How to effectively conduct sports and physical education programs at your school?

basketball school team

Sports & PE best practices for Partner Schools

 

Here is a quick checklist of best practices to effectively conduct sports and physical education programs in your school

 
  1. Plan for hobby hours or co-curricular sports hours in the timetable. Children and parents should be able to opt for activities that interest the child. This is a perfect setting for scouting talent and to identify school team probables. CoachDirect offers specialist coaches for every sport with age appropriate coaching plans in each sport to ensure children are properly coached.
  2. Plan for a school sports team and for special training for the sports team. As per the student’s interest and school infrastructure choose a handful of sports for which there will be a school team for primary, middle and high school levels. Scouting for the school team happens during the PE periods or during the hobby/co-curricular periods. The sports or PE teacher will select the players for the school team. Special after-school training exclusively for the school team is required to be planned in the calendar
  3. Prepare and plan for the annual sports day. Annual sports day for the school requires significant planning. Let the sports and PE teachers select the events and participants for the same. Plan for sufficient time and budget for conducting the event including practice time, equipment, ground, helper resources, guest of honors, invitations, etc.. CoachDirect team is happy to support and guide to ensure your annual sports day runs successfully.
  4. Plan and procure sufficient sports equipment. In sports, the sports gear is nearly as important as the training one receives. Budget for sufficient funds so that there is enough equipment for the children to practice with for the whole year. Sports/PE teachers or even CoachDirect team can help you with the equipment list. CoachDirect also offers programs with equipment, at an additional cost. 
  5. Follow age appropriate sports coaching plans. Sports and PE Coaching curriculum should be based on age and skill level. CoachDirect follows beginner, intermediate and advanced level coaching plans as per the age of the trainees
  6. School team building requires commitment from coach, school, child and parents. All need to cooperate to make the training happen. Coach & children need to put in extra hours. School needs to make time and arrange facilities. Parents should be ready to pickup children as regular bus transport might not be feasible. It is a committed team effort.
  7. Participate in at least one inter school tournament. Besides the annual sports day, where children will benefit from competition, they should also be exposed to external competition in the form an inter school tournament. CoachDirect conducts annual inter school tournament where all it’s partner schools are invited and gives a perfect platform for the children to showcase their talent. If you wish to host such a tournament at your school, CoachDirect will be very pleased to organize the same.

  1. Conduct sports assessments and physical fitness assessments. There should be physical fitness tests and sports assessments to evaluate how the child is performing in it’s chosen sport. CoachDirect conducts half yearly assessments to check that the children are making progress against the coaching plans and for the parents to get some visibility on their child’s strengths and weaknesses. The reports are recommended to be shared with parents and discussed during PTM.
  2. Do not assign more than 6 periods a day (40 mins each) to avoid burnout. Full time sports or PE teachers undergo tough physical activity and hence they  require sufficient breaks in between to recharge for their next session. 
  3. Do not combine classes in the sports or PE period, where the children’s age group is diverse. Sports and PE activities are best planned and done as per the children’s age groups. It becomes very difficult and stressful for the teacher if there are diverse age groups such as 2nd standard class combined with 6th standard class in the same period. 
  4. Do not assign non value tasks to Sports & PE teachers such as standing at the gate or monitoring school buses. Sports & PE teachers are best at improving fitness, building character, ensuring discipline, managing sports events, etc.. which is the real value they can add to the school and children
  5. Maintain appropriate coach to student ratio. Max 20 to 25 students per coach is recommended to get the best results out of training. For very young children, who need special attention, the ratio can be as low as 10 to 15. When the batch sizes are more, an assistant coach is required to accompany the main coach.
  6. Safety and security precautions. CoachDirect will deploy only such coaches whose background checks have been found to be satisfactory. It is recommended that the School deploy CCTV surveillance in the activity area. School shall provide one assistant staff, preferably female staff member, to accompany the coach during any indoor activity sessions as a general and recommended safety precaution.
  7. Injury prevention and care. Let the coach advise the right shoes and safety equipment which is required to prevent injuries. Always maintain first aid equipment and ice-pack in the school. In case there is no nurse and infirmary provision, let the coach do the first aid and then take the injured to the nearest hospital.