Jeff,
I think there can be too much emphasis on racing when getting the young into the sport.
The very best days we had were when we organised not
races but games on the boats.
The beauty of playing games in cats is while they are tacking, jybing, backing up and parking their boats to get the boat into the position they need. They learn really good boat handling skills without even knowing they are learning. As far as they are concerned they are just playing a game.

The added benefit is they come off the water all really happy and anxious for the next day of sailing.

Regards,
Phill