My son turned 2. We’d made it! He was still alive… he could walk, he could talk, he ate, he slept… he was a fully fledged human being and I’d made that happen!

We did the toddler classes - we clapped, we danced, we sang, we got messy. I smiled. He enjoyed it. But nothing really hit the spot for me. It wasn’t what I wanted to be doing with my time, and there were other things I thought we could be doing.

Like running, jumping, throwing, catching, balancing, hopping, working as a team, learning to take turns, developing resilience. Sports, basically, I wanted to take him to a sports class. I looked around but was repeatedly told that he couldn’t join the clubs until he was in Reception year. He “couldn’t” do it.

But I knew he COULD do it and I knew there were other kids who could do it too. At that moment the stars aligned. My Sport Science Degree, my coaching qualifications for working with children, my work as a sports development officer - they finally had a purpose.

I did some market research among other friends with toddlers. The appetite was there. I designed an age-appropriate 6-week block of multi-sport sessions, booked a venue, and advertised through Facebook.

I launched the first class in January 2017. It was a sell-out. So I added another. It was a sell-out too. So I added more…. and four years on we are now delivering 12 sell-out sessions a week! We have work successfully in partnership with a number of local Sports Associations to open up their coaches to preschoolers for the first time, and have recently launched our new Little Champs Superstars classes for children with additional and complex needs.

It’s been amazing, and I have no doubt it will continue to be amazing as we continue to grow and develop alongside all the Little Champs who are growing and developing with us.

Laurel Le Tocq
Founder and Instructor

Little Champs Guernsey