July Field Notes - Play in Outdoor Sports
Mike Smith | OSI Executive Director
Play is the answer to the question, how does anything new ever come about?
-Jean Piaget
The other day I was out for a walk when I saw a little girl on the opposite side of the street in an all out sprint up the sidewalk. She had a huge smile plastered across her face as her pigtails and dress flapped wildly behind her. I wondered where she was headed as she bolted by me in the opposite direction. Maybe there was an ice cream truck around the corner? Maybe she was meeting up with friends? I watched as she continued her mad dash another few moments before leaping into the air and landing with both feet together in a perfect stand still. No one else was in sight. Then she twirled on her heels and repeated the process in the other direction. I smiled as it dawned on me that she was simply outside playing.
We like to think of outdoor sports as being the kind of activities that get us outside playing as well. I’m guessing it’s rare though that many of us find ourselves paddling, skiing, or running around with the kind of joyful abandon this little girl was displaying. Why is that?
Part of it might be because we’re busy trying to learn, or help others learn, the skills associated with a particular activity. Part of it might be because we’re focused on challenging ourselves, getting to the end of the trail, or improving our fitness. This is after all, it’s own kind of play. A more playful approach, however, can actually help us learn more easily, improve more quickly, and have more fun in the process so that we (and others) actually want to keep getting out the door in the first place.
So how do we bring more play into outdoor sports? We recently created a free guide that shares a handful of ideas on this very topic. And this month in our OSI Community Roundtable we’re looking forward to discussing these ideas and more with you. Check out the link below to download your copy of the guide from our resource library, and register to join us for next week’s roundtable.
How do you bring play into the outdoor sports you love? How do you help others engage in play when you’re outside? We’d love to hear your ideas. Drop us a line at hello@outdoorsi.org and let us know. We’d also love to know if the tips and tricks shared in our new guide are helpful for you in your personal practice.