When it comes to active kids and parents and sports organizations, we are the experts. Yes, Ellie’s Earth, a young human personal care company is definitely the experts in this space.
I’m Farzana Spiro, CEO & Founder of Ellie’s Earth, and what you may not know is I have also volunteered as a soccer coach for our local community sports teams for the last 10 years. I have seen first hand how kids are engaged and active from the tiny age of 3 (when soccer balls come up to their knees!) to about 10 or 11, and then watch with immense sadness as both young girls and boys slowly start dropping out of organized sports. The data tells us the same story; by the age of 14, 40% of girls have dropped out of organized sports and by the age of 15, 50% of all kids drop out. I have 3 daughters myself, and let me tell you we are no strangers to these statistics.
There are days our kids want nothing to with the sports they so eagerly asked for 🙃, and other days their bags are packed and ready to go before we are. The emotional roller coaster is real, however so is the alarming number of kids who simply refuse to return to organized activities. We, the collective we, need to bend this curve.
In my opinion there are three parties responsible for ensuring our kids stay engaged and active; I’m going to take a few minutes below to chat through who is responsible for what, and what I think needs to happen to start changing the game (pun intended). You may choose to agree or disagree, and that’s ok. I think though, for the most part, if we at least start holding each other accountable and responsible, something beautiful may just happen.
So of course, as parents we come first.
Parents, I don’t need to speak much on how we work so hard to be able to afford the activities, and muster up the effort every single day to drive rain or shine to practices, recitals, games, meets, etc. Then there’s the parent team chats to keep up with, changes in scheduling and not falling for the “keeping up”. There’s no doubt when we’re in the thick of things we try as best as we can to keep things moving like a well oiled machine. So over and above this, what is our actual responsibility? To fuel our young athletes appropriately, as best as we can. Pre-game or practice meals are so important for their overall health but also their performance. I try my best, but let’s be honest, I know they sneak a few sour candies in when I’m not looking.
Yes, the kids have a big part in this too. They need to want to show up and perform at their top level each day. Parents and coaches play a big part in the motivation behind a young athlete, however it’s the athlete first that needs to want to show up. The biggest game changer for athletes that I have seen in young kids who are successful? Positive self talk. Before a practice, recital or game, the best of the best kids are using visual thinking and positive self talk to put their bodies and mind’s into a state of “game ready”. It works. Every time.
So this is the interesting group right, the clubs, and I have very strong opinions here on how the organizations can help our athletes stay engaged and motivated. Yes, they help with providing the coaching staff and facilities however their responsibility should not stop there. An interesting trend I have seen over the past few years as my kids have grown up and entered the teenage years is the conversation (or lack of) around personal care. Before you think it, yes as parents this is our responsibility also. However, when there is a young athlete (specifically a female) on the bench who has body odor, I have witnessed how the rest of the team will move away and quite often make fun of said girl. And this one girl, more often than not, will never return back to the sport. So, to the clubs, please – it is more important than ever before that along with the uniforms you are providing you include a deodorant with the package. Help us help our kids. Help us keep our kids engaged in activities. Kids will come back if they feel confident, and when a child feels or thinks they have body odor, it doesn’t matter how well they are fueled from their parents, that self talk we discussed in #2 will never happen.
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If you are an organized club & are unsure of how to start, reach out to us, we’ll work something out. Ellie’s Earth is here to help kids stay active and we are doing this by providing personal care products that are natural and effective. If we save even 1 girl from quitting sports, the collective “we” I mentioned above will have won.