On the surface it may seem that the traditional approach to teaching youth sports (that is, teaching the basic skills of the sport and then the tactics of the game) makes the most sense. In practice, we've discovered that this approach has two serious shortcomings. First, it teaches the skills of the sport out of context to the game - kids learn how to pass, shoot and get in a defensive stance, but they find it difficult to learn to use these skills within the game. That is, they don't understand the tactics of the game.

Second, learning skills by doing drills outside of the context of the game is so-o-o boring! The single biggest turnoff about how adults teach kids sport is that we over organize the instruction and deprive kids of their intrinsic desire to play the game. Look at it another way:

Learn the skill - learn the tactics - play the game.

We teach kids sports the YMCA way - the GAMES approach way!

Play the Game - Learn the Tactics - Learn the Skill !

In the past, adults have often placed too much emphasis on learning the skills and not enough on learning how to play skillfully–how to use those skills during play. The GAMES approach, in contrast, emphasizes learning what to do first, then how to do it. Moreover, (and this is important) the GAMES approach lets kids discover what to do in the game, not by coach telling them, but by their experiencing it. What our coaches then do is help them discover what they've already experienced.

The GAMES approach uses a four-step process for teaching youth sports:

1. Play a modified game.
2. Help the players discover what they need to do to play the game successfully.
3. Teach the skills of the game.
4. Practice the skills in another game.