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Children and Youth Program Applied Learning Opportunities

The Centre for Adapted Group and Individual Exercise (CAGE)

The CAGE is the children and youth component of The Steadward Centre that provides motor skill instruction, exercise programs, and disability sport development for children with disabilities between 4 to 19 years of age. The objectives of the CAGE programs are to provide opportunities for children and youth of all ability levels to participate in physical activity and fitness programs and to develop health and wellness while asserting their independence in a fun and social environment.

Group Programs
Motor Skill Instructional Programs
Fitness Centre Programs
Motor Skill Development
Summer Program
Volunteer Requirements

 Group Programs

Group programs run throughout the week between September and April for various age groups and focus on a range of physical activity goals.

Day	Program	Time
Tuesday	Teen Drop In	6.30 pm to 8.00 pm (1830 - 2000)
Thursday	Sport Sampler
Saturday	Little Activators	8.30 to 11.30 am (0830 - 1130)

Volunteers assisting with group programs will have the opportunity to:

• Lead warm-up and cool-down activities
• Gain experience designing and setting up program activities (e.g. fitness circuits)
• Increase knowledge of age-appropriate activities for different ability levels
• Assist in teaching fundamental and sport-specific movement skills
• Learn about basic administrative/operational tasks involved in running group programs
• Assist in creating activities and games for various age groups
• Provide one-on-one support to participants who require more assistance

 Motor Skill Instructional Programs

Motor skill instructional programs provide group instruction related to specific skills for elementary and middle-school aged children.

1. Skate Challenge (October – November) teaches children basic in-line skating and hockey skills.
2. Cycle Challenge (February – March) focuses on basic cycling skills and safety.
   
3. Wednesday 6:30-8:00pm.

Volunteers assisting with motor skill instructional programs will have the opportunity to:

• Lead warm-up and cool-down activities
• Gain experience designing and setting up program activities (ie. fitness circuits)
• Increase knowledge base of age-appropriate activities for different ability levels
• Assist in teaching fundamental and sport-specific movement skills
• Learn about basic administrative/operational tasks involved in running group programs
• Assist in creating activities and games for various age groups
• Provide one-on-one support to participants who require more assistance

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 Fitness Centre Programs

The Fitness Centre operates programs for youth ages 12-19 years old.
Youth with a fitness centre membership receive a formal assessment and an individual exercise program designed by an adapted physical activity instructor.

Volunteers involved with fitness centre members will be given the opportunity to:

• Assist in developing fitness and exercise programs
• Facilitate fitness programs with youth on an individual or small group basis
• Learn about adapting exercises for various ability levels
• Increase knowledge about assessment tools used to evaluate fitness levels
• Become familiar with various disabilities and medical conditions with regards to exercise

 Motor Skill Development

The motor skill development programs are designed for children 4-12 years old. Children work through individualized programs with an adapted physical activity instructor to develop and improve fundamental movement skills, balance and coordination, body and spatial awareness. Volunteers choosing to be involved with one-on-one motor skill development sessions should have previous experience working in similar programs.

Motor skill development volunteers will be given the opportunity to:

• Work one-on-one with children with a CAGE staff member
• Lead warm-up activities at the beginning of individual sessions
• Become familiar with fundamental movement skills
• Gain experience using the task-series approach to instruct movement skill progressions
• Increase knowledge of various disabilities and medical conditions
• Learn through observation about basic movement assessment skills
• Potentially assist with formal motor skill assessments

 Summer Program

Throughout July and August, the CAGE offers week-long summer camps for children and youth between the ages of 4-19. Each camp is directed towards a specific age group and age-appropriate activities focus on a variety of physical activity goals such as

• group game play,
  
• fitness development,
  
• motor and sport skill instruction.
  

Camps often include trips to neighbouring parks and playgrounds to facilitate learning and discovery.

Summer program volunteers will be given the opportunity to:

• Lead group warm-up and cool-down activities
• Gain experience designing and setting up program activities (ie. fitness circuits)
• Increase knowledge base of appropriate activities for different ability levels and age groups
• Gain experience in adapting activities for different abilities
• Assist in teaching fundamental and sport-specific movement skills
• Provide one-on-one support to participants who require more assistance

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 Volunteer requirements

Program	Group programs	Motor Skill Instructional Programs	Fitness Centre	Motor Skill Development	Summer Program
Position	Group Program volunteer	Motor Skill Instructional Program volunteer	Youth Fitness volunteer	Motor Skill Development volunteer	Summer Program volunteer
Hours	2 hours min. per week				0900 - 1600, Monday to Friday
Duration/commitment	4 month min. Group programs run September to December and January to April	4 month min. Programs run October and November, and February to April	12 to 16 weeks min. - September to June		1 week min.
Location	University of Alberta
Start date	Recruitment in September and January; applications accepted throughout the year; placements as opportunities arise			May begin assisting at any time throughout the year	Recruitment in late spring for July and August camps
Work environment	Fitness facility with a team of group leaders and other volunteers		Fitness Centre with a team of adapted fitness instructors	Fitness Centre with an adapted physical activity instructor	Fitness Centre and other sites; working with a team of volunteers and adapted physical activity instructors
Qualifications				Previous experience working with CAGE programs

For more information about Children and Youth Applied Learning Opportunities, please contact:

Ashley Whidden
Adapted Physical Activity Instructor
492-7091
anwhidden@ualberta.ca

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