A new parent education campaign is promoting a multi-sport approach for kids. Built around a captivating video PSA and a companion website it features elite Canadian athletes who support the multi-sport approach.

Funded by the Canadian Olympic Committee, the video and website are the product of a unique collaboration between multiple sport partners including Baseball Canada, Canada Basketball, Hockey Canada, Canada Soccer, and Active for Life.

The goal of the initiative is to convince parents to encourage their kids to participate in a variety of sports and physical activities and thereby avoid specializing too early in one sport. Research suggests that playing a variety of sports and physical activities in childhood leads to better skill development, less injury, less burnout, and less dropout in the long term.

To make the case, the PSA shows athletes world-class athletes Marie-Philip Poulin (Hockey Canada), Mike Soroka (Baseball Canada), Miah-Marie Langlois (Canada Basketball), and Nik Ledgerwood (Canada Soccer), performing tricks and skills from sports other than the one they’ve specialized in.

“The research shows that specializing too early in one sport frequently leads to kids getting injured and burning out, and some start to quit sport altogether,” says Richard Monette, Managing Director at Active for Life. “There is growing evidence that kids who play multiple sports through childhood and adolescence tend to stay active longer, and more of them go further in competitive sport.”

The campaign website references leading studies and expert statements on the importance of multi-sport, including the consensus statement the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine.

About Active for Life:
Active for Life is a Canadian not-for-profit initiative founded by B2ten in 2012 to help parents give their children the right start in life through the development of physical literacy. Activeforlife.com provides parents, educators, and coaches with fun activities, engaging articles, and free resources to get kids active so they develop fundamental movement skills and confidence.

For more information please contact:
Richard Monette
Managing Director
Active for Life
403-762-9192