Why do we call ourselves Montessori Sports?

In the beginning of 2020 we changed our name from Montessori Football to Montessori Sports. Since then we have received many questions about our name change. Why did we change our name? And why did we choose for the word ‘sports’?

Simply said, we feel that the concept of ‘sports’ better responds to the needs of children across the planes of development. The activities included in our curriculum are not football specific. They are not only about kicking and dribbling a ball, but rather provide opportunities for children to construct themselves and to adapt to their time and place. Looking at the needs of children in the different planes of development we realized that in the first plane of development, taking into account the sensitive period for movement, fundamental movement patterns should be stimulated to prepare the child for sports in the following planes of development. You can see this in the image below.

Therefore, in the first plane our curriculum evolves around the control of the body and the direct and indirect control of objects, like different kinds of balls, bats, rackets and other tools that are used in sports. In this way we can observe the children and see how their inner teacher guides them to do different activities. Based on our observation and the interest the child shows, it is easier for both the children and adults to help prepare the sports environment in the second plane. A child that is very interested in kicking a ball but not so much in hitting a ball with a bat, may be more inclined to play football (soccer) than to play tennis. The first plane Montessori sports environments allows for children to choose and for adults to observe.  

“So many people say that Montessori doesn’t do sport. That’s not true. We do life, and sporting activities are a natural part of life.” - Lynne Lawrence, Executive Director of AMI

Lynne Lawrence says this wonderful quote in an exclusive video message for the participants of our course. She hits the nail on the head. Everyone has come into contact with sports in their life, because sports is one of the most important social phenomena in the world. More than five billion people are interested in at least one sport. Sport is connected with the world around us. It is embedded in every culture, in one way or another. And the goal of education is to help children adapt to the world around them. It enters in the absorbent minds of all children. Therefore we should use sports as a vehicle for the development of the psychic organs like willpower, the sensitive periods, and memory, ultimately leading to independence. We believe that sports can help children towards an independent life in which they understand and can freely move in the world around them. 

We would also like to show you a quote of Dr. Maria Montessori herself. She acknowledged the importance of sports by seeing it as a tool to learn a new skill and further develop yourself.  

"Tennis, football and the like do not have for their sole purpose the accurate moving of a ball but they challenge us to acquire a new skill - something lacking before - and this feeling of enhancing our abilities is the real source of delight in the game." - Dr. Maria Montessori 

So, putting all of this into perspective we realized that Montessori Sports was a more suitable name for us. In our course we dive much deeper into the relation between movement and sports, and Dr. Montessori’s ideas about sports in relation to human development. Please let us know if you have any additional questions or remarks. Learn to move, move te learn!