This article is about how to help a young athlete, taking into account the characteristics of his development, the need for competitive activity, how it should be organized correctly and other features of children's sports education. We will talk about the “starting” age of 6 - 9 years, and this is the beginning of a sports career. The main goal: to love to play, to love to perform!*** Many parents come to us with questions about how to choose a sport for a child, or how to help him make a choice, or how to raise a champion? Experience working with young athletes shows that the leading signs of a future champion are discipline, a child’s love for the sport, as well as courage at the start :) Motor activity Children of about 3 years old are able to distinguish the faces of primates, and you? Most likely they will all seem the same to you. But if you had developed this skill, you could still distinguish their faces. It’s the same with motor activity, it needs to be developed. If you do not support the joy of movement in older preschoolers, a person may grow up who prefers relaxing on the couch to relaxing in the gym.... It is very important to support the formation of motor activity in older preschool age. At the same time, it is necessary not only to support, but to guide correctly. At the age of 5-7 years, the creative imagination works very brightly and the need for movement is urgent. This allows children to master complex program material on the development of movements. At the same time, children should be given a certain freedom and independence of action that stimulates their creativity and initiative. Every sport activity for a child is knowledge of the surrounding reality through movements that should bring joy. It is important to enrich children with ideas and knowledge about the purpose and methods of using different types of movements, the similarities and differences in strength, speed, and their practical expediency. General dexterity A dexterous child is a smart child, experienced teachers say. Dexterity is also a skill that needs to be improved during this age period. Dexterity can be successfully used in gaming competitions, the necessity of which will be discussed below. Curiosity Everything is interesting! The more a person of senior preschool age tries through personal experience, the richer the opportunity for informed choice will be when the time comes. Independent choice of a sport is the key to success and high achievements in sports. Consciousness in choosing a sport comes at the age of 10-12 years. Therefore, ideally, before the age of 10, it makes sense to show the child as many sports as possible, so that by the time of the first sports age crisis (12-14), the choice of sport is made independently. That is, it is not the choice of sport that is decisive from the age of senior preschool up to 10 years, and the joy of activities, the development of motor skills. It is important to emphasize here that the inclusion of any competitive game elements in training ("Fun Starts", relay races, simple team games) is necessary to maintain the child's love for the game and the formation of a healthy competitive passion. Until the age of 10-12, no serious competitions or long-term championships are recommended . During this period, it is important that the opponents are adequate and that there is no physical exhaustion. The purpose of competitions at an early sporting age is to develop pleasure from performing. So that the child has courage when he goes to the start line. The child must enjoy the competitive process. Competitions are a way of educating an athlete. Competitions are an opportunity to evaluate one’s work. The so-called stage control. From start to start, it is necessary to analyze the work done with the child. Not a medal should be the goal at this age, but work: what are you doing well? what is not so good? What do you need to work on before the next start? And then, before the start, it’s best will say: “I don’t care whether you win or lose, I care about HOW you are.”.