Community Member of the Month: Outdoor Kids!

Movement. Education. Opportunity.

Outdoor Kids inspires children to get moving, explore new activities, and discover the joy of being active. From sports and creative movement classes to holiday camps and interactive indoor and outdoor activities, the program combines fun with learning and personal growth. With bilingual classes in German and English, Outdoor Kids creates an inclusive environment where every child can thrive.

For this month’s Community Member of the Month edition, we talked to Samuel Bisrat, founder of Outdoor Kids. The idea grew out of his personal belief in the power of sports to build confidence, foster friendships, and help children overcome challenges.

Was there a specific moment when you realised that children needed a concept like Outdoor Kids?

There wasn't really one specific moment. It was more the realization that there was a gap between what children need and what many traditional sports programs offer.

I always believed that sports could contribute much more to a child's development than just improving physical abilities.

However, many sports programs focus on one specific sport, competition or performance from a very early age.

I wanted to create something different. A concept where children could experience different sports, discover their own strengths, develop confidence and, most importantly, enjoy being physically active.

This was one of the main reasons why I started Outdoor Kids in 2017.

Outdoor Kids is about much more than sports. What change do you ultimately want to create in children's lives?

Our mission is to use sports as a tool to positively influence children's development and prepare them for the challenges they will face later in life.

I strongly believe that many of the most important lessons in life are learned through experiences rather than theoretical education. 

Learning how to deal with failure, working together with others, overcoming challenges, communicating and developing confidence in your own abilities.

These are all things children experience naturally through sports.

Ultimately, I want every child who participates in our programs to develop a positive relationship with physical activity, become more confident and acquire skills that will benefit them throughout their lives.

Our long-term ambition is to provide access to high-quality sports education for one million children per year by 2040.

Looking back to your very first course, what is something you believed back then that has completely changed today?

When I started Outdoor Kids, I believed that having a great concept and talented coaches would be enough to deliver an exceptional experience.

Today, almost ten years later, I see things quite differently.

The quality of an educational service doesn't only depend on the individual talent of the person delivering it. It depends on the entire system behind that person.

How you recruit people, how you train them, how you communicate your standards, how you measure quality and how you continuously improve.

Especially as we have expanded into multiple cities, I have learned that one of our biggest responsibilities as an organization is to create an environment in which our coaches can consistently deliver high-quality education.

Great people are essential. But without great systems, you will always struggle to deliver consistent quality at scale.

Which skills do you believe children need most for the future, and how does Outdoor Kids help develop them?

I believe that the skills children will need most in the future are not necessarily technical skills.

They are human skills such as communication, teamwork, problem-solving, resilience, adaptability and emotional intelligence.

Especially in a world where technology and AI are changing the way we work and live, I believe these skills will become even more important.

The great thing about sports is that children develop these skills through real experiences.

When children lose a game, they learn how to deal with frustration. When they play in a team, they learn how to communicate and cooperate. When they try something difficult, they learn persistence and confidence.

At Outdoor Kids, we want to make these learning experiences a conscious part of our educational approach.

We don't just want to teach children how to move. We want to use movement to teach them skills for life.

What role does community play in building Outdoor Kids?

Community has always played an essential role in building Outdoor Kids.

As an educational service provider, we are dependent on the trust and collaboration of many different stakeholders.

Our coaches, parents, schools, kindergartens and local partners all contribute to the experience we can provide to children.

Some of our most important partnerships have developed over many years, and a significant part of our growth has come through recommendations and the relationships we have built.

I also believe that building a successful company is not just about acquiring customers. It is about creating long-term value for everyone involved.

For us, this means providing children with a great educational experience, giving parents a reliable service, supporting our coaches in their professional development and creating value for our partners.

The stronger these relationships become, the stronger Outdoor Kids becomes as an organization.

Imagine a child who attended Outdoor Kids courses years ago comes back as an adult. What would make you feel that you truly succeeded in your mission?

For me, success wouldn't be that this child became a professional athlete or won a championship.

It would be hearing that the experiences they had at Outdoor Kids positively influenced the person they became.

Maybe they developed the confidence to try new things, learned how to deal with setbacks or discovered a passion for sports that stayed with them throughout their lives.

Even more importantly, I would love to hear that they developed values and skills that helped them become a better teammate, colleague, friend or parent.

And of course, seeing them bring their own children to Outdoor Kids one day would be something very special.

That would mean we created something that had a positive impact beyond the time they spent in our programs.

If Outdoor Kids had to be described in just three words, which would you choose?

Movement. Education. Opportunity.

Movement, because physical activity is the foundation of everything we do.

Education, because we believe that sports are one of the most effective tools to support children's personal and social development.

And opportunity, because our ultimate ambition is to make high-quality sports education accessible to as many children as possible, regardless of their background or circumstances.