Introducing children to getting active at a young age is important, but can be a difficult and expensive trial and error process due to the specific nature of organized sports.

A new program from Sport 4 Life Cochrane, in partnership with the Town of Cochrane and Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre is aiming to reduce the trial and error period of finding a sport your child likes, by letting them try many throughout the year with one registration.

Lea Norris, Executive Director of Sport For Life Cochrane says a MultiSport program is launching this Fall, letting kids try 12 sports over 10 months.

“It's getting away from this trend of specializing really early in one sport," she says.  "Or for people who don’t want to commit to one sport, but sample different kinds of activities until their child finds one they'd like to do longer term.”

Norris explains the foundation of the new MultiSport Program is encouraging physical literacy in young people.

"In the the long term athlete development pathway, it's much better for the child overall to develop a range of skills, to build confidence in those skills, and motivation. So whatever sport they go into they're going to be better prepared, be a better athlete, and be more resilient."

She stresses the MultiSport program is not meant to compete with the existing organized sports in town, but compliment them.

“For example the MultiSport hockey program is going to be run in the Spring, because then it's right before hockey registration, so if people like it and they wanted to sign up for the next year they're able to do that.”

Registration is open until Aug. 24 for the program, if registration exceeds 32 children a lottery will be held for the remaining positions.

For more information.