Try Kidz hopes to give all kids a chance to get outside and play

Try Kidz hopes to give all kids a reason to get outside

Andy Johnson has always loved to get outside to play and compete. So too have both of his children, 7-year-old Charlie and 10-year-old Wills. They’ve done recreation league and all-star ball, and along the way Johnson noticed that a lot of kids were not getting the same opportunities to just pick up a bat, kick a ball, jump in a pool or run around a tree. Sometimes it was because it required too much of a commitment in time either from the parent or the child. Sometimes it was simply because the child wasn’t as interested in competition as in just having fun.

To reach those kids who want to play but don’t want to put in hours of training or travel, Johnson has partnered with Tommy Travers, owner of Chattanooga

Sports Leagues, to create Try Kidz, a youth-based version of the adult-oriented CSL.

“We wanted to create an outlet for kids that is fun and safe but maybe not as competitive as some other places,” Johnson says.

Johnson hopes to grow Try Kidz into an organization that has opportunities for young people to participate in basketball, kickball, cross country, triathlons, swimming and almost any other sport. He hopes to eventually offer these all over the city. Right now, the plan is to start with a kickball league for youth at Rivermont Youth Athletic Association and a basketball league at Girls Preparatory School.

Both are coed leagues with three divisions — grades 2-3, 4-5 and 6-7. The three divisions will play a six-week schedule beginning in June. Cost to play is $45.

The formats will be 10 versus 10 in kickball and 3-on-3 in basketball. Kickball will play on Sunday afternoons, and basketball will play Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Friday evenings. Both will conclude the season with tournaments.

To help promote the organization, a Family & Friends Kickball Tournament is scheduled at Rivermont on May 20. Cost is $25 for a team of four to six players. There is also a triathlon for young people ages 6-14 planned for Aug. 11 on the Baylor School campus.

“Try Kidz is for the kids that just want to have fun,” Johnson says. “Show up and play. No practice. It’s also for the kid that maybe needs to be pushed outside. To get off the Xbox.”

Johnson says this also hopefully fills a need for busy parents who are unable to get outside and play with their kids. It gives them an organized place to take their kids for an hour or two a week.

The events will be organized and supervised, and the athletes will be given a jersey or a T-shirt, but Johnson says it is not his goal to over-organize things.

“It’s about having fun and getting outside and doing something.”

STAFF PHOTOS BY C.B. SCHMELTER Todd Laffew (black jacket) looks on as his 7-year-old son, Laik, kicks the ball during a Try Kidz kickball game. Chris Logdson shows his 2-yearold son, Oliver, the basic mechanics of kicking while playing kickball at a Try Kidz event at Jefferson...

Andy Johnson, center, helps organize teams for kickball during a Try Kidz event at Jefferson Heights Park in April. Adults and children play a game of kickball together as part of the Try Kidz program.

STAFF PHOTO BY C.B. SCHMELTER Seven-year-old Charlie Johnson, left, celebrates after Ryan Coulter makes a catch during a Try Kidz kickball game at Jefferson Heights Park.