In Episode 013, I sit down with a long-time friend, Drew Mitchell, to discuss the importance of physical activity and overall physical literacy amongst our youth. Living through a global pandemic the past year has amplified the concerns around both physical and mental health. Physical activity has declined while mental health issues have increased. We identify some of the key environments for promoting physical literacy and discuss the importance of working with schools for providing resources and programming around fitness, play, sport and general physical activity. Drew also points out that the competitive sports model isn’t for everyone, and may only serve a small minority of kids, while alienating the larger youth population. Resources must be provided a multiple levels, reaching teachers, coaches, parents, recreation centers, sport organizations and kids. COVID-19 has made it difficult to implement a lot of these programs in person, but has also created other opportunities for disseminating useful resources for all groups.

Drew Mitchell is the Director of Physical Literacy for the Sport for Life Society and works as a consultant focused on the development of physical literacy at the community level and promoting the Canadian Sport for Life Movement. He is a graduate of Simon Fraser University with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology. Drew has worked extensively in the sport system as an educator and developer of programs for the past 19 years. He managed Sport Technical and Performance Services for viaSport BC and was the Manager of Science & Medicine programs for SportMedBC where he worked with over 50 different sports at the local, provincial and national level. He is also a past member of the Canadian National Canoeing Team and the former Health & Lifestyle Coordinator at the Downtown Vancouver YMCA. Drew has been involved in sport and fitness for over 40 years as an athlete, coach, administrator, volunteer, developer and manager.

You can find out more information on Drew Mitchell via the following links:

Websites:https://sportforlife.ca/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhysLitGuy

Email:drew@sportforlife.ca


Hansen PREP Talks podcast is currently available at the following locations for downloadable audio, including:

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