Hello Moms and Dads.  Welcome to ProStart for Boys.  My name is Greg DeLaval and the development of this program is a result of my experiences as a father of two boys, educator, coach, and outdoor education coordinator who has worked with boys for almost three decades.  At the heart of ProStart, is my motivation to provide an ideal preschool/kindergarten experience for boys and their families.  
 

Fortunately, I am not alone in this endeavor. Dr. Shawn Northfield, whom I have worked with in many different capacities, has been a great help in the construction of the ProStart curriculum.  Together, we have built a comprehensive program that utilizes multiple educational philosophies and approaches in order to help boys successfully navigate school, sport and life.  ProStart is unique, innovative, practical, and evidence based:  

 

School 

• Provides male role modeling in early education which is extremely rare and beneficial.   

• 6:1 student-teacher ratio or less with individualized instruction and support. 

• Commitment to LiNKS (Literacy, Numeracy, Knowledge and Skills). 

• Multiple learning venues and resources to engage boys and develop background knowledge. 

• Outdoor Education promoting an appreciation for nature, teamwork, safety, and problem solving.  

 

Sport 

• Employs the Active Start stage of the Long Term Athlete Development Model. 

• Develops the ABCs of physical literacy (agility, balance, coordination & speed). 

• Develops competence and confidence on land, snow, ice and in the water. 

• Promotes multi-sport awareness and confidence. 

• Utilizes instructors with physical literacy and sport-specific expertise.  

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Life 

• Prioritizes the development of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and actively engages and supports the use of executive functions (EFs) which are responsible for decision-making, planning, problem solving, cognitive flexibility, memory, attention, focus, and self-control.  

• Enhances social awareness, prosocial behavior, and interpersonal skills.

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Background

As an educator, I've worked with preschoolers to adults, taught all of the elementary core subjects, multiple junior high and high school courses and lectured and instructed at three different universities.  Most of my university instruction focused on developing aspiring teachers.  In part, this involved demonstrating effective teaching practices to university students while working with 4-6 year-olds. I also worked in the public and private school systems where I taught all-boys and all-girls classes and observed the benefits of separating the genders.  I hold a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education and Master's Degree in Education. 

My coaching career began at St. Mary's High School in Calgary.  I eventually coached at Western Canada High School for two years before attending St. Francis Xavier University (St.FX) on a football scholarship.  Shortly after graduating from St.FX, I became a full-time coach at the university level.  I worked at four different universities including the University of Toronto where I was the Head Football Coach.  I coached university football for nineteen years and, during that time, I was a speaker, program developer, and clinic coordinator for the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP).  I continued to be involved with youth sport, coaching and running multi-sport and sport-specific camps.  After winning a National Football Championship in 2015 at the University of British Columbia, I took on the role of Director of Athletics and Outdoor Education Coordinator at a Private School in Calgary and continued to coach various sports. 

 

As a parent, I was fortunate enough to volunteer coach in clubs and associations where my boys were enrolled.  My oldest boy (17) currently plays hockey in the WHL (Western Hockey League) and my youngest boy (15) currently plays hockey in the JPHL (Junior Prospects Hockey League).  Both were multi-sport athletes.  Both attended the National Sports School based out of WinSport. My oldest boy attended Bishop Carroll High School as well which is a self directed learning environment that places responsible students in the drivers seat of their educational journey.     

Dr. Shawn Northfield and I both taught at St. Francis Xavier University.  Shawn taught in the Faculty of Education developing classroom teachers and school leaders while I taught in the Department of Human Kinetics developing physical educators.  We also have a long history of coaching and working camps together.  We coached at Western Canada High School together as well as St. Francis Xavier University and the University of Calgary. 

Shawn has an extensive amount of diverse teaching, coaching and leadership experience.  He has a PhD in the field of Educational Leadership from the University of Nottingham, UK and is an award-winning scholar with over fifty peer-reviewed presentations/publications worldwide.  Shawn has successfully taught and/or coached students in Kindergarten to Grade 12 in the public, private and catholic school systems.  He is thoughtful, adaptive and strategic, making him a tremendous asset for the program.  Shawn's extensive experience working with students with learning disabilities and his previous background developing and publishing academic strategies will be critical for adapting our curriculum to meet the needs of the boys in our program.
 

Program Rationale

Early Education is an important time to get it right for boys.  If a boy falls behind academically in the current system he is in danger of never catching up.  We only have to look at the fact that boys trail girls in almost every major subject area now with the most significant gap in the area of literacy.  Boys often enter high ratio classrooms that do not cater to their learning styles or meet their physiological needs.  It is not surprising to hear that boys experience discipline problems.  Unfortunately, many boys are often viewed as needing to be fixed because they struggle to sit still, listen or be quiet for long durations.  These same boys, when allowed to move, explore, and engage in fun and competitive activities can excel.  Unfortunately, cutbacks in physical education and a lack of physical education specialists at the elementary level have only exacerbated the problem. Complicating the situation further is the absence of male teachers and male role models in early childhood education and at the elementary level in general.  Our program provides expert male leadership and teaching, low ratios, individualized instruction, and support.  Please read the following article for more information on boys in early childhood education:

 

https://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/boys-in-early-childhood-education

Preschool is also a great time to develop physical literacy.  Your son is in the Active Start stage of the Long Term Athlete Development Model (LTAD).  This is an important stage for developing fundamental movement skills like agility, balance, coordination and speed or the ABCs of physical literacy.  Developing competence and confidence on land, snow, ice and in the water is a core component of our physical literacy curriculum.  As such, we utilize expert instruction in gymnastics, skiing, skating, and swimming.  We recognize that families are enrolling their children in sport at the U4/U5 level, therefore, we spend a significant amount of time on various community-based team sports, including soccer and ice hockey.  The physical literacy part of our program is the most comprehensive athletic and multi-sport development available for boys in this age group.       

ProStart for Boys is a full-day private preschool/kindergarten program for 3-5 year-old boys with a student-teacher ratio of 6:1 or less.  Please explore "Our Program" page for more details.  We look forward to answering any questions you may have and to partnering with you to get your son ready for school, sport and life. 

Greg DeLaval, BSc., MEd.