There’s no doubt that screen time is a big problem for kids these days (parents, we aren’t much better), but you don’t see many phones at ski practice.
It’s hard to type with gloves and mittens on.
More importantly, the kids are having too much fun. My daughter joined the Vasa Sparks program at Hickory Hills this winter, a K-5 after-school program designed to teach cross-country skiing fundamentals and provide kids with a reliable source of post-practice fruit snacks.
Vasa Sparks is run in partnership with the Vasa Ski Club and the Minnesota Youth Ski League, which provided affordable rental ski equipment for dozens of participants. Having access to quality boots, skis, and poles for the duration of the program without putting down hundreds of dollars for gear kids will outgrow before the next season makes the program possible, removing a substantial barrier for so many families.
Admittedly, I didn’t know what to expect. The idea of getting a few dozen kids out into the cold and snow after a full day of school seemed like it could go south quickly. But after a single practice, it was clear that kids don’t get cold (parents do), and rapid improvement is an incredible motivator.
Some of the kids were barely mobile when we started, laboring to do a lap of a 50-foot circle near the lodge. After half an hour, they were shuffling right along. Now, six weeks later, 5 and 6-year-olds are doing a mile and a half while chatting, picking up sticks, eating snow, and smiling the whole way.
The success of the Nordic Sparks program, due in large part to the hard work of the legendary John Kostrzaewa and volunteer coaches, is a testament to what happens when programming removes or reduces financial barriers. That component is something that other sports can, and should, address to increase youth sports participation, which faces a 70% dropout rate by age 13.
And it looks like fruit snacks help, too.