At age six or seven, it's tough to tell if your child is going to be the next Sidney Crosby or Penny Oleksiak, or, if they're even going to like the sport you've put them in.  

So, Sport 4 Life Cochrane wants to give your kids the opportunity to try their hand at a variety of sports with qualified coaches from a variety of local sports organizations.

Lauren Hiebert is the Program Coordinator for Multisport Cochrane and says Cochrane is fortunate to be filled with incredible sport and recreation opportunites for kids but wonders how you begin to choose what program or programs to register children for.  

"Canada's Long Term Athlete Development model suggests that children having their first sport experience can benefit from developing fundamental movement skills applicable to a variety of sports and an active lifestyle.  The concept is known as physical literacy which means having the skills, confidence and motivation to enjoy a variety of sports and physical activities."

Hiebert says the Cochrane Multisport Program is built off those principals.  "The vision for Cochrane Multisport is to grow children through sport by providing opportunities to develop the skills and confidence to enjoy the positive benefits of a quality first sport experience.

She explains that the progam is a collaborative project for children six to seven years old between community sport organizations and Sport 4 Life Cochrane with the support of the Town of Cochrane and community stakeholders.  

Children will receive four weeks of programming for about 10 different sports.  During the pilot program in 2016 Hiebert says kids got to try everything from swimming and hockey to wrestling and gymnastics.  "From this positive first sport experience, kids can determine where their interests lie for future sport involvement."  

Sport organizations taking part in the project include Cochrane Minor Soccer, Cochrane Ringette, Cochrane Minor Hockey, the Cochrane Cowboys Wrestling Club and Cochrane Jaguars Volleyball, among many others.

For 2017/2018 Cochrane Multisport is schedule to run Tuesdays and Thursdays from September 19th through June 14th.  Sessions run for one hour each and the program is open to a maximum of 30 children.

Hiebert says, so far, the program is about half full.  "We had to increase the cost to run the program this year but we can work with parents to make it very affordable."

You can register your kids for the program or find out more here.  The deadline to register is September 17th.