THE HOT SHOTS STORY
Hot Shots is unlike any sports program you have ever experienced. For the last 28 years, we have built kids’ self-esteem, athletic skills, and sense of belonging in a supportive, fun-filled, non-competitive environment while providing parents a rare opportunity to play, learn and bond with their child.
We use puppets, parachutes, pillow fights, squirt guns, and other unique tools to help boys and girls enjoy trying new and often difficult things. We play unique, often silly games that appeal to the kids’ imaginations and demonstrate that learning can be fun. Boys and girls and their parents shoot squirt guns at each other, throw soccer balls at puppets, use dance ribbons to fly like butterflies — all in the course of learning soccer skills.
There is no competition. No one is ever placed in a situation where their skill level might embarrass them or one of their friends. The only “competition” is within each child. Each week, we challenge each child to push him- or herself to try something new to improve their skills.
Here is an in-depth story about Hot Shots. It begins with a 1995 encounter at a nearby indoor sports facility where we were told that our girls would have to settle for playing soccer on a thin rug laid over on a concrete tennis court while the boys got the astroturf field. That moment triggered the creation of Hot Shots. The article also covers what our mission is, how the use of parachutes and puppets advances our mission, and much more. Click the picture to read it.
We also strive to build a sense of belonging and of being special. At the beginning and end of each session, we sing a Hot Shots song and introduce the kids who want to be introduced, using a mic to tell everyone about their “favorite things” and what makes them special. The colorful Hot Shots T-shirts also create a pride of membership. Every child’s name is on the back of the shirt and several kids’ soccer drawings are on the back. (On the fourth Sunday, all the kids draw soccer pictures that are voted on by the players in each session of each age group. The winners are imprinted on that group’s T-shirts.) The shirts are distributed at graduation along with a medal.
To create a culture of pride, we use strong young boys and girls as role models as coaches, including high school varsity soccer players.
Hot Shots also supports reading and giving back to our community. We have almost 2,000 used children’s books for our new Hot Shots “library” so kids get a bag of five books to take home to read every week (since then, parents have donated hundreds of their used books, too). The sale of Hot Shots souvenirs funds our “Reading Is A Kick” program that has donated over $15,000 worth of books to Marshfield’s five elementary schools. The kids sign the books’ inside covers, and we hold ceremonies at each library with the boys and girls from each school giving the books to their librarian and principal.
Hot Shots is so special to the boys and girls that some postpone birthday parties to attend our graduation party. Hot Shots is so effective that coaches marvel each spring at our graduates’ growth. Above all, Hot Shots is fun. Where else can kids play soccer to their favorite tunes and learn skills using puppets and pillow fights?
Numbers tell the story: Since 1996, more than 5,000 kids have graduated from Hot Shots. Most return year after year, and many come back to coach after they’re too old to play.
At a time when our children are subjected to so many confusing and demeaning influences, Hot Shots strengthens their self-esteem and self-image, helping to arm them for the challenges that lay ahead.
— John Wilpers, Founder & President