As The Frisbee Flies

Categories: Blog Dec 28, 2014

I love throwing a frisbee. I always have. I grew up playing with them. I learned how to throw them in several different ways, tricks to some, and I even used them to practice my sprinting. I would throw then as far as I could, at an angle, and then sprint to catch them before they would hit the ground. In high school I was even known to use a frisbee to meet ladies who might be trying to get a suntan at the beach. That never worked to well, but I was a confident frisbee thrower nonetheless.

Now, as an adult - as a father, I really love a frisbee. It is the one thing both of my sons love to do with me. One of my sons and I even play Ultimate Frisbee together against all the kids in the neighborhood. It's a blast. It is also awesome to be able to play with my children and pass on on a skill that most other children don't seem to have.

I've noticed that other kids can't seem to throw a frisbee, or catch one either. Kids often see my boys and I throwing (big kids, like 12 years old or older), and ask to join in. This should be a pleasurable experience, but it always turns out to be horrible. Have you ever tried to play frisbee with someone who can absolutely not throw a frisbee? It is miserable. Yes, it is a great opportunity to teach the child how to throw a frisbee, if they will listen. But still, part of me believes that kids should just know how to throw a frisbee. And they should know how to catch one. But most don't. At least most of the ones I seem to come into contact with don't know how to throw or catch a frisbee.

My point to telling you this is that kids should know how to throw a frisbee. So should adults. Not only is a frisbee fun to throw, but a frisbee can teach you so many things. They teach you how to govern your strength in a throw, how to use the wind as a carrier, how to use angles to throw to specific places, how to determine or "guess" a throw into a particular area given the wind, the distance, or the speed of your target. Frisbees educate your brain and help you forecast decisions about throwing and receiving.

Frisbees can also teach you many things about the person who is holding one. When a person throws a frisbee, you can instantly see if they have coordination, mobility, strength, confidence, grace, and spacial awareness. Yes, you can see some of these things when a person throws a ball, but a frisbee requires more finesse and mental acuity. A frisbee can also tell you if a person has their original strength. Even if a person has never seen a frisbee, they should be able to pick one up and throw it with very little coaching. If however, it takes hours of practice to make a simple throw, perhaps the problem is not lacking the skill of throwing a frisbee, but the problem is lacking the reflexive foundation from which to throw a frisbee from.

As I said, most kids I come into contact with, cannot throw a frisbee whatsoever. Yes, there is some skill involved, but throwing is a gift that most of us should simply own; regardless of what we are throwing. The problem could be that most kids today are lacking more and more of their reflexive strength. They don't have the original strength that you and I once built when we were children. They move less and less, and they sit more and more. Schools replace PE in favor of more math or science. Parents give out iPods to occupy their kids instead of frisbees and orders to go outside. Today's kids don't know how to skip, climb, jump, or throw simply because we are robbing them of the opportunities to learn and play through movement. As a result, they are missing out on the real joys of life: being able to move and play, being able to build strong resilient bodies, being able....
There is something wonderful about being able. Hope and confidence reside in the Land of Being Able.

How to we help our children return to the Land of Being Able? Our children don't need more math. Have you seen how messed up today's math is anyway? Wait, that's another blog for a time down the road.

Our kids need more movement. They need more time outside and more time to play. Really, today's kids need frisbees. Today's adults need frisbees too. Adults also need more time outside, more time moving, and more time playing just as much as kids do.

We were all born to live in the Land of Being Able. We belong there. If that is not where you live, go get yourself a frisbee.

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