to Boys and Girls Club, $10/mo. Suggested Donation to Find Some Flow, $40/mo or $10/p class.

Contact:
Ian Neumaier, Founder & Director, Find Some Flow
412-596-1179, IMNeumaier@gmail.com
FindSomeFlow.com
facebook.com/FindSomeFlow
@FindSomeFlow