THE MAG / THE WHY
I don’t get it? Kids can just do this outside?
ANSWERED BY SCOTT RILEY
Yes, I hear this a lot. I can tell you from personal experience that the modern generation don’t do this. We’re all suffering from not being present and being distracted 24/7 (my 3 kids being the same, although my daughter who is 10 and my lad of 12 do play out) but unfortunately, even as a council estate kid who vanished for hours and hours on end, only waiting to be called in at the end of the night when the street lights flicked on. The fear in me doesn’t want my kids to do that. Simple things like kerby, these days don’t happen.
We have so many restrictions, the biggest one being our minds. The modern generation don’t know the feeling of boredom! They don’t have to wait a week for the next episode or just watch 4 channels and record on VHS. These where the foundations as a kid that made us use our time creatively. Now it’s all about fast consumption and structure. Monday jai jitsu, Tuesday football, Wednesday this, Friday that, Saturday and Sunday football games.
Amongst the many reason why Yard Ball was created, having a space to escape from the structure of modern life and give kids a creative space was key. I wanted to bring the experience of my childhood and create an environment where kids and adults can experience this together. My hope is that people come to Yard Ball, get that nostalgic hit and more importantly the kids of this generation leave and have a new perspective on the environment that they live in, and find their own version of the yard. A wall, a bin or something similar that they may have over looked before. And have fun with a ball.
Maybe stop and take a second look at that set of trees that resemble a goal, or on the next family walk the kids tells his mum or dad “first to hit that” or “bet I can get the ball in that”. This is the bigger mission that we are on. It’s easy to say “just take a ball outside” but remind yourself that when you’re doom-scrolling away on your phone missing the present.