Development of “MISPO!,” a new sports school which fosters independent and active lives

Since 1985, the physical fitness and activity levels of children in Japan have been gradually declining. Spaces where they can enjoy themselves through free, active play have decreased, and the number of children who struggle with - and even hate - exercise and sports has increased. While children’s play has shifted from outdoor, active spaces to using digital toys indoors, it has become clear how beneficial exercise and sports are for physical and mental development.
Sensing this issue, Mizuno set out to develop a sports school program which aims to promote many children's physical development through sports. Offering experiences of a wide range of sports, this program has been commercialized as MISPO!, a fun, child-centric, multi-sport school.

Key points of development

Customer needs

Children are the focus of a school, but it is their guardians who pay the fees. Mizuno therefore engaged with around 700 of them through surveys and interviews to identify the core issues which guardians want to address through extra-curricular activities. Based on the results, it was clear that guardians were looking less for improved motion skills or to help their children find a sport they are good at, but strongly wanted their children to grow up thinking independently, working together with others, and living healthy lives.

Program development

Development of the exercise programs provided by MISPO! was carried out with the cooperation of Mizuno staff with children of the target age range by repeatedly testing trial programs lasting 60 minutes per session. The finalized programs include 10 different sports, featuring the “hexathlon” using unique products developed by Mizuno, as well as baseball, football, volleyball, basketball, tag rugby, tennis, badminton, table tennis, and judo. Programs for all of the sports have the following three features:

1. Participants can experience 15 of the 36 basic movements which children should ideally learn from early childhood
2. Leadership by dedicated MISPO! coaches trained in how to stimulate children’s sense of curiosity
3. Sessions provide many opportunities for children to express what they have thought of themselves as well as help and work with friends

Co-creation with specialists

Program development

President of the University of Yamanashi, Kazuhiko Nakamura cooperated on creating the MISPO! concept and developing the programs. Professor Nakamura, who is a member of the Central Council for Education and also works on formulating government curriculum guidelines, held workshops for Mizuno about curriculum guidelines for elementary school physical education. The deeper understanding of the role of elementary school physical education which the workshops provided was highly informative in the MISPO! program development.

Operation

When MISPO! was first launched, many elements had yet to be settled, including how to interact with the target participants - first to third graders - as well as methods of communication with guardians. To that end, we received advice from Yutaka Masano (principal of Akishima City Koka Elementary School), who not only encourages active play in the school setting but also engages with children in daily life, as well as Dr. Yosuke Kita (Associate Professor in the Faculty of Letters at Keio University), who is a specialist in interaction with children with developmental disabilities and creating environments for them.

Children participating in MISPO!

Since MISPO! was launched in April 2023, the children have provided us with much feedback through their emotional expressions, verbal expressions, and actions. This rich feedback creates many learnings for us, meaning the children are also important co-creation partners for MISPO!.

While it is Mizuno which provides the MISPO! multi-sport school, we believe that such service businesses grow by co-creation of value with guardians, children, and operation staff. This is the approach we will continue to take regarding service provision and operation in the future.