Teachers, coaches get youth development training

Following a recently concluded workshop, primary schools teachers and coaches are now in a better position to promote life skills development and social responsibilities with their students, through sports participation.{{more}}

Organized by the Division of Physical Education and Sports, in conjunction with the Trinidad and Tobago Alliance for Sport and Physical Education (TTASPE), the three-day workshop attracted 16 participants from various primary schools.

Held at the Victoria Park, the workshop ran from September 17 to 20 and was facilitated by two of TTASPE’S Sports Development Officers.

The workshop focused on one of TTASPE’S main developmental programs, called the GAME ON programme, which targets children in the primary schools and the communities.

According to Kavelle Deonanan, one of the facilitators, the Game On programmes are guided and governed by four key principles.

These are: fun, maximum participation, learning and success.

The focus of Game On, according to Deonanan, is having fun, not winning.

“Many sports environments can be stressful for children, especially when the focus is only on winning. Game on’s focus on fun over winning, means that every child can feel comfortable regardless of skill level or interest in one particular game”.

She further explained that children can only enjoy the benefits of sport participation if they are actively engaged.

In addition to the development of fundamental motor skills and learning many sporting skills, significant emphasis was also placed on the development of life skills, using sporting disciplines as a conduit for life’s lessons, Deonanan further explained to SEARCHLIGHT.

“This workshop was very important because it gives the teachers tools, such as the manual and the general knowledge that they may not have been exposed to before, about physical education and sports.”

She also pointed out that the reception from the participants was very good and commended them for their “high competence”.

One participant, Vincent Benjamin, a teacher and coach at the Stubbs Government School, described the exercise as being very informative.

“It was quite exciting. We were able to implement some of the basic principles that we were taught.

“This workshop adds an extra touch on how you deal with the less competitive aspect of sports, in that you are given some children and they are not fully developed in terms of their balance, agility and co-ordination. And now this workshop…” Benjamin told SEARCHLIGHT.

Meanwhile, Assistant Sports Officer in the Division of Physical Education and Sports, Sean Stanley told SEARCHLIGHT that the workshop was done as part of the department’s commitment to further develop the fundamentals of physical education and sports here.

“We at the Sports Department, our role is to develop sports and physical education in schools and the communities and we would go to the extreme to get this done. Hence we saw the need for TTASPE coming here to assist the teachers so that they can be more effective in conducting physical education and other aspects of sports,” Stanley said.”

The Trinidad and Tobago Alliance for Sport and Physical Education (TTASPE) is a non-profit organization founded in 2002.

TTASPE works in partnership with local and international organizations to establish and enhance physical education curricula and sporting opportunities for individuals and communities throughout the Caribbean.(AA)