What is PLAE?

PLAE creates a positive sport and recreation experience that will impact our youth and give them the tools they need to be active for life!

At PLAE, we believe in challenging traditional thought using today’s best practices. Through purpose, learning, activity, and engagement we work towards building communities that are engaging, supportive, and active for life. Through our youth sport and recreation programs, we offer an experience that focuses on the child, inclusive, is positive, and meets the needs of any learner or organizations development needs.

 

Fun and Engaged Classes

The Best Practices

Multi-Sport Experience

Part of a Community

 
 

The Leader Behind PLAE

PLAE is founded and directed by Jace Ferguson. Jace graduated from the University of Alberta in 2006 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education. In 2013, Jace completed his Masters of Science in Recreation and Sport Science. Jace has 20+ years of sport and education experience working primarily in Physical Education in Canada, internationally with education and sport organization across the globe, and has also consulted with some of Canadas most recognized sport and education organizations (Physical and Health Education Canada, Sport4Life).

 

  • Parents and families want a positive, engaging and fun sport and play experience for their younger children. Many traditional sport camps and programs focus on skills and often miss the "other parts" such as understanding and values that are needed for kids to have a fun and positive learning experience. Many of these traditional programs rely on people who lack the training, experience, and resources needed to create an engaging and growth-focused program.

    Parents and families may feel frustrated by past experiences, the lack of quality learning experiences, quality program design and delivery, and the limited options available to them. Families should have access to quality programming and experiences that are student-focused and created to foster and develop the skills, understanding, and values needed to be active and competitive for life.

    At PLAE , we want nothing but the best experience in physical activity and sport for families and children. A positive, engaging, and fun first experience is the first step to being active and competitive for life. For over 20 years, the founder of PLAE has been developing educational programs that are engaging and fun and focus on participants learning to master objectives in their own way.

    Our programs were developed by international experts in the field of coaching, education, and child development and uses only the best practices to encourage growth. Our classes and programming have been created to foster the skills, understanding, and values that are needed for young athletes to start off on the right foot. We break down the learning experience into age-appropriate goals that drive our instruction, planning, and student development. PLAE coaches are mentored and certified using the National Coaching Certification Program to not only assist and guide learning, but to ensure a professional experience and create an experience where the learning is purposeful, engaging, and fun in a warm and welcoming environment.

    Fun and learning are the focus of our programs. Our coaches encourage and support fun play while your child is challenging themselves by learning new fundamental skills, understandings, and values needed to be active and competitive for life. We do not settle for learning experiences that are based on practices from 20 years ago. These only develop a part of the skills that your child will need to find value in being active and to enjoy competition in sport for life.

  • At PLAE we believe in developing active and competitive communities. Using current research and best practices, we develop the skills, understandings, and values needed for everyone to be successful. This can be seen through our sport and recreation programs that will serve Quispamsis, Rothesay NB and Charlottetown, PEI.

    Our ultimate goal is to invite families and the community who are unaware of the best practice, who are nervous of high-pressure skill development, lack of positive learning experiences and adult interaction to join us and change how they view physical activity and sport. With PLAE they can develop the skills, understanding, social skills, and values to be active and healthy for life, create a network of friends that share the same passion for fun and play and put passion back into play!

  • At PLAE, we design and create programs and classes where children, families, and professionals can learn and grow. Using current research and best practices, we develop the skills, understandings, and values needed for everyone to be successful.

    Fun and learning are at the center of PLAE’s programming. The coaches encourage and support fun play while your child is challenging themselves by learning new fundamental skills, understandings, and values needed to be active and competitive for life.

    Using current research and best practices in education and coaching, we have developed progressive programs and classes that will develop the children and family's skills, understandings, and values needed to be active and competitive for life. Each program has been designed to fit developmental benchmarks that are age-appropriate (based on current Physical Literacy, Sport Literacy, and Long-Term Athlete Development research) and will guide the successful development of the child. These programs will offer opportunities for children 16 months -16 years of age to be exposed to multi-sport and sport-specific learning experiences that will give them the tools to be active and competitive for life.

  • The purpose of PLAE is to develop a passion for physical activity and sport in our community. This is accomplished by designing programs that offer developmental opportunities where participants can enjoy activity and movement (physical domain of learning), develop Physical and Sport Literacy benchmarks (cognitive and affective domain of learning), and develop the social skills and teamwork skills (social domain of learning) to enjoy physical activity and sport as they grow.

  • PLAE programs and classes are guided by the values of PLAE: Purpose, Learning, Activity, and Engagement.

    Purpose: Everything is done so that people can succeed.

    Learning: Everyone has the potential to grow.

    Activity: Creating dynamic and meaningful learning experiences.

    Engagement: Become part of the learning journey.

    Using these values, PLAE has designed programs and classes using the most current practices and research in sport and education. Following developmental benchmarks and current research (Physical and Sport Literacy development, Long-Term Athlete Development, and domains of learning), families can sign up for weekly one-hour classes that will build the skills, understanding, and values so that participants and our community can be active and competitive for life.

    Each program follows the vision of creating an active and competitive community by using our domains based approach to explore the different elements needed to develop well rounded individuals who can progress through the different levels of programming offered. All programs, lesson, and activity are designed to ensure participants are developing the skills, understanding, and values needed to be a part of an active and competitive community.

  • PLAE is founded on the idea of progress and development. As participants enter and leave the program they will be developing the tools and understanding that will help them discover their passion for play and spark the interest for sport competition. To accomplish this, the programs are designed on the following principles based on a child's Physical Literacy and Sport Literacy development, giving them the tools to accomplish their goals.

  • PLAE believes that participants should be exposed to and have experience in as many different sports and activity contexts as possible. Why? Because it is a central part to the holistic development of young movers and athletes that could lead to success as they complete their Physical and Sport Literacy development (Ferguson, 2013).

    To do this, we will be exploring the different dimensions and elements behind the Teaching Games for Understanding approach (TGfU). PlaySport, Physical and Health Education Canada, and many other provincial organisations have advocated the use of this approach to enhance participant development, however many local community programs have not adopted this 21st century approach.

    What is TGfU? Bunker and Thorpe (1982) developed TGfU around the concept of teaching kids games by playing games. Butler et al. (2008) identified six Basic TGfU Concepts:

    • Teach activities and sport through games.

    • Break games into their simplest format - then increase complexity.

    • Participants are intelligent performers in games.

    • Every learner is important and is involved.

    • Participants need to know the subject matter.

    • Need to match participants’ skill and challenge.

    Current 21st century approaches to TGfU have advocated for a thematic approach to teaching activity and sport. Rather than teaching sport-specific units (e.g., volleyball unit, soccer unit), children and youth gain skills and knowledge to apply to different sports by playing a variety of games associated with 4 game categories:

    • Target Games in which the participant sends an object at a target.

    • Net/Wall Games in which the participant sends an object into space trying to make it difficult for an opponent to return it.

    • Striking/Fielding Games in which the participant strikes an object so it is placed away from defenders in the field.

    • Territory Games in which participants invade an opponent's territory to score.