Teaching DG to youth

I am working on a PDGA grant for this June. I plan to teach disc golf to the kids of the summer day camp that I currently work for. Being one of the assistant directors I get to come up with a lot of the programing and why not do something that I am so passionate about. I know there will be 10-30 kids who will be interested in learning. Twice a week we spend time at a local park that has a little 9 hole disc golf course. I also have a portable basket.
My question is what have you (if you have worked an EDGE program event or just taught a group of kids) done to get the sport we love out? I know there is the EDGE program, but our budget is rather tight (why we are applying for the grant).
Any and all help and ideas would be great!
Thanks in advance!

[Boom Boom Dino]

we've done a few intros for kids from 7yr olds to 12 year olds .......... the young ones had a ball and listened good and the 12 year olds were pretty goofy ........ it kind of depends on what you want to deliver ........ like any sport those who are gifted in athletics will do better ......... but that said all got on to throwing plastic ........ maybe the game end of things will help ...... keeping score ........ playing doubles ......... playing mixed doubles ...... longest drive ...... putting skills .... give away discs for all first time winners ........ make it fun ........... but for safety, only throw when nobody in front of u........ we did a 16 yr old youth group one time and the girls got right on to it with the tommyhawks and had a ball .. good luck

[Ben Farris]

Thanks for your response! If you can think of anything else that you did that kept the kids interested and excited please let me know!

[Tracy Glidden]

Hey Ben, awesome job in getting DG to the youth. A lot of how you go about teaching DG depends on the age group you are talking about. If the kids are younger than say 9 then I don't even introduce golf discs to them I let them use fastback frisbees. They are under 100 grams and through Hyperflite you can get them for $1.83 a piece if you order more than 25 of them ( they are actually competition frisbees for dogs). Or if they are older than 10 then I invest in ultralight disc golf misprints from Discraft, a box of 10 is $25 (A GREAT BUY AT $2.50 A DISC).
At that young age you are really more interested in muscle memory and form. Hoolah hoops and frisbees make a great targert practice area. I cannot say enough about willing and qualified volunteers. You need help for a group of 30, everyone excels better when there are more than enough helpers.
Sometimes I divide them into groups and let each group throw their discs and then retrieve their own discs. My goal when I teach kids is for them to leave with a disc, a sheet on how to start playing and on the back is the proper etiquette for when you go to a course and most of all a postive experience for them to tell others about.
The PDGA helped me with packets of information about DG and in the packet was the sheet with etiquette and instructions for the sport. I don't have a scanner but I would be happy to send the sheet that I use to your home address. I hope this helps, I know I was kind of all over the place, but I'm also trying to watch my 4yr old and my 10 month old. Give me a hollar if you need more info. 810 266 5721.

[Ben Farris]

Thanks for the advice! Like I said I am working on a PDGA grant at the moment. So hopefully will be able to get that. What kind of games did you play with the kids??

[jenny d]

Last fall I volunteered for the YMCA and taught disc golf at 6 different elementary schools in the area. The typical age range was 6-10, and I would have 20 - 30 kids. I would use all of my own plastic, and my own baskets. It was kind of a pain lugging all of that from school to school, but its for the love of the game so I didnt mind. I probably could have gotten baskets form the city, or the YMCA was considering buying some, but that has not happened yet, and may still be in teh works for this summer. I usually had another YMCA volunteer with me to help manage the kids. I would always start with some sort of introduction, explain the rules of the "playground" and the basic safety stuff. I would set up the baskets no more then about 100 feet. I would cover the basics of back hand and forehand, including different grips. Then I would do a couple of demonstrations just while standing still. The kids were always on their best behavior, and listened really well. I would have to say that 100% of the students were way into it, maybe even more so the girls. WIth having two baskets I could split the kids into two groups and have them practice throwing drives. Splitting them into two groups was a bit more managable. After doing that for a couple of rounds I would move onto putting. That would get a little chaotic because kids do not want to wait to get their disc back, and it was usually one big messy jumbo put. Then, if there was time, we would play safari holes. BY this point, parents are picking up kids so my numbers would get smaller and it was much easier to play safari games. Having a playground for safari is absolutely awesome too by the way!
In the time that I did this, I only saw one bloody nose (that kid might never play again), and one prodigy. The kid was 8, had never thrown a disc, and threw it atleast 300 feet.
Good luck with this! You will enjoy it!

[Duh]

I've helped with a couple EDGE programs locally. It is sooooo much fun seeing the kids get excited about Disc Golf. I wish I would have learned to play at a younger age.

As for games, I would recommend simple putting games like "horse" or "pig". They will go fast & keep the kids busy. This would work better if you have more than 1 basket to work with and split the kids up into smaller groups. I would suggest the game 21, but it may be too complicated for younger kids and it takes longer.
I haven't seen anyone mention rollers. I have a son who started at a very young age; a roller was his primary throw and went the farthest. Of course, they should be supplied with heavier discs to accomplish a good roller. It might be a fun game to have a "roller" distance contest.

Definitely empasize the courtesy rules (like don't throw when someone is in front of you). Good luck with this. Sounds like you'll be having a blast!

[Evan Taylor]

Ben will do wonders with the grant money! Ive seen his summer camp's sports program and it needed disc golf 4-5 years ago even!

[Kade Atkinson]

This is what went on recently in my area. Pretty much just ask for help from the local scene by collecting up old discs and a few portable baskets and break 'em down into smaller groups.
Toss away after a good lesson on form! Check out this thread from discgolfatlanta.com. Its not too long so check it out.


http://www.discgolfatlanta.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1785

[jerry ross]

Congrats on working with the youth. I have a full time job so can't spend much time with a day camp. But, I do hold clinics and have taught women, men and kids the basics. And I recommend that you stay with the basics because it takes a lot of time to just get this point across. I generally just do a driving clinic one day (and it usually takes more than one day to get it down) then move on to mid ranges, then one to putting. My next youth clinic is on the 6th of June. we will spend about 1 hour driving, then break up into groups and play a round of golf. I prefer an instructor with each group, but it's not always possible so I jump around some between the groups. Hope this helps, and I wish you the best of luck.

Jerry