Sports Club

In-school and after-school clubs have a positive effect on early adolescents, specifically when looking at social engagement. Social development is one of the four main pillars when educating and mentoring 11-14- year-old students. A 2010 study from the Journal of School Health reported 75 percent of students were members of extracurricular activities. Twenty-three percent participated in sports, 16 percent in clubs and 36 percent participated in both (Howie, et al. 2010). Those students also demonstrated a higher level of social interaction than those who where not engaged in extracurricular activities.

While this is obvious on its face, it shows two important points I will attempt to implement in my club of choice once I become a teacher. 1) early adolescents are thoroughly engaged in sports activities and 2) mixing sports and academics in either an in-school or after-school sports club will add educational and social value and prevent what could quickly become a "jock" club only for those students who are athletically incline.

As a former sports writer, I not only needed to be informed about the rules and be able to appreciate the skill level involved in competition, but I had to cruch numbers (statistical analysis), I read other writers work and media guides (literacy), understood the science and tactics of the game (physics and probability) and write stories daily (language arts). By building a club around sports, an activity in which early adolsecents are deeply engaged, and the five main courses they take during the school day could not only be fun for students but educational and build upon basic skills to reinforce what they are learning during the school day. Keep in mind, this is not a graded class. This should be fun!!! Sports and education together is something which can be fun.

THE ORGANIZATION

This is a club which could be done with minimal cost, though a field trip or community service activity should also be included in the yearly plans. The club will be divided into four parts -- one in each nine-week period. It could also take place over six six-week periods if you wanted to cover more sports, but they would be done in rapid fire succession and could be difficult to implement in the first year.

1st 9 weeks: Football
2nd 9 weeks: Basketball
3rd 9 weeks: Soccer (or International Sports)
4th 9 weeks: Baseball/Softball

Football, basketball, baseball and soccer are the four sports students participate in the most. So, to entice membership, I would focus on these four sports. The beginning of the school year coincides with the start of football season (September), The second nine weeks starts in mid-october which is even with the start of the NBA season. The 3rd nine weeks is in winter so indoor soccer or other internationally popular sports (volleyball, track and field, handball, hockey, etc.) cold be done indoors. Spring welcomes the last nine weeks as well as baseball season.

Each session would focus on a combination of six disciplines: 1) Game Play (physical education), 2) Sports Science (physics/health), 3) Fantasy Sports (statistical analysis/math), 4) sports writing and sports books (language arts/reading), 5) the History of the Game (history/social studies) and 6) Tactics (strategy). This provides a holistic experience for the students to not only play the sport, but learn about and apply that knowledge to the sports they play for school, city or competitive teams.

**NOTE: THIS IS A CLUB FOR BOTH BOYS AND GIRLS TO PARTICIPATE EQUALLY TOGETHER!

In subsequent posts, I will lay out in more detail the focus of each nine-week session, including activities and variations of the sports they will play.