Don't let the holidays undo their progress

School holidays are a funny thing when you're a sports parent. Your kids finally get a break from the routine — and so does their training.

For a lot of families, that break turns into two, sometimes three weeks of no structure at all. No training, no touches on the ball, no reps. And then Term 1 (or whichever term is next) starts, and it feels like you're back at square one.

Here's the thing: the holidays don't have to be a pause button. They can actually be one of the best windows for improvement all year.

Why the holidays matter more than you think

During the season, most kids are focused on games, fixtures and team training. There's not always a lot of room left for the individual work — the extra ball skills session, the sprint technique work, the one-on-one time with a coach who can actually watch and correct what they're doing.

The holidays flip that. No games to prepare for. No weekly rhythm to protect. Just time — and time is exactly what skill development needs.

Kids who use even a few sessions over the break to work on something specific — their first touch, their starts off the blocks, their backstroke technique — often come back to term sport visibly sharper than the ones who had three weeks completely off.

It's not about filling every day of the holidays with sport. It's about a bit of intentional, focused time instead of none at all.

It doesn't have to be complicated

This isn't a case for holiday bootcamps or over-scheduling your kids' break. Most families just need one or two good sessions a week — a holiday clinic, a small group session, or some time with a private coach who specialises in exactly what your child needs to work on.

A few ways parents are using the break well:

• A short holiday clinic — a few days, a specific sport, a chance to train alongside other kids without the pressure of the season
• One-on-one or small group coaching — targeted work on a specific skill or weakness, with more individual attention than they'd get in a normal team session
• Trying something new — the holidays are also a great low-pressure time to try a sport your child hasn't played before, without committing to a full season

The point isn't intensity. It's consistency, even in small doses.

Finding the right fit is the hard part

The tricky bit for most parents isn't deciding whether to keep their kids active over the break — it's actually finding the right coach, clinic or program. Searching Facebook groups, scrolling Instagram, asking around at training — it takes time most of us don't have during the holidays.

That's exactly the gap CoachMap is built to close. Search by sport, suburb and age group, and see what's actually available near you — clinics, private coaches and small group sessions — all in one place, instead of six different tabs.

However your family chooses to spend the break, a little bit of structured improvement goes a long way. Your kids will thank you when they come back to the season a step ahead.