KST Academy - We're Paving Our Own Way
"Our goal is to introduce children to sports, create a positive emotional connection to them, and teach them a healthy lifestyle."
When we look at where people are most satisfied, Scandinavian countries consistently rank at the top in most assessments. Perhaps you've already heard terms like hygge, lykke, friluftsliv. All of them are closely linked to an overall philosophy and approach to life, personal responsibility, a healthy lifestyle, financial literacy, and last but not least, quality education and a high percentage of the population involved in sports.
The Czech Republic is a beautiful and excellent country to live in. Unfortunately, some fellow citizens still believe the Earth is flat, their life philosophy is "let's go for one beer," and the government is to blame for their messed-up lives. Everything starts with the individual. This is how we perceive KST Mag, which serves to spread awareness with an emphasis on sports. There are things we cannot influence, but at the very least, we can go against the grain of established habits in the sports environment that we do not identify with. Czechs are a nation of grumblers, and although we generally agree that neither sports nor education are the showpieces in the Czech Republic, through our activities, we want to contribute to a certain cultivation and motivate other entities to change the established paradigm.
We believe that the entire KST Academy project will help lead to a greater overall orientation towards sports. The upbringing and development of athletes with a long-term horizon, and self-responsibility, go hand in hand with a quality life regardless of sporting success. Moreover, it is precisely thanks to a comprehensive approach that we can raise successful athletes. In the first fifteen years, however, our goal is definitely not a "factory for athletes," but rather happy children who look forward to every training session.
I spent a total of 11 years in Norway, and a fundamental difference lies in family upbringing. Norwegian families spend much more active time with their children, meaning some form of physical activity. At the same time, children combine a variety of sports or other activities that fill their free time. Athletes over 15 years old are heavily involved as children's coaches. There isn't too much emphasis on sports training being strictly according to a methodological guide; instead, a lot of attention is paid to ensuring the children enjoy it. As a result, many more children participate in sports, even during the critical years around the transition to secondary school and also after finishing secondary school.
What will KST Academy's activities look like?
Regarding sporting focus, KST Academy will have multiple groups running in parallel, and their targeting will vary. For us, the ideal child/athlete is one who will develop in one of our groups at KST Academy and will also pursue another hobby. Around the age of fifteen, they will then decide where they want to further pursue their interests, whether competitively or purely recreationally, but they will continue to play sports. The main goal will be that an athlete who goes through the academy is not turned off by sports around the age of 15. On the contrary, they will be interested in playing sports for themselves or will want to develop their athletic potential. An extension would then be a center, in a way, that helps keep athletes actively involved precisely by partially functioning within the academy. Children will gain a greater movement foundation, which should help them decide which sport they want to pursue. With the established facilities, there will be further complementary care and advice. The entire operating model will be partially built on this. We will gradually open individual groups and overall activities.
We are not just targeting children during afternoon activities, but we also want to have various movement programs for children in kindergartens or after-school clubs. In Czech conditions, there is generally far too little physical activity precisely in kindergartens and schools, and that is why we want to focus on a broader scope of our activities so that their positive impact is as wide as possible.
The "Philosophy" of KST Academy focuses on:
- The largest possible number of children participating in sports
- Quality of life without injuries and illness
- Love for sports and movement
- Shared team experiences
- Individual development of athletes