Benefits of Soccer
with the Mighty Kicks Program
The many benefits of Mighty Kicks will enhance and diversify your child’s learning and development. The basic soccer skills taught help children develop healthy lifestyle habits and get familiar with soccer (and sports) early on.
“Our children love the program. You are making a positive impact! Keep up the great work!”
Benefits for Children
- Coordination – Confidence – Character
- Agility – Balance – Strength
- Life Skills – Team Skills – Social Skills
- Basic Soccer Skills – Elementary Techniques – An understanding of the game
- Healthy lifestyle habits – Fitness – Endurance
- Improved Self-Concept and Self-Esteem
- Creativity – The Curriculum engages the children and makes them use their imagination
- Fun – Kids learn best while enjoying themselves
- Educational – encouraging learning and development through experience and repetition of skills
- Exercise — improves memory, attention, immune system, mood, and fights obesity, stress, depression, diabetes, and low self-esteem
“Children learn by doing. In order to raise confident, inquisitive kids, we must allow them to try new things and make their own mistakes. Their involvement in athletics is proven to result in higher self-esteem.” – Kelly B. Cartwright, Ph.D.
Benefits for Parents
- Convenience
- Quality Program that aids in the development of their child without the time investment
- Economical (also saving time and gas with the convenience factor)
- More family time together on nights and weekends without another activity outside of school
- Good investment in the health/development of their child
- Peace of mind – the Program is healthy, informative, safe and non-competitive
“Socialization is the single greatest developmental benefit to be gained from a good preschool experience.” – Carleton Kendrick, Ed., M.
Benefits for Child Care Centers
- Quality and Convenient sports option for parents.
- Name association with Mighty Kicks through partnership.
- Unique sport/team dynamic added to the school.
- Physical activity that adds to school’s fight against obesity, depression, diabetes, stress and low self-esteem.
- These benefits for the center add value for current members and make it more appealing to prospective clients.
Score a Goal with Your Kids and Register Today
The Educational Challenge
Many children are living with chronic stress. Over time this stress damages the brain and makes it very difficult for children to learn.
So, how does stress effect your child’s brain? Sympathetic nervous system activates “flight or fight” response; Body increases heart rate; Adrenal gland releases Cortisol (see below); and Blood glucose is directed from the brain to muscles. This state makes it very hard for students to pay attention, to avoid distractions and to regulate their emotions.
The Science Behind Exercise
Activity and exercise improves brain function! Exercise promotes better blood flow around the body. Physical activity encourages growth and adaptation in the brain (particularly around memory). Exercise raises the levels of dopamine and brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF), two neurotransmitters responsible for growth and learning. By heightening the senses, improving mood and focus, and relieving tension, exercise creates an ideal environment for a child to learn! At that same time, exercise improves the building of new cells which directly accelerates learning in itself.1
“Exercise turns out to be the closest thing to a wonder drug that self-control scientist have discovered. Physical exercise makes your brain bigger and faster, and the pre-frontal cortex shows the largest training effect.” – Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D
Additional Benefits from Soccer
More of America’s youth play soccer than any other sport and there is good reason why soccer is the World’s Most Popular Game. It is a high-energy, active sport that requires great eye-foot coordination, agility, balance, strength, motor skills, focus and endurance. It is simple enough to be taught to preschoolers while being challenging enough to make a career striving to improve one’s game. Soccer helps develop the foundational skills that are required by the other major sports. Starting at a young age, children have a head start in athletics. Kids who play sports receive better grades, are less likely to use drugs and have higher self esteem than those who don’t. Their involvement in youth soccer gives kids good habits and advanced technical skills for when they are ready to start competitive play at an older age. Finally, soccer (as well as other sports) provides a great environment to deal with adversity and develop character and virtue.
SOCCER, the Superior Starter Sport: Due to the simplicity of the sport and the motor skills developed, soccer is the ideal introductory sport and best sport for preschoolers. The skills acquired through soccer are transferable to the other major sports! The latest research and science tells us that kids learn through FUN (information associated with strong emotions is more memorable — learning that is enjoyable stays with us longer), DOING (hands-on experiences affect our memories, emotions and the physical ‘wiring’ of our brain), OBSERVING, and REPETITION(multiple experiences with a given phenomena build neural pathways). Mighty Kicks utilizes the best research to provide an age-appropriate, high-energy Curriculum that is engaging and fun for the children. This proven Curriculum, presented within the framework of the World’s Greatest Game, maximizes each child’s development!
1Book: “The Exercise Cure” by Jordan D. Metzl, MD
“Thanks for letting our sons enroll for the spring program. They look forward to it all week and tells us about every practice.”
All of our coaches are Double-Goal Coach® Certified
Mighty Kicks Soccer is a National PCA Partner
