Do you want your child (or student) to learn how to be self-disciplined and healthy? Of course you do. The University of Montreal just finished a study where they found that having students get involved in regular, structured extracurricular sports starting in Kindergarten will help them develop the discipline they need to engage effectively in the classroom. You can read the press release here. Outside of the results that the students “were identifiably better at following instructions and remaining focused in the classroom” (can I hear a big “yes!” from all the teachers out there) they also found that if students were involved in structured activities (not necessarily sports related) they were likely to be involved in team sports at age 10. This is important because it means they are getting exercise at this crucial point in life and are more likely to develop a habit of exercise. They focused on more traditional sports for their study, but jump rope can be one of the greatest sports programs to develop discipline.

I got my start in rope skipping as part of a competitive team in Juneau, AK. We met every Tuesday and Thursday from 4:30 to 6:30 during the school year with special practices on Saturdays when there were shows coming up. I can honestly say that I didn’t join the jump rope team so that I would become a disciplined child, but the consistent practices, coupled with the constant admonition to learn, teach, practice and focus developed a team of kids that went on to win 7 World Championships in rope skipping. I joined because I found jump rope to be fun, all the other stuff happened because I was part of a team. One of the greatest aspects to rope skipping is that it is both an individual and team sport. You can excel by yourself and as part of a team.

They don’t know what the exact cause of being part of a team caused the results they saw, they just know what it did. The take away is that we need to have a variety of options to get our kids involved with early in life. Not every kid is interested in soccer or football, that’s ok. The key is to get them involved in something that is structured while they are young. Kindergarten can be one of the most challenging ages to try and teach jump rope (we’ll be covering strategies on teaching various age groups in our PE curriculum that will be released this fall as part of our Platinum Membership). However, I’ve performed in thousands of schools around the world and I can honestly say that I’ve seen only a handful that were not interested in trying. Having a jump rope club or team at your school, or in your city, and getting your kids involved can truly change their lives. Are they going to be the greatest jump ropers on earth? Probably not, but we can offer them an outlet in a structured environment that is proven to help them develop their discipline as they get older, plus they will be more likely to continue in sports. Disciplined and active pre-teens? Sounds awesome to me!

If you don’t have a team in your city, or if you would be interested in starting one, we are currently preparing our PE curriculum on jump rope. As part of this, we will also cover how to start a club at your school or community center. We’ll give you the tools you need to get started, no experience necessary! We will be filming the videos in the next couple of weeks and will release them on the site as soon as they are ready. The great part about our streaming video library is that we will release the videos as they are done, no waiting for the entire project to be finished!

Our PE and Team information will be part of our Platinum Membership package. As a Platinum Member you will have access to all of our detailed instructional jump rope videos, movies, cross-training exercises and the brand new Physical Education curriculum and Team ideas. Sign Up Today.