Deep Thought #5: If You Want Active Kids, Be One

Let’s be real: if you want your kid to be active, curious, resilient, and healthy, it starts with you. Not a coach. Not a program. Not a fitness app. You.

We spend so much time shuttling our kids to sports practices, signing them up for leagues, and chasing the best developmental program — but far too often, the mirror is missing from the equation.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:

Your child’s athletic lifestyle is probably following yours.

And no, I’m not saying you have to be running marathons or doing CrossFit in your garage. But if your kid never sees you take a walk, shoot a basket, jump in the ocean, or move with joy… then what are we modeling?

Science-Backed Truth: Your Activity Matters

There’s some actual data behind this. One well-known study found that kids with two active parents are 5.8 times more likely to be active themselves. That’s not marginal. That’s everything.

Even having one active parent doubles or triples your child’s likelihood of engaging in daily movement.

This influence starts early — really early. By age 3 or 4, kids have already begun to internalize norms about movement, food, and “what we do as a family.” They’re not mimicking LeBron James. They’re mimicking you.

And when it comes to early physical literacy, the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and Long-Term Athletic Development (LTAD) frameworks all say the same thing: foundational movement starts at home. The best programs reinforce what kids already feel is normal — hopping, jumping, exploring, playing catch. They don’t invent the desire. They amplify it.

It’s Not Just Signing Them Up

A lot of well-meaning parents think being involved in youth sports means you just enroll your kid and show up on the sideline with a fold-out chair.

But here’s the deal: most toddler and preschool sports programs are “Parent & Me.” You are the teammate. You’re crawling on the mat with them. You’re kicking the ball next to them. You’re the one they look to when they’re nervous, hesitant, or just unsure about whether it’s fun or not.

Even when they hit the age of drop-off classes, your modeling doesn’t stop.

• Did you go on a walk after dinner?
• Do they see you shoot hoops in the driveway sometimes?
• Are you the kind of person who bikes to the store or carries a tennis racket in the car?

These subtle cues say more than your sideline clapping ever will.

Movement is Cultural — And You Set the Culture

Every household has a culture. Some are all about homework. Some are all about video games. Some are all about big family dinners. And some — whether by design or default — are about movement.

Your job isn’t to create a “perfectly active household.” It’s to show your kid that movement is normal. That being active isn’t punishment, it’s play. It’s joy. It’s release. It’s something we get to do.

Take this thought experiment:

If your kid could only watch you for a week — no practices, no coaches, no screens — what would they conclude about being active?

That’s your barometer.

What Your Presence Really Means

Here’s what I’ve seen on the ground, in decades of coaching:

Some kids don’t care about “the game.” They care about you showing up. They care that you care. Your thumbs-up means more than the scoreboard. Your head nod after they try hard — even if they fail — is more powerful than the coach’s feedback.

And when you show that effort, grit, and movement matter in your life? That’s gold.

So go to the park. Go for a walk. Play catch even when it’s messy. Do the monkey bars. Kick the soccer ball off your shin and laugh with them.

Because to your kid, your involvement isn’t extracurricular — it’s the example that shapes everything else.

Not About Perfection, But Intention

You don’t need a six-pack. You don’t need to join a gym. You don’t need to be training for anything.

But you do need to move.

Even ten minutes a day. Even when you’re tired. Even when it’s “just” a game of tag in the hallway.

When you move, your kids learn to move. When you laugh while doing it, they associate activity with joy. And when they see that it’s normal in your family to be active — they don’t resist it. They adopt it.

Final Thought: Don’t Outsource the Example

As a coach, I can teach your kid to pivot, dribble, sprint, shoot, and squat. But I can’t teach them what matters most: why it matters.

That’s your job.

So if you want active kids, be one.

And if you want confident, joyful, strong young athletes… start by showing them what it looks like. They’re watching. And trust me, they’re learning — every step, throw, dance, and hike at a time.