The Play Revolution Summit

Imagine a world where children—and adults—unlock their potential not by grinding harder, but by discovering joy, creativity, and effortless mastery. For too long, we’ve misunderstood talent: focusing on rigid drills, over-coaching, and outdated systems that stifle genius instead of unleashing it. The Play Revolution Summit is a bold, one-day experience for coaches, parents, and leaders ready to break the mold.

Through groundbreaking science, real-world stories, and immersive hands-on sessions, we’ll show you how play isn’t just for fun—it’s the catalyst for true expertise, resilience, and innovation. You’ll learn practical tools to create environments where learners thrive, collaboration replaces competition, and mastery becomes a natural, joyful journey.

Join us to connect with trailblazing educators and change-makers, reimagine your approach to talent and leadership, and leave empowered to spark a revolution—in your team, school, or home. Stop grinding. Start playing. Let’s unlock genius together.

Date/Time:

• Thursday, July 31
• 9 AM-4 PM  (Lunch Included)

Location:

• (ROC) Recreation Outdoor Center
• St. Louis Park MN 3700 Monterey Drive
• 952.924.2540

Registration

• $179
• $149 Early Bird (before 7/10)

This program isn’t just educational—it’s transformative. It will help adult influencers reclaim the irreplaceable value of play, see movement as language, and commit to upending stale training models. Most crucially, it invites a joyful, practical, hopeful future for learning and mastery—one that truly serves every child and adult.

"THE PLAY REVOLUTION: UNLOCKING GENIUS THROUGH JOY, MOVEMENT, AND EFFORTLESS MASTERY"

Objectives:

• Demystify Talent: Dispel myths about innate ability and grind culture.
• Rethink Mastery: Explore mastery as a function of communication, play, and underloading—not just hard work.
• Empower Participants: Provide tools and practices for creating playful, high-growth environments in sports, schools, and homes.
• Foster Collaboration: Get parents, coaches, and leaders speaking a ‘common masterful language’ for developing young people.

Morning:  THE PARADIGM SHIFT

9:00am -9:20AM Welcome, Registration

• Activity: "Invent Your Game": In small groups, participants use simple equipment to create and play a new game for 10 minutes—no rules except HAVE FUN.
• Purpose: Demonstrate the creative spark of self-organized play, loosen up, dissolve hierarchies.

9:20–10am — Keynote: "The Night That Changed Soccer: Lessons from Panenka"

• Engagement: Dynamic retelling of the Panenka story; set the emotional and intellectual tone.
• Question for reflection: When have you seen "effortless" mastery? What stories do we tell ourselves about how it’s achieved?

10AM-10:20am — Session 1: The Epidemic of Misunderstood Talent

• Mini-lecture: Billy Beane, Moneyball, and the dangers of 'measuring the wrong things'.
• Discussion: Table groups share popular misconceptions they’ve held or seen in their field.
• Interactive Poll: What does your organization currently reward? Grit? Perfection? Creativity?
• Takeaway: How grind culture and rigid systems fail both "winners" and "losers".

10:20–10:40am — Session 2: The Play Mindset in Action

• Storytelling: The rise and magic of the St. Paul "Joy of the People" project.
• Science Snapshot: Krashen’s theory of language acquisition; kids learning through play.
• Activity: Watch short videos of street players, then quick reflection: “What is happening that drills can’t replicate?”

BREAK: 10:45–11am

LATE MORNING: THE SCIENCE & ART OF PLAY

11–11:45am — Session 3: Kinetic Linguistics—Movement as Conversation

• Case Study: Zlatan, basketball feints, dance.
• Interactive Demo: Have participants try to "fake out" a partner with movement—then analyze what cues worked (or didn’t).
• Visualization: "Movement as Language" whiteboard session—how do we communicate silently in sports, in life?
• Discussion: Why do private languages (in movement or words) not exist? Why is mastery an act of fluency, not isolation?

11:45–12:30pm — Session 4: Underloading – Mastery’s Hidden Shortcut

• Mini-lecture: Underloading across fields—Hemingway, jazz, nature, leadership.
• Partner Activity: Teams generate a list—Where in your field or life can you “offload” effort to the environment or others? Where is ‘less more’?
• Whole group share: Breakthrough or surprising examples.

LUNCH: 12:30–1:15pm

AFTERNOON: PRACTICE & IMPLEMENTATION

1:15PM–1:45pm — Session 5: Girls and Play—Tackling THE Play deficit

• Explore the unique barriers and opportunities girls face in play and sport environments.
• Understand how play unlocks confidence, social skills, and creativity for girls.
• Equip participants with strategies to create truly inclusive, empowering spaces for girls..
• Amplify the voices and stories of women and girls who have thrived through play.

1:45–2:30pm — Session 6: Workshop – Designing Environments for Genius

• Task: In role-specific teams (coaches, leaders, parents), participants use "play lab" sheets to reimagine their programs
  • How much time is spent in exploration vs. instruction?
  • Does the environment invite kinetic conversation, experimentation, and social learning?
  • What is one element to remove/barrier to lower/space to open?

2:30–3pm — Session 7: The Play Club Simulation

• What did you notice? How did the dynamics change without top-down control? Any surprises?
•  Identify emerging leaders, spontaneous creativity, collective problem solving.

 COMMITTING TO CHANGE

3PM–3:30pm — Session 9: From Framework to Action – The Personal Plan

• Reflection: What’s your biggest insight today?
• Template: Each attendee designs a simple “play action plan” for their context (coaching, teaching, parenting, leadership).
  • What will you try THIS WEEK?
  • What will you stop doing?
  • Whom will you recruit as allies/accomplices in play?

3:30–4pm — Closing Keynote: The Mastery Conversation—A Radical New Vision

• Kinetic linguistics, play mindset, underloading.
•  Will we be brave enough to change? What’s possible if we do?
• Step out as champions for mastery-through-play in your community.

All Participants

• Receive  a digital resource packet 
• Optional private online discussion group for sharing successes/questions post-event.
• An advanced copy of the book Easy Does It--win more, do less with the art of Underloading
• Upon registering for the summit, you’ll be added to our VIP recipient list.
• When the book launches, you’ll be personally notified and receive your complimentary copy—sent directly to the address you provide.

FAQ

The Play Revolution unveils a radical, science-backed framework—combining the creative “play mindset,” the innovative concept of kinetic linguistics, and the principle of underloading—for unlocking rapid, joyful skill acquisition. Through unforgettable stories and proven methods, the Play Revolution helps coaches, parents, and organizations transform their approach, making genius available to everyone.

AUTHOR BIO

Ted Kroeten is a pioneer in player development, founder of “Joy of the People” (St. Paul, MN), and a recognized innovator in movement and skill learning. After decades coaching at every level and collaborating with global leaders in talent development, Ted set coaching aside and observed kids play for 15 years! What was discovered: Genius isn’t born—it’s PLAYED into being. His Play Revolution has been featured in international conferences, city programs, and youth academies. Ted is a sought-after speaker for coaches, educators, and organizations ready to discard grind culture for a smarter, more joyful approach.

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