Why We Do CrossFit Kids Differently at CFA

For those of you who don’t know, I, Cameron Mitchell, grumpy Cameron Mitchell, was actually the first CrossFit Kids coach at CrossFit Alberton. 😂

Yes, really.

I used to coach the kids.

Then, slowly but surely, we realised Angie is much better at coaching kids than I am.

Probably no surprise to anyone who knows us.

Both Angie and I completed our CrossFit Kids certification. Back then, you had to complete the course to coach CrossFit Kids.

I’m really glad we did it.

It was an incredibly good course, and I genuinely wish it was still mandatory because it taught us that coaching children requires a very different approach.

We actually started CrossFit Kids before we had children ourselves.

Years later, as parents, I think many of the things we learned through CrossFit Kids have influenced how we approach the development of our own children too.

And it’s also shaped what we want CrossFit Kids at CFA to become.

CrossFit Kids Isn’t Just a Smaller Adult Class

I think this is probably the most important thing for parents to understand.

CrossFit Kids isn’t simply adult CrossFit with lighter weights.

Kids are developing physically, mentally and emotionally.

Their coordination is developing.

Their confidence is developing.

Their ability to listen and follow instructions is developing.

Their maturity levels can be completely different, even when they’re the same age.

That’s why the focus needs to be different.

With our kids, we’re trying to build a broad foundation of movement.

Running.

Jumping.

Squatting.

Hanging.

Throwing.

Catching.

Balancing.

Changing direction.

Learning how to control their bodies.

Getting stronger.

And, importantly, having fun while doing it.

There’s actually a term for a lot of this:

Physical literacy.

Just like children need to learn letters and words before they can write an essay, they need opportunities to develop a broad vocabulary of movement.

The better that foundation becomes, the more options they have later.

CrossFit Should Help Them With Their Sport and Their Life

We’ve seen this with our own daughter, Gemma.

We’ve used CrossFit principles to help her develop for her sports.

But there’s an important distinction in how we think about that.

“We use CrossFit to help her be better at her sport and her life, rather than doing CrossFit just to become an athlete.”

That’s really important to us.

If your child loves rugby, great.

If they love hockey, athletics, swimming, gymnastics, netball or another sport, awesome.

CrossFit Kids can help build the physical foundation underneath those activities.

Strength.

Coordination.

Balance.

Agility.

Body awareness.

Fitness.

Confidence.

And if they eventually decide competitive sport isn’t for them, those things still matter.

Because they’ll need their bodies for the rest of their lives.

That’s the bigger picture for us.

Mechanics First

One of the principles we learned through CrossFit Kids was the importance of developing good mechanics before chasing intensity.

In simple terms:

Learn to move well first.

Then learn to do it consistently.

Then we can gradually add more challenge where appropriate.

For a child, resistance might simply be their own bodyweight.

As they develop, we can introduce different movements, equipment and challenges based on their ability.

And that’s an important point:

Age alone doesn’t tell us what a child is ready for.

Two children of exactly the same age can have completely different levels of maturity, coordination, confidence and physical development.

Good coaching means recognising that.

Why We Don’t Automatically Put Kids Into Adult Classes

This is something I really want our parents to understand.

We regularly get asked whether a child can simply join one of our normal CrossFit classes.

Sometimes the answer is yes.

Sometimes the answer is that they aren’t ready yet.

And we take that decision seriously.

We look at each child individually.

We consider their movement.

Their maturity.

Their ability to listen to coaching.

Their confidence.

Their experience.

Their ability to train safely around adults.

And what we believe is best for their development.

There are young athletes we’ve moved into regular classes earlier because we believed they were ready and it was the right environment for them.

There are others where we’ve waited.

That’s okay.

We won’t move a child into an adult class simply because it’s more convenient.

And we won’t do it simply because they want to.

Our responsibility as coaches is to make the decision we believe will help that child develop.

I’d genuinely rather have a child wait, or even decide the program doesn’t work for them, than put them into an environment that I believe could be detrimental to their development.

We’re playing the long game.

Kids Need to Enjoy Training

This is another huge part of CrossFit Kids.

Fun matters.

Kids should want to come back.

That doesn’t mean they’re running around doing whatever they want.

There’s structure.

There’s coaching.

There’s learning.

But games and play can actually be part of how we teach movement.

A child doesn’t need to think:

“Today I’m working on my coordination and squat mechanics.”

They might simply think:

“That game was awesome.”

Meanwhile, Angie knows exactly what she’s trying to develop.

That’s one of the skills of a great Kids coach.

And, as I admitted at the beginning, she’s much better at it than grumpy Cameron. 😂

We’re Developing More Than Fitness

This is probably the part I’m most passionate about.

Of course we want kids to get fitter.

We want them to get stronger.

We want them to move well.

But think about what else training can teach a child.

Trying something that’s difficult.

Listening to a coach.

Accepting feedback.

Working with other children.

Following rules.

Learning that you won’t always win.

Celebrating someone else’s success.

Practising something you aren’t good at.

Failing.

Trying again.

Eventually succeeding.

Those are life skills.

When a child struggles with something, keeps practising and eventually gets it, they’ve learned something much bigger than the movement itself.

They’ve learned:

I can do difficult things.

Imagine carrying that belief into school.

Into sport.

Into relationships.

Into their future career.

Into adulthood.

That’s powerful.

We Want to Develop Great Humans

This is really the philosophy behind what we’re trying to create.

“We’re passionate about developing great humans, not just great athletes.”

I want our kids to become confident.

I want them to be healthy.

I want them to understand effort.

I want them to be coachable.

I want them to encourage other people.

I want them to learn leadership.

I want them to understand that looking after their health is simply something they do.

And I’d love them to become people who set an example in their communities.

Fitness can actually be a really cool way of doing that.

When someone sees you doing something difficult, getting fitter, running a race or achieving something, it starts conversations.

Those conversations give us opportunities to influence people positively.

Imagine teaching kids that from an early age.

What We Want to Build Next

Over the next year, one of our big goals is to grow CrossFit Kids at CrossFit Alberton 2.0.

We want to make the program even better.

Part of that vision is creating more appropriate groups for different stages of development.

We want a younger group.

We want an older group.

That gives our coaches even more opportunity to adjust what we’re teaching to the children in front of us.

Because a young child learning basic movement through games needs something different from an older child who’s becoming ready for more structured training.

Both need coaching.

They simply need different coaching.

A Message to Our CFA Parents

This is where I need your help.

If you’re already part of CrossFit Alberton and you have children, I really hope you’ll consider getting them involved.

And if your kids already train with us, keep encouraging them.

Talk about what they’re learning.

Celebrate their effort.

Let them see you training too.

Help us make being active something normal in their lives.

Because this connects with something I’ve spoken about a lot recently.

We’re trying to build health for life.

Imagine a child growing up where exercise has always been part of their life.

Movement feels normal.

Being strong feels normal.

Looking after their body feels normal.

Training with other people feels normal.

Doing difficult things feels normal.

That’s a pretty amazing foundation to give a child.

The Long Game

I don’t really care how much your eight-year-old can squat.

I care whether they can move well.

I care whether they enjoy being active.

I care whether they develop confidence in their body.

I care whether they learn to work hard.

I care whether they can take feedback.

I care whether they learn to support the kid standing next to them.

And I care whether, when they’re 28, exercise is still part of their life.

That’s the win.

CrossFit Kids gives us a vehicle to start developing those things early.

Some of these kids might become incredible athletes.

I hope they do.

Some might never compete seriously in anything.

That’s also completely fine.

Because our goal is bigger than sport.

We use CrossFit to help kids become better at their sport and their life.

And ultimately:

We’re developing great humans, not just great athletes.

That’s why CrossFit Kids matters so much to us.

That’s why we’re careful about how we coach it.

And that’s why we’re so excited about what we can build at CFA over the next few years.

Health for life can start when you’re a kid.

If you’d like to find out more about CrossFit Kids at CrossFit Alberton 2.0, chat to one of our coaches or send us a message.

And parents, if you’d like some help with your own health and fitness journey too:

👉 Book your FREE No-Sweat Intro:
https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/booking/RaTODoZO1eeNzrv2oFGm