5 Adventures Divot & Swish are Looking Forward to in 2022
It’s January 2022 and that means there’s a full year of things to look forward to. Here are five adventures I’m looking forward to having with Divot & Swish this year:
1. Being physically activity and playing sports with their pets, Kali the puppy and Lennie the lizard.
While Divot grew up playing golf and Swish’s favorite sport is basketball, they both still enjoy participating in a variety of sports and physical activities. Some of their desire to be active is because they were allowed to be kids and engage in free play, which helps prevent burnout in youth sports
2. Making new friends at elementary schools, non-profit organizations that help kids, and youth sport organizations.
Even though Swish is more of an introvert, whereas Divot is an extrovert, together they love traveling the world and meeting new friends. In 2021, we met almost 1,000 new friends at over a dozen reading, physical education, and art adventures at elementary schools, non-profits helping kids, and bookstores.
If you or someone you know is interested in learning about opportunities to bring Divot & Swish to your school, organization, or teams, please contact me (Dr. Beth) through the website or email.
3. Helping kids develop their inner superpowers like courage, confidence, and resilience.
Divot & Swish are on a mission to inspire families and kids to have fun, become more active, and learn life lessons through sports. As Nelson Mandela once said: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the ability to unite people in a way that little else does.”
Research has shown that sport doesn’t automatically create character. Adults need to be intentional about teaching life skills, a.k.a. superpowers. If not, then we could create characters, or kids who are poor sports, act out, and eventually quit because participating is not fun.
So how can we teach life skills to our kids, grandkids, or youth sport team members? For starters, we can help kids develop courage by encouraging them to be okay with being uncomfortable or scared. Let them know it’s natural to be a little afraid when trying something new or hard. Yet, as Sammy the Surfer said they can choose to “do it afraid and give it their best!”
4. Traveling the world with their young fans in the form of FLAT Divot & Swish.
Some of you may remember FLAT Stanley which was the title character of the children’s book of the same name. What you may not know is that the purpose of FLAT Stanley paper cut-outs was not only to encourage kids to expand their awareness and understanding of diverse people and places, but to also help kids improve their reading and writing skills.
Similarly, I’ve created a Free FLAT Divot & Swish you can download, print, and color with your kids. Then, take FLAT Divot & Swish with you to create your own adventures! I encourage you to have some fun with this and use these experiences to share what your kids are learning about diverse people and cultures.
5. Collecting ideas from kids for their next adventure.
In 2022, I’d love to hear your ideas for Divot & Swish’s next adventures! Where could they go? What sport could they play? What physical activity could they experience? Who would they meet? Share your ideas through the website or post your ideas and images on Facebook or Instagram and tag @adventureswithdivotandswish.
Thanks for your continued support and for sharing the story of Divot & Swish with other families and kids who can benefit from developing life skills in a fun way through sport and physical activity.