Thinking in motion: how sport supports early learning

In early learning, sport is more than just physical; it’s thinking in motion. Play, discovery, and movement are essential ways children express themselves. As Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the Reggio Emilia approach, highlighted in his poem The Hundred Languages of Children, young learners communicate, explore, and make sense of the world through many forms, not just spoken or written language.

From a pedagogical perspective, this thinking aligns with embodied cognition, the understanding that physical action and movement are deeply connected to learning and thinking.

 

As such, sport becomes an opportunity to engage both mind and body in active learning.

 

Using sport, and the medium of Australian Rules Football as an example, here are 5 ways children can communicate and learn through movement:

 

Problem solving, thinking and inquiry:

“How does an oval ball bounce?”  “Why does the ball spin through the air in different ways?”  “Which foot can kick further?”

These aren’t just questions of play, they are the beginnings of scientific inquiry, of trial and error and of curiosity.

 

Through football, children engage deeply with problem-solving and critical thinking, they experiment with the physics of movement exploring force, balance, speed, momentum, and trajectory all while their bodies are moving.

 

Children make predictions, test theories and revise strategies based on outcomes.

Social and Emotional intelligence:

Sport offers a rich environment for developing emotional intelligence and social competence, which are critical components of early childhood learning.

 

Through football, children learn to negotiate roles, collaborate, and take turns. Children learn to manage emotions when they win or lose, practicing resilience, and they support their peers, showing empathy, and building a sense of belonging and team spirit.

 

Educators can support children to express themselves, build confidence, and explore identity  not just by talking, but by doing, moving, creating, imagining, and connecting.

 

Connecting with culture:

Referred to as “cultural languages” in the Reggio Emilia approach, these modes of expression help children understand and communicate their place in history, community, and identity.

 

AFL is deeply tied to Aboriginal culture and history particularly through Marngrook, the traditional Indigenous game that is widely believed to have influenced the development of modern Australian football.

 

By exploring football in early learning settings, children can engage with a cultural language that honours physical movement, storytelling, and connection to land.

 

It becomes an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate First Nations culture in a meaningful way.

 

Educators can use this context to reinforce movement-based learning that is rooted in place, tradition, and shared history  deepening children’s sense of belonging and respect for Indigenous perspectives.

 

Story telling:

 

As the cliché goes, ‘it’s more than a game.’ Sport is full of narratives: teamwork and triumphs, heroes and heartbreak, rivalries and redemption.

 

Storytelling in action, the playground is the stage and the children the characters, as they reenact games, invent their own matches, create theme songs and chants, and tell stories with their bodies and voices.

 

Body awareness and spatial intelligence:

 

Children learn that sport can be a method of thinking and a form of exploration, as well as a tool for discovering how the world, and their bodies, work.

 

Through AFL inspired movement, children begin to map the space around them navigating direction, distance, and speed while becoming more attuned to their own physical capabilities.

 

Running, jumping, kicking and hand balling become a moment of embodied learning, where coordination, timing, and awareness are developed in real time.

 

These physical experiences strengthen both gross and fine motor skills like balance, coordination, and controlled movement which children then carry into other areas of learning, such as writing and drawing.

 

Sport in early learning is not just play it’s a powerful language through which children think, feel, connect, and grow.

 

By recognising movement as a valid and vital mode of learning, educators can create richer, more inclusive experiences that honour the whole child.

 

So let’s harness the energy of the game to ignite curiosity, build connection, and expand the ways children learn and express themselves.


Brendan Hitchens is the Community Education Lead at Essendon Football Club.

 

To learn more about the club’s Bomber Kids Early Learning program, click here.