| My Background:
Teaching Physical Education for 16 years (2 years of high school and 14
yrs. of middle school ). B.S. degree in Physical Education.
Teaching credential for Physical Education and Biology.
The benefits of team sports are many. Physically of course, is the health benefit associated with activity. Emotionally is a sense of well being and stress reduction. In physical education the philosophy is to: teach students basic skills of sports, introduce sports that they may not otherwise seek out, instill an appreciation and enjoyment of sports, and provide an understanding of the relationship between sports and health. When students learn the basic skills of a sport they are more willing to participate in those sports (for example: they might try out for an after school sport or sign up for a sport through a recreation program or camp). Also, many sports utilize the same types of skills: throwing, catching, running, jumping, hitting, passing. When students have an opportunity to try and learn these sports in a non-threatening environment (P.E.) they are more willing to join teams outside of class. Team sports, as opposed to individual sports, require the individual to work with others. To accept their teammates errors as well as their own. They must cooperate together to make the team a success. This is good for developing people skills and self-esteem. When individuals feel a part of the "team" their self-confidence goes way up. During physical education at my school, we do not stress competitive team play, but rather recreational team play. We do not keep score (although I am sure the students do). We also allow all the players to try out different positions and set up situations that call for all students to be participants. Teams are kept small, so that all students get a chance to be a part of the game. As a final note, I have had about a dozen students that have gone on to receive college scholarships for volleyball. They had never played the game until they came into the 6th grade. Keep in mind that our goal in physical education is not to make professional athletes out of our students, but more importantly to provide them with the skills to live an active lifestyle and participate with friends and family in physical activities. |