Sports Development Project

Upon arrival at the volunteer house which was in a small town called Observatory on the outskirts of the city, i met with fellow Sports volunteers from Australia and Germany who were just as eager as i was to get stuck in.

Our induction was lead by our project manager, a friendly Canadian who was extremely passionate about the projects. Particular goals were outlined for each project and the goal for the Sports Development project was to introduce a good to high standard of Physical Education (PE) while supporting the local head coach from a company called “Sports Choice”. Their main concern was to offer physical activity, sport and health education as this area of the curriculum is considered to be a luxury for many children growing up in urban South Africa. 

The organisation works with local schools within the townships with support from charity to improve the quality of coaching provision and to increase the amount of time for children take part in organised PE sessions.

I was based in two schools in the township of Langa. Only two days a week allows a very limited time with each class, but the goal is to provide PE and demonstrate the importantance of PE  in children's physical and emotional development. 

Sustainability is extremely important to African Impact and it is clearly considered for each project, rather than allowing volunteers to take over and run their own sessions, we were encouraged to work alongside Sports Choice and their coaches in order to model good practice and to educate them as well as the children so that they can continue to run quality PE sessions long after volunteers have returned home.   

The schools i visited were surprisingly exactly how I had imaged a township school to be. They were not exactly the same as the photographs pictured on African Impact's website which featured astro-turf facilities, and a school that African Impact used to work but who no longer required volunteer support as they had progressed to a higher level of provision that they will hopefully be able to sustain for many years to come.

During my time in the townships the PE sessions were led on old netball courts, grass grew in patches on an distressed asphalt surface on which all the children had to take their shoes off and go bare feet. I was surprised at first but these children are used to it, they are hardy. It reminded me of when i was younger, the days I was at primary school in New Zealand and I would just to go bare footed for everything. I overheard the coach saying that the school don’t let the children wear shoes because it marks and wrecks the courts, it's a shame as the courts are in a poor state.

For the first couple of sessions the head coach was in charge and it felt more like pre-season training rather than a PE lesson as all we did for 45 minutes were shuttles with the class split in to four groups in which at least nine children were in a line. This frustrated me as I have learnt though practice and my studies that children should not be put in big group activities which involves queuing, children need to be physically active for as much of the session as possible.

This is perhaps why my job is so important - I'm wan't just here for the children, i was also here to model good practice and bring fresh ideas and implement new styles of coaching to develop the existing coaches repertoire. I hadn't expected this but i was grateful to be having an impact that could continue long after i leave.
The coaches weer always encouraging the children to chant and to sing. The atmosphere and enjoyment was was infectious! Each group of children had a name and gained points for supporting their pair or teammates.
After my first day I started to take more responsibility for the running of the sessions, going from just a warm up to taking the whole session in which the children were able to play more skills-based games that included all of the children most of the time, which I felt would be a huge benefit to them, they were having fun as well as learning important new skills.

Depending on the age of the children and the level of English would depend on the complexity of each game. I explained the rules and goals of the games to the children and to the coach so he knew not just what i was planning to do but also why i had selected the particular activity and the skills i would be looking for the children to demonstrate. By communicating this i believe that i was supporting the coaches professional development and coaching practice. My sessions were not always perfect, but by adapting the rules slightly the children were more responsive. I gave the head coach a list of session plans that have key objectives and a lot of different games aimed for different age groups instead of having just one set game for all children.

Every Friday we sat down as a team and planned sessions for the following week and brainstormed new games that we could try, adapting them to become age relevant. We set a different theme every two weeks as the head coach only coaches each class once a fortnight. It was great to put our heads together and bounce ideas off each other, a strong team of volunteers with very different perspectives, backgrounds and experience but all with one goal - to educate and to implement quality coaching practice.

My time with African Impact flew by, after just two short weeks I wanted to stay and continue on the project as I had really enjoyed it and was feeling like i was really starting to make an impact. I really enjoyed my time with the staff and the children as well and I feel that I have grown personally and professionally.
I felt confident and able to take a leading role on project without stepping on the head coaches toes. I put my ideas forward and had the confidence to explain justify and implement my ideas and the reasons behind them. When I was younger I would have taken a back seat and just let things play out as an observer, but i have changed.

This experience has shown me a different style and culture of coaching children and has broadened my horizons. Children have a massive respect for adults  and i was constantly addressed by a collective “yes coach!” If you give an instruction the children do it,  they want to be there, they want to learn and they enjoy. Children are tough and it took a lot for them to cry, a ball would hit a child’s head and they would barely even give it a second glance. Such a joy to coach! 

The more I put in to the project the more I got out of it, 
Volunteering with African Impact on the Sports development project has to be one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had.