What Is Physical Literacy? A Kids Program Guide (Ep. 30)
Episode 30 · July 16, 2026 · Guest: Jason D'Rocha, Sportball
Physical literacy is a child's foundation for moving well and wanting to keep moving: the basic skills like balance, coordination, throwing and jumping, plus the confidence to use them. For a kids program it means you find where each child is, give them a version of the activity they can succeed at, and build from there. Skill first. Confidence follows.
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This is my written companion to Physical Literacy for Kids: What Enrichment Owners Need to Know with Jason D'Rocha. Jason is with Sportball, a sports program for young children. He studied child psychology, started out building Sportball's adapted program for children with special needs, and went on to lead its coach training and curriculum. I had never heard the term before we met. What he taught applies to robotics, music and art as much as sports.
What is physical literacy?
It is the movement version of learning to read. The International Physical Literacy Association defines it as "the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge, and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life" (physicalliteracy.ca/physical-literacy).
Jason explained it in plain terms. Kids crawl, then stand, then walk, then run. Every other physical skill works the same way. Throwing, catching and jumping sit on top of building blocks like balance, coordination, timing and strength. A coach finds the block a child is on and builds up from it.
Why does competence come before confidence?
Because telling a child to be confident gives them nothing to stand on. Confidence with no skill under it is hollow. A small, real success builds it.
Jason compared it to reading. Nobody hands a five-year-old a chapter book. You start with songs and the alphabet, then letters with pictures, then the pictures come away, then bigger words. Ability builds confidence, and confidence makes them want more. Good programs teach a sport, or code, or violin, in that same order.
My line for it: everything is hard before it is easy.
How do I meet kids where they are in a group class?
Adjust the activity so every child in the room can succeed at their own level. Jason has seen kids who never touched a ball look like naturals, and kids with every advantage take longer. Both are normal.
When he built the adapted program, he was teaching turn taking, starting a conversation, making a friend, paying attention and following rules. Every child needs those, so they went into every class.
The stakes are high. He meets adults who can describe a bad moment with a coach from decades ago like it was yesterday, and who have avoided physical activity ever since. I was an indoor kid myself. Kids are asking three questions when they walk in: Am I safe here? Am I welcome? Will I be judged? Your class answers them whether you plan it or not.
How can a small program show that it works?
Start by measuring one thing at the start of a term and again at the end. Jason was honest that the early years at Sportball were learning by doing. His point: if you tell a parent your program makes a difference, at some point you owe them the evidence.
Their path was to partner with university graduate programs. Graduate students built an assessment from published developmental milestones and existing physical literacy measures, then compared kids in the program with kids who were not. They also asked young children to draw how they felt at the start and end of a season, and surveyed parents. He shared that the findings backed up what coaches saw in class. Here is a version you can run.
- Pick two or three skills your program says it teaches.
- Write down what "can do it" looks like for each.
- Check every child in week one.
- Check again in the last week.
- Ask parents two questions: was your child excited to come, and what changed?
- Share the results with families and your school partners.
Example with example numbers: 12 kids in a class. In week one, 4 can balance on one foot for five seconds. In week eight, 10 can. That is 33% to 83%. One sentence like that on your one-pager beats a paragraph of adjectives. Related: what schools and parents expect from an enrichment provider.
How does a rookie-to-master coach model work?
It turns a part-time coaching job into a ladder. Jason walked me through theirs. Candidates arrive with the basics: they love working with kids, they love the activity, they have background clearance to work with children, and first aid and CPR. Then comes a working interview, in the gym, with kids.
| Level | What it means |
|---|---|
| Rookie | Paired with a mentor. Online courses, in-class assessments and feedback every week, with a little more responsibility each class. |
| Lead | Qualified to run a class alone. More workshops: class management, coaching with purpose, talking with parents. |
| Mentor | Many more hours, plus training in how to teach someone else. That means stepping back so a new coach can step up. |
| Master | Can hire, train and promote coaches, and can run a demonstration for a school and speak to the principal, teachers and parents. |
Nothing is left to "you should know." New coaches are taught how to welcome a parent, greet a child, take attendance safely, warm up, run skills and dismiss the class. We give kids grace and then expect adults to arrive knowing everything. When the same gap shows up with different people, that is a systems problem. Unicorn instructors should not have to make up for a system you never built. I describe our class routine in how to structure a STEM after-school class.
Does higher pay keep coaches longer?
Pay fairly, then invest in recognition and growth. Jason said the hours in this industry make hiring and keeping people hard for everyone, and that pay alone does not fix it. What has worked for them: highlighting coaches in front of their peers, naming a most valuable coach each season, asking about career goals, and letting strong coaches lead a training. That matches what I found at Journey to STEAM, which I shared in Episode 25 on paying instructors.
Who should listen: anyone who trains instructors, and anyone who wants proof their program works. It runs about 40 minutes. Running sports classes? See enrops for sports programs.
Listen or watch: Spotify · YouTube · Apple Podcasts
Frequently asked questions
Is physical literacy only for sports programs?
The term is about movement. The method, find the building block and build up, fits any subject you teach kids.
Do I need a university partner to measure outcomes?
No. A simple check in week one and the last week of a term is a real start. A partnership can come later.
What is a working interview?
The candidate leads part of a real class, like a warm-up, while you watch how they interact with kids.
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Arielle Hammond, Ed.D. is the founder of enrops and host of The Youth Enrichment Leader, presented by enrops.
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