The Athletic Evolution Podcast Stephen Sommerville (Movement Park): A unique environment for Physical Literacy development.
For the past 40 years, the sport of Judo has consumed Stephen's life in one way or another; as a successful competitive player, infamous national development coach and for a number of years a key member of the Education Development Team for the Scottish Governing Body of Judo, JudoScotland. Stephen is very proud of his reputation as one of Scotland’s most innovative program developers which he developed during his time at JudoScotland.
Now on a journey of leadership and conscious social understanding, Stephen is determined to make a difference to society with the charity Movement Park. The SCIO formed in April 2015 and the vision is to create a culture where the wealth of the community is judged on the health of the community.
With a passion for Long Term People Development and Movement Competencies, Stephen is seeking to bring this to a community within Glasgow helping individuals understand and realise the importance of staying active for life and moving well. With his experience and knowledge, Stephen has no doubt that this can be achieved and is determined to do so in his own rather unconventional and quirky way.
In this episode Stephen discusses:
- How an engaging and inspiring role model helped him fall in love with Judo.
- His career as a Performance and Development coach.
- How his interest in Physical Literacy and Fundamental movements grew over time.
- Stepping off the Mat as a fulltime Judo Coach.
- The catalyst for starting "Movement Park".
- The importance of building competence and confidence in young children.
- Giving children the opportunities to experience different movements and sports at the same venue.
- The daily schedule at Movement Park as well as the groups and coaches involved.
You can learn more about Movement Park work by visiting www.movementpark.org or by following Movement Park on Instagram: @movement_park .
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