“When this business first started, it was just ‘Coach John Richardson for hire,’” said Coach John Richardson. “I was fresh out of college, where I’d played soccer and studied childhood development. I was fortunate to receive an opportunity to teach preschool soccer for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board in 2001. My students’ parents liked what I was doing, and thanks to their spreading the word, I soon found myself coaching more than just soccer for the city year round.
“I spent several years honing a program centered around positivity and encouragement before deciding to scale it. It took some more time to figure out how to instill my high standards for early childhood sports education in other coaches. But like all hard work, it paid off. Revolutionary Sports’ several hundred coaches now teach more than two dozen different sports for schools, community centers, park and recreation boards, early childhood learning centers, and sports facilities in over 50 different communities throughout the metro area.
“Revolutionary Sports coaches children of all ages, though the vast majority of them are 8 and younger. Kids tend to focus on just one or two sports as they grow older, which is why we feel it’s important to introduce them to a variety of sports while they’re still very young. It’s no coincidence that Revolutionary Sports is perfectly geared toward children ages 2 through 8, who are still figuring out what they enjoy playing most, and whose attention spans aren’t famously long.
“Kids in that age range are just wonderful to work with. They’re so genuine. Honest. Enthusiastic! When you reward a young child for accepting new challenges, you put them on the right track to build confidence over the course of their entire life. That’s why I still spend most of my time coaching, despite owning the company. It’s the best way I know how to change the world for the better.
“We devote each session to teaching kids a new fundamental using our unique learn-practice-play approach. For example, suppose we’re teaching kids how to handle a soccer ball. We’ll begin by briefly demonstrating a technique or two. Then we’ll move on to practice – simple exercises, like ‘sharks and minnows’ and ‘ships across the ocean.’ We’ll finish up by breaking the kids off into very small groups. By playing two-on-two or three-on-three, each one gets to spend significantly more time interacting with the ball.
“We take great care to avoid two of coaching’s biggest pitfalls. First, we don’t haphazardly switch activities every couple of minutes. We want each session to foster a certain fundamental skill, and maintain that as our focus without letting the agenda grow stale. Second, we never tell kids when they’re doing something wrong. Instead, we praise them whenever they’re doing something right. Celebrating the positive helps kids build confidence, and healthily pushes them toward what we hope will become life-long love affairs with athletics.
“A fun and educational experience without huge financial or time commitments. At the end of the day, that’s all we’re here to provide. And we’re grateful to provide it right here in my hometown of Eden Prairie! Visit the Parks and Recreation Programs page on EdenPrairie.org to discover our upcoming sessions dedicated to baseball, T-ball, basketball, soccer, flag football, and much more, or visit Pla-It.com to learn how to incorporate Revolutionary Sports into your own organization.”
"It’s the best way I know how to change the world for the better."