We have provided athletic lessons for elementary school children for four years. These lessons are at the center of a project that aims to contribute to the local community. Initially, we decided on the following theme: “Have fun, learn to run fast, and stand on the Big Swan track.” To improve children’s competitive abilities, we focused on engaging them in fun activities that would lay the foundation for a life filled with sports; to motivate and engage the children, we gave them a chance to attend track meets as part of the program. This project has great potential, both as a practical approach to Track and Field instruction and as a basis for student volunteer activities in the elementary school teaching course. We believe that faculty members and students of Niigata University of Health and Welfare will be able to connect with many more children in the region through this project

Maruyama, Atsuo

Nakazawa, Sho

Sugisaki, Koshu

Takahashi, Kazumasa

Yoshida, Takuya

Niigata Regional Repository

7Niigata Journal of Health and Welfare Vol. 14, No. 1
Abstract
We have provided athletic lessons for 
elementary school children for four years. These 
lessons are at the center of a project that aims to 
contribute to the local community. Initially, we 
decided on the following theme: “Have fun, learn 
to run fast, and stand on the Big Swan track.” To 
improve children’s competitive abilities, we 
focused on engaging them in fun activities that 
would lay the foundation for a life filled with 
sports; to motivate and engage the children, we 
gave them a chance to attend track meets as part 
of the program. This project has great potential, 
both as a practical approach to Track and Field 
instruction and as a basis for student volunteer 
activities in the elementary school teaching 
course. We believe that faculty members and 
students of Niigata University of Health and 
Welfare will be able to connect with many more 
children in the region through this project.
Introduction
We initiated the athletic lessons for elementary 
school children at the end of the 2011 academic 
year. These lessons are at the center of a project 
implemented by the university in order to 
contribute to the local community. The 
university’s faculty members and students have 
served as coaches and provided athletic training. 
The lessons have been held on a continuous basis 
once a week except during August and March, 
when the university is closed for summer and 
spring breaks. The number of the children who 
have participated in the lessons is shown in Table 
1.
We needed to consider two things in terms of 
the direction of the project’s implementation. For 
one, we had to determine whether to design the 
club with sole intent of improving competitive 
abilities. The other consideration centered on how 
we could maintain the children’s motivation.
The project was launched before we could 
develop a clear concept of its direction with 
regard to these points. However, the children’s 
responses to the project during the initial stages, 
combined with parental requests, eventually 
influenced our direction. Since many of the 
children loved being physically active or running, 
and because many parents wanted their children 
to be engaged in some type of sport, we decided 
that the goal of the lessons would be to enhance 
the children’s running abilities while they were 
having fun.
While we wanted to organize activities that 
were fun and would improve running abilities, 
track and field has very few elements that 
promote fun or motivate children, as opposed to 
ball sports, to which children would likely 
Regional contributions through athletic lessons for elementary school children
Koshu Sugisaki1, Sho Nakazawa1, Kazumasa Takahashi1, Takuya Yoshida2, Atsuo Maruyama1
1Department of Health and Sports, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, Japan 
2Graduate school of Comprehensive Human Sciences, Doctoral Program in Coaching Science, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
Key words: children, athletic lesson, regional contribution, practical report
Accepted: 9 March 2015
Corresponding author: Koshu Sugisaki
Department of Health and Sports, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, 1398 Shimami-cho, Kita-Ku, Niigata 950-3198, Japan
TEL/FAX: +81-25-257-4526, E-mail: sugisaki@nuhw.ac.jp
Invited article
8Running head: Regional contributions through athletic lessons for elementary school children
respond “this is fun to do,” or “I want to play 
more games.” As a result, we arrived at the 
theme: “Have fun, learn to run fast, and stand on 
the Big Swan track.” Our concept centered on 
using track meets, which are characteristic of the 
elementary school track and field, and 
encouraging children to participate in the track 
meet held at the “Big Swan,” which is the largest 
stadium in the Niigata Prefecture. This concept 
was very easy to for parents understand as well. 
Therefore, with the goal of improving children’s 
competitive abilities, we focused our efforts on 
engaging the children in fun activities and laying 
the foundation for a life filled with sports, and 
thus incorporated participation in the track meets 
as part of our program.
Implementation outline
1. General flow and contents
Each lesson lasts approximately 90 minutes. 
The activities take place on an outdoor all-
weather track, except during the winter and when 
it is raining, in which event they are conducted in 
the gymnasium. Every lesson includes ladder runs 
and mini hurdle runs. We have also conducted 
outdoor 50-meter time trials and indoor 10-meter 
time trials (Table 2).
2. Performance improvement
1) Basic skills
We prioritize skills such as maintaining 
posture, being conscious of the body axis, and 
exercising the iliopsoas muscles by standing still 
on one leg or performing calf lifts. We also 
perform exercises to strengthen the hip joint.
Each of these activities contributes to helping 
children acquire the ability to run steadily and 
well. Stable movements are also observed during 
ladder runs and mini hurdle runs.
2) Specialty skills
We have been training using the basic types of 
Table 1. The number of children who participated in athletic lessons between 2012 and 2014
Academic Year 2012 2013 2014 3-year total
Number of registered children 25 19 19 63
Number of competition participants 16 11 13 40
Number of competition prize winners  2  3  0  5
Table 2. General flow and contents
Outdoor program Indoor program
✓ Warm-up runs
✓ Stretching
✓ Basic skill exercises
✓ Ladder runs
✓ Mini hurdle runs
✓ Time trials
✓ Relays
✓ Cool-down jogging
✓ Warm-up runs
✓ Stretching
✓ Basic skill exercises
✓ Long rope passing runs
✓ Ladder runs with play
✓ Mini-hurdle runs with play
✓ Tag games
✓ Time trials
✓ Various relays
✓ Cool-down jogging
9Niigata Journal of Health and Welfare Vol. 14, No. 1
ladder runs (Figure 2). Ladder runs can be 
categorized into two types: jumping and skipping. 
Jumping training includes vertical jumps, slalom 
jumps, twist jumps, and snake jumps. Skipping 
training includes one step, two steps, side steps, 
and quick shuffles. We have conducted each of 
these training activities on a regular basis. We 
have also conducted mini hurdle runs as part of 
the specialty skills training, in order to improve 
the children’s running stride (Figure 3).
3. Fun experience
1) Game activities
As game elements, we have been playing 
games like tag, rock-paper-scissors, ladders, and 
long rope passing runs. These games incorporate 
running movements along with competitive 
elements, which allow children to run repeatedly 
and have fun without becoming bored. As a 
result, these games are very popular among the 
children.
2) Team activities
We have been conducting races, such as relays, 
especially during winter. We set certain 
conditions, such as running on a curve or running 
obliquely, to ensure the children experience a 
variety of movements. For relay races, the course 
is set so that the button can be passed from behind 
and the next runner has a run-up zone, even at the 
turn-around points. As the races are held in the 
gymnasium, we promote safety by controlling the 
Figure 1. Concept mapping of the project
Increasing children’s motivation levels by using time trials as short-term goals, and participation in the track 
meets as long-term goals, and moreover, contributing to a sports-filled life in the future.  Helping children 
enjoy movement (through the activities,) and motivating them to continue by using “game activities.” Helping 
children feel the joy of “mastering abilities,” such as learning to perform complex movements or move faster. 
Helping children feel the joy of continuously “improving” their times. Allowing children to experience the fun 
of “competition” by incorporating competitive elements, such as relay races. Incorporating the element of 
game activities and allowing children to experience the fun of “team activities,” even though track and field is 
considered to be an individual sport.
10
Running head: Regional contributions through athletic lessons for elementary school children
speed of the zigzag courses and hurdle jumps, in 
addition to the straight-line courses.
4. Competitions
1) Time trials
During every session, we have conducted time 
trials. By using “FASTRun (YY-Factory),” the 
children are able to immediately confirm and 
grasp the times on their own (Figures 4 and 5), 
which helps to motivate them. A paired t-test was 
used to compare the difference between their 
times on the outdoor 50-meter sprint, measured in 
April and June. A significant difference (p = 0.03) 
was observed between these periods (Table 3). 
This result confirms the achievements of this 
project.
2) Participation in competitions
To enhance children’s motivation, we 
encourage them to participate in the “Nissin Cup 
Trial in Niigata” and the “Boys and Girls 
Olympics in Nagaoka.” The numbers of 
participants and the number of past winners are 
shown in Table 1. Since the 2014 academic year, 
the children have been able to participate in the 
“NUHW Trial Meeting,” with cooperation from 
the university’s track and field club. Hence, there 
are three or four track meets or recording events 
in which the children can participate.
Publicity
We accept online applications and promote our 
activities on the website, such as schedule 
postings, notification of track meets, and results 
from athletic lessons (Figure 6). The website has 
also been used to announce and register 
Figure 5. Activities while using “FASTRun”
Figure 2. Ladder run
Figure 3. Mini hurdle run
Figure 4. “FASTRun” by YY-Factory 
(Japan Pat pend. 2011-143527)
11
Niigata Journal of Health and Welfare Vol. 14, No. 1
participants for other sports lessons offered by 
this university.
In addition to providing information on the 
website, we report the results of the time trials to 
the parents on a regular basis (Figure 7). This 
way, the children are able to see the shift in their 
records. This also allows the parents to share in 
their achievements.
The athletic lesson activities were featured in a 
newspaper article as a unique contribution to the 
local community (Figure 8). Through this 
newspaper article, we received many inquiries 
from areas outside the vicinity of Kita-ku. 
Moreover, this publicity has led to the enrollment 
Table 3. 50-meter sprint time (sec.)
Subject Age Sex Pre Post Difference
A 11 F  8.91  8.72 -0.19
B 11 F  9.03  8.75 -0.28
C 11 F  9.13  8.69 -0.44
D 11 F  9.41  9.22 -0.19
E 10 F  8.97  8.59 -0.38
F 10 M  9.59  9.09 -0.50
G  8 M  9.72 10.09   0.37
H  7 M 11.53 11.43 -0.10
Mean ― ―  9.54  9.32
P = 0.03SD ― ―  0.86  0.98
Table 3 shows data collected from the children who participated in 
50-meter sprints in both April and June. The “Pre” sprint was held at 
the best possible time in April. The “Post” sprint was held at the best 
possible time in June. SD: Standard Deviation.
Figure 6. Screen capture of a website page (www.
nuhwsc.com)
Figure 7. Report from an individual time trial
12
Running head: Regional contributions through athletic lessons for elementary school children
Figure 8. Newspaper “The Niigata Nippo” morning edition from March 5, 2014 
Figure 9. Newspaper “The Niigata Nippo” morning edition from September 4, 2014
13
Niigata Journal of Health and Welfare Vol. 14, No. 1
of children who live further away. Based on this 
project’s achievements, we also traveled to Sado 
City to host an athletic lesson for elementary 
school children (Figure 9).
Future prospects
During the project’s four-year implementation 
period, we have successfully established a 
concept and conducted the project in line with 
this concept. We have improved the instructional 
programs, while allowing children to participate 
in track meets and win. For further advancement, 
the immediate issue would be to increase the 
number of track meet participants and winners.
This project has great potential, as it can be 
also used as a practical field for the Track and 
Field Instruction or for student volunteer activities 
in the elementary school teaching course. We 
believe that the university’s faculty members and 
students will be able to connect with many more 
regional children through this project.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the YY-Factory for providing 
technical support for FASTRun. We also wish to 
thank The Niigata Nippo for permission to reprint 
their article.
This project was supported by a Grant-in-Aid 
from the President of Niigata University of 
Health and Welfare, 2012, 2014 (Grant Number 
H24G02, H26E09).
Author Contributions
Conceived and designed the project: KS TY 
AM. Performed the project: KS NS TY AM. 
Analyzed the data: KS KT. Wrote the paper: KS 
NS AM.


Regional contributions through athletic lessons for elementary school children

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Regional contributions through athletic lessons for elementary school children

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