My friend and I had the privilege of attending a trial junior bowling class hosted by Growth Mentors.
Growth Mentors is an organization that specializes in utilising sports equipment fit for children to enhance the learning experience of each child. They host lessons for
- Bowling
- Golf
- Swimming
- Soccer
- Petanque
- Rugby
- Basketball
We brought our 4 kids to try out their bowling programme. Here’s what I thought about the 1 hour program.
The venue was incredibly spacious! Such that all the kids started running around the moment they stepped into the venue. Even my 15 month old baby decided to join in the fun.
When the class was ready to start, Growth Mentors Coach Vanessa shared with the kids the class rules and the instructions they would need to follow.
To prevent any muscle soreness and minimise any chances of sports injury, the children were asked to do some light warm up exercises before moving on to more active games.
The 1st game involved the kids picking up the correct coloured cones upon hearing the coach’s instruction. They were made to hop there, walking the “crab-style”, sand even some sprinting was required of the kids.
There was even a 3 legged race at one point to promote teamwork among the kids in class. This was a definite plus for me as I always prefer it when coaches come up with new ways to engage kids in an activity instead of sticking to more boring ‘by the book’ methods.
Then it was off the start bowling! The coaches took them through the various skills needed to have a good form while bowling: How to properly hold the ball, the correct armswing, foot positioning, timing, aiming and releasing.
My son Kayven even came back to me to teach me the ‘Spiderman’ hand position to hold the bowling ball. Not that I didn’t already know that, but teaching the kids to make a Spiderman hand sign to tech them how to do it was a smart move from the coaches.
The kids then finally get to the most anticipated part of the lesson where they actually get to the physical bowling ball and have a go and the bowling alley.
Unlike the usual bowling lanes we commonly see, Growth Mentors sets up the bowling alley with bowling mats and really good quality bowling pins. I definitely felt a bit more at ease as it felt like a safe environment. I didn’t have to worry about the kids falling down if they ran around. There were also different line indicators pasted on the mat to assist the kids in their aiming.
Did I mention about the special lightweight bowling ball they provided? These bowling balls weight about 1.5 kg, compared to the the lightest bowling balls in regular bowling alleys that weight about 2.5 kg.
The special bowling balls were absolutely perfect for toddlers. Unfortunately, the younger ones weren’t able to knock down any pins, but I’m sure they would be just as good as their older brothers and with more practice.
Towards the end of the workout, the coaches did something that I felt was critical. They led the kids through a cooling down exercise with light stretching. Instead of leaving the venue with heightened heart rates and flushed cheeks, the cool down allows a gentle slowing of the heart rate and increase in circulation.
To summarise, the friendly yet firm coaches did a really good job in engaging the kids through play. Parents need not worry too much about the safety of the child as the environment and equipment used are pretty safe. Growth Mentor’s bowling programmes provide an excellent platform for the beginners to be well equipped for the future to come!