Boffer Sports: A Training Field for Negotiation Skills
Schools are educational institutions that have become overly focused on academics while leaving out other aspects of development. Across the country, I am hearing more and more stories of kids losing recess time, getting reduced lunch times with no free play afterward, and decreasing investments in physical education.
I think we often mistake physical play as being designed for kids to “get active”, “mentally unload”, and “have social time”. While I believe that these above points are correct, I think we often underestimate the power of physical negotiation. Physical negotiation is not bullying, physical negotiation is the learned behaviors of compromise that enable a community to cooperate. According to a study from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden; young children’s negotiations during play vary, depending on whether the negotiations originate in agreement or disagreement. The environment of play enables the development of negotiation and cooperation amongst young cohorts. So much of young people’s playtime has turned towards video games; and while it is entertaining, it is often missing the elements of environmental flexibility that requires negotiation skills.
American Boffer wants to bring a sport to the new generation to enable greater degrees of negotiation development that will provide the foundation of cooperation when they enter adulthood. From our experiences of providing this activity to children, we find that the 3 minute field games allow for strategic development, adaptability and negotiation. These result in high volumes of trial and error to develop these skills that become absolutely essential in independent adulthood.
We aren’t just looking to provide a sport for kids to be entertained, but we want to create an environment that helps develop growing youths to become functional members of society, to learn how to work in teams, and to enable leadership to blossom. If you’re interested in introducing your child to this sport, subscribe on our website to receive updates on our free demonstrations and equipment provided play time here in the treasure valley.
