Currying favour with the curruculum

By Tim Middleton | 2h ago

The carnival atmosphere has even gone far beyond Rufaro Stadium spreading to places like Barbourfields and Wadzanai Stadiums and the promise is more is still to come.

Way back in ancient times, sport played an important part in the life of everyone, not simply as entertainment but also as education. When we look for trophies that have been contested continuously into modern times, we will find the America’s Cup for sailing, which was first contested in 1851. Not long after that the Open golf tournament began (1860), then the FA Cup in soccer started to be competed in 1871, followed not long after (in 1877) with Wimbledon tennis and the Ashes cricket ‘urn’ in 1882. Closer to home here in Africa, the Currie Cup was introduced in 1892, the premier domestic rugby union tournament between provinces in South Africa, and has been contested each year since then.

For any rugby player in southern Africa, the Currie Cup has always been a key part of the sporting curriculum. In a similar way, as we considered previously, school sports coaches are involved principally in education – sport is part of the broader curriculum. Sport is not extra-curricular; it is co-curricular. It is integral to the whole curriculum required for all pupils, not just sporting children. What happens in the afternoons and at the weekends is just as important to the development of the whole child as the curriculum that is offered in the mornings. Sports coaches are as responsible for the curriculum as subject teachers.

What then is the curriculum that sports coaches are to be pursuing? Understand, firstly, that we are not talking of the subject PE, which is now an academic option, being taken to a higher level, often taken by pupils who are already proficient in sport. We are also not talking about pupils turning out in the morning in their class for general physical exercise. We are talking about the sporting curriculum, focussing on different specific sports, in particular team sports.

As with subject teachers who work through a curriculum and syllabus in their subject, focussing on skills and concepts, so sports coaches (or rather sports teachers) can specialise in helping children understand and attain the various skills and tactics required in different sports. The key point there should be to ensure that those skills are age-related and suitably based. We should not be having them try to learn new skills when they have not mastered basic ones while we should not have them face competition, for example, until they are mature enough to handle it. Children do not learn Quantum Physics in Grade 5; so children do not learn complicated moves until they are older and more experienced. The Long Term Athlete Development curriculum should be followed closely.

More importantly, however, than that particular role and responsibility of sports teachers, so sports coaches like academic teachers are responsible to help children understand and apply key life lessons, through the medium of sporting experience. They must learn not just how to achieve success and avoid failure (though they need to learn how to fail as well), but they must also learn how to handle both success and failure, as they will face similar experiences in other areas of life after they leave school. They need to understand with perspective the significance of any achievements and the relevance of situations experienced. They need to understand how to compete and how to collaborate, even at the same time. These are tough essential lessons.

Finally, it is important to recognise that as education is preparing pupils for potential careers, so sport provides numerous opportunities for those who have gained an understanding of, a love for and an ability in sport, apart from openings as a player, coach or official, for a suitable and enjoyable career. Those pupils strong in English may find a career in sports journalism (reporting, commentating, interviewing); those who are talented in Maths or IT may find a key role in data analysis in sport; artists may find a career in sports photography; scientists may continue in sports psychology, physiotherapy or counselling and so on. In all those areas, a key to success will be in having played and understood the game. Sport can give them purpose as well as pleasure.

We do not exactly need to curry favour to win the Currie Cup or to emphasize this important fact that sports coaches are teachers teaching the whole curriculum but one thing is sure: the curriculum needs to be hot (like curry), enjoyable and long-lasting (like the Currie Cup).