Shane Watson's new venture, Let's Activate, to open at Miranda

The Sutherland batsman has teamed up with his wife, Lee, and the original “yellow Wiggle” Greg Page to launch a sporting program for children that teaches the basics of sports skills using specially written songs, movement, dance and sports activities for two to six-year-olds.

Let’s Activate will open for its inaugural term at Miranda later this month with the trio having worked on the project for two years.

The program features new songs from Page fused with the gross motor skills and basic sports shapes to assist children in developing foundation skills from catching and throwing to hitting and kicking.

Watson, 35, told the Leader he wasn’t worried about the program being a hit having tested it on his own two children, with them giving it the tick of approval.

“I know how much my kids love the Wiggles and copy the movements. It’s basic choreography and getting them to learn how to move the correct way to catch a ball or kick a ball. They’re learning indirectly without knowing that they’re learning,” he said.

“[Becoming a father] was the main reason [I started the program], to be totally honest. Initially it was for my son before my daughter was born. We’d been looking for something for him to do and taking him to clinics and my wife and I started thinking ‘we can do this better’.”

Watson’s experience in sport, from starting as a young sportsman to becoming a world class athlete, has given him a unique perspective on junior sport and skill development. 

“As a young athlete I learnt so many movements growing up that were generally not specific to one sport,” he said.

“The movement patterns I’d developed helped me when I tried to develop my skills later on in life. Whatever real simple basics you learn at a young age it gives you a good head start to be able to continue that active lifestyle as a teenager and an adult. It becomes a part of your life.”

Watson paid tribute to the work of Page, describing the children’s educator and entertainer as a “genius”.

“Greg was the brains behind writing a lot of it. Once I’d give him an idea on the movements he worked out a song and theme for it, which we then integrate into the clinic,” he said.

“They’re basic activities used to learn that movement – hit a ball or kick into a goal.”

SportsWorld Miranda will host the first Let’s Activate program in the shire, with the six week term starting on February 27.

Details: letsactivate.net