In the search for more knowledge about dropouts in children's sports, I have been in contact with the club KLG in Herning and Eirik from Pappatrenerne.

Fellowship, Play and Joy

In Lind outside Herning we find the team KLG Håndbold, who with around 300 members from mini to senior is the municipality's biggest handball club. The club has translated the three initials of the name into three basic values: Friendship, Play and Joy (Kameratskap, Lek og Glede). The values are consistent for everything that takes place of activities on and off the court in KLG Handball. Social relationships, playing with the ball and the smile are in focus.

In 2020, KLG Handball presented a sporting and value-based "red thread" called the KLG Course, which is based on professional recommendations and guidelines for children's and youth handball. KLG calls itself a "twice-a-week" club. The course is an attempt to translate the values Friendship, Play and Joy in a specific context that guides coaches and volunteers, regardless of age.  

«In youth life in 2021, there are many activities and things to relate to for the young people and their parents. Therefore, we want to accommodate the young people with a handball offer that allows other and more activities throughout the week, both sporting and non-sporting. In this way, we hope to keep more young people, for the benefit of the club and Danish handball in general, " says Malene Dalgaard-Hansen, Sports Consultant at KLG Handball.

Training frequency has become a central part of the club's value choices and philosophy. KLG Handball has chosen to be what they call a "twice-a-week" club. This means that the club offers two weekly training sessions for all teams from 11 years and up. The training time is 2 X 60 minutes up to 13 years, when it is increased to 2 X 90 minutes. 

"There are several reasons for this recommendation. First and foremost, the club's foundation is emphasized as a broad sports club where there should be room for everyone. No player is more important than the team, and no team is more important than the club, " says Dalgaard-Hansen.

However, this does not mean that the club's scheme compromises with the individual player's development. 

"Research shows that children and young people continue with sports if they feel development and progression. Therefore, we work daily with "level training" upwards and downwards, where one or more players can try their hand at another year in one of the two weekly training sessions. At the same time, we as a club will not stand in the way of an extraordinarily skilled player, who has the courage and desire to try his hand at a higher level in another club, " says Dalgaard-Hansen.

- The right way to go

Eirik Øiestad runs the Norwegian podcast Pappatrenerne, and is a handball coach in Bækkelagets SK. He has no doubt that we need more clubs that think alike with KLG.

"This is well-thought-out and strategic development work, which also requires a good portion of courage. One must resist ingrained perceptions that one must accelerate with training and competition as soon as we get into youth sports to "keep up". The fact is that the drop-out rate we have in sports in general and handball in particular through upper secondary school, shows that we are simply doing this wrong - and that KLG's model should be tested by more people, " says Øiestad. 

"I travel around myself now as a parent on a girls 14 team. We meet more and more clubs that have merged to be able to make teams. This also applies to clubs with a large recruitment base that should not have the slightest problem with building solid groups. I can see no other explanation for this dropout than that the clubs do not succeed in their main task, namely to keep the young people. Why not change strategy then? ” asks Øiestad. 

He points to a large study from Sweden which shows that young people are more concerned with physical activity and exercise than ever before. At the same time, they say that traditional organized sport is too much about competition, and does not respond to their needs.  

Reduced dropout rate

«The transition to youth sports is too abrupt and adult-controlled, with a sharp increase in the amount of training and competition. Already there we lose many who could definitely imagine continuing with handball. The joy disappears and then comes the apostasy. I would have liked to have seen more clubs take a stand on keeping the level of activity at a moderate level that is adapted to the needs in general. Then you find solutions for the individual players who need more, for example through training at different clubs or changing clubs, " says Øiestad.

He also believes that KLG's model provides other benefits than reduced dropouts. 

«I think KLG creates more win-win here. My hypothesis is that by limiting yourself to two workouts you can increase the quality of the workouts and thus get a better return. Two good sessions are better than three semi-good ones. It provides more time and increased profits for the volunteers to plan and be well prepared. It also reduces the pressure on hall capacity which - for example - can be used to offer more "open hall", which is a dramatic loss in many places in handball Norway. I applaud KLG, I think they will succeed and I am 100% sure that there is a need for their model, » concludes Øiestad.

I find this very exciting, and I look forward to following KLG in the future. My wish with such an article to create conscious thoughts about the training culture we may quite blindly relate to ...

- Bjarte Myrhol