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I have visited India twice — once in 2003 and more recently in February 2009. In 2003, I was here to develop the SportzVillage multi-sport programme. At that time I visited schools and met with parents to understand the sports context in India, and advised SportzVillage on developing an after-school multi-sport programme for children.
During my recent visit I was here to develop the EduSports (a SportzVillage company) School PE programme. With the EduSports team I conducted seminars on sports education in schools countrywide. I reckon they thought my experience as a psychologist, educator, consultant, counselor, author, coach, referee and award-winning athlete made me some kind of an expert. But the truth is, I learned as much from the kids, parents, and coaches I met with, as they from me.
My 16 days in India were spent visiting seven cities in the south, to help a young company of dedicated individuals introduce and implement physical education and sports programmes in a nation whose schools lack not only such programmes, but also the time, space and facilities for sport education. There are too few playgrounds or grass fields in India. I discerned a great need for knowledge about physical fitness and its connection with health and general well being (i.e. integration of mind and body, development of life skills and lessons, the incentives of daily progress). Well anyway, while I was in the middle of all this, something wonderful, truly magical happened that will stay with me the rest of my life.
I was at a school in the fifth city of my journey to initiate EduSports, and I had already had several meetings and a press conference to launch my book Coach Sense, when I was told that a group of class VIII students were expecting me to talk to them. The director of the school announced it as a “pep talk”. But like all real teaching, it ended up with the teacher learning as much and maybe even more than the students. I had already addressed the physical education teachers of the school, and was subsequently joined by 150 uniformed class VIII students who sat on the floor in rows.
Two rather large school leaders stood tall and strong before the assembled students. Uncomfortable with the idea of standing above those young people, I sat down on the floor with them and invited the rows to move closer and fill the spaces. I explained to them that real teaching and learning is when the teacher and students learn together, so I would get us started but I also wanted to learn from them.
With these enthusiastic young people gathered around me, the interaction became truly magical. I cannot tell this story without my eyes welling up. We ended up bouncing stimulating thoughts and ideas, as their questions allowed me to say everything that I wanted to communicate.
At every stop along my travels, I would hand a volleyball or soccer ball to a coach in the audience and say, “Do your thing.” But in most cases they were at a loss because they didn’t know what to do. I would then point out that they were having trouble because their job isn’t to coach volleyball, bat mitten, field hockey, cricket, or whatever — it is to coach kids. My getting on the floor with those kids was a suggestion on how to coach or teach children.
I see EduSport’s activities as an extension of the classroom, adding an important dimension to holistic education. EduSports is committed to working with parents, educators and others in the community who assist children and adolescents to achieve their dreams as healthy, happy and productive adults. Games fields and sport arenas are true laboratories for learning, because playing is visceral (it happens inside of kids, not simply in their heads); hands-on (kids learn by doing and discovery); fun (when done correctly); a place where kids (for the most part) want to be.
Consistent with the overall philosophy and goals of contemporary education, sports and physical education offer children the opportunity to
• Improve physical fitness and health
• Contribute towards integration of mind and body
• Build self-confidence and self-esteem
• Enhance social and cognitive development and academic achievement
• Learn discipline, teamwork, time management, and perseverance in the pursuit of excellence
• Strengthen family bonds by recognising physical activity and sport as fun experiences that can be shared
EduSports coaches will be trained and encouraged to develop the whole person — to focus on the contributions sports and athletics make towards learning life lessons that can be applied in the classroom, family life and careers.
Let the magic begin!
(Dr. George Selleck is a California-based sports psychologist and advisor to Sportz Village, Bangalore. E-mail: drselleck@earthlink.net)