Balance is Better
Well we are in the last week of term and it’s an apt time to be writing about the completion of summer sport.
With the ethos of “Balance is Better”, Year 5 and 6 children at Elmwood School were provided with the opportunity to have fun, be challenged, develop and improve, be part of a team or group, and enjoy time with friends. (https://sportnz.org.nz/resources/balance-is-better-philosophy).
I have had the pleasure of coaching and managing both the Red Sox and Blue Sox Tee Ball teams with the assistance of Jess (NZGS Intern) and a number of parent helpers. I have seen their skills dramatically improve over the season, along with their interactions with others, confidence and abilities to take on feedback from the coaches etc… It was lovely to chat with the children on our bus rides and walks to the pitch and back. I can recall on the walk back to the bus on the first week, I was chatting with a few of the children and they said how much fun that they had had, and that they really enjoyed playing Tee Ball, as they had not played it before. That really does put things into perspective - they had little or no concern with regards to winning or losing.
At the end of our final game I asked the children what they had enjoyed about the season and they were eager to share their ideas, and be posted.
Josh; “...great to play against other schools at the same venue...”
Scarlett; “...no one is too competitive and we have lots of fun...”
Alfie; “...good to get out on the park and see different schools playing different sports...”
Sam; “...it’s good to practice against a variety of people that you do not know...”
Maya; “ ...good practice if you want to play tee ball later on in life...”
Elise; “...versing people with different strengths and that you do not know how they play...”
Bella; “...you get to meet new people and also enjoy the bus ride - talking to other team members...”
Addison; “...it is fun and you can play different spots / positions...”
Julien;”...cool, I know some people from other schools already and children were nice to play...”
Sam; “...fun to get out of school on Fridays and play other schools...”
Addi; “...fun giving things a go and most of us hadn’t played tee ball before. A good chance to collaborate and show good sportsmanship...”
Kera; “...I enjoyed playing, although it required a long attention span...”
Ella; “...could see how other schools perform and their sportsmanship...”
Luke; “...good to play something different...”
Josh; “...good learning experience such as developing our catching, throwing and hitting off the tee skills...”
Willa; “...learning sportsmanship...”
Will; “...when catching the ball you feel really good for your team…”
The remainder of Year 6 children participated in the Rippa Rugby or Futsal Competition. A big thank you to all the parents and teachers who assisted with teams that played in the offsite competition held at Hagley Park.
A few Year 6 children and all of the Year 5 children, participated in a rotation held over at Elmwood Park, which enabled them to be exposed to less mainstream sports such as Volleyball, Lawn Bowls and Croquet. Thank you to the Elmwood Club for providing us with the expertise and venues for these codes. I loved hearing what the children did and that they all thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
With that in mind, I would highly recommend you have a look at the SportNZ link, as it discusses the evidenced based philosophy that Sports NZ are advocating.
I (and others) find the drop out rate of children playing sport once they have left school, extremely concerning. We know, and research tells us, that sport can provide children with life skills such as working collaboratively, striving to do their best, committing to something, showing respect and being physically active.
Let's work together to promote BALANCE is BETTER and hopefully we can have a greater retention rate of children continuing to play sport during their adulthood.
Written by; Sarah Hughey with contributions from the Red and Blue Sox Tee Ball members.