Bringing sports into the school curriculum: Three educators share their vision

The sports clubs at school and college they are a good memory for many adults, and an option that not all children have today. Those who did enjoy that luck had to take a break during the two school years affected by the pandemic.

Now that they are back in the classroom, how can we get them to return to the courts and regain their love for one or more disciplines?

“Children and adolescents have a passion for football,” he says. Denis Dau, gym teacher, physical trainer and director of the Diario EL UNIVERSO Interneighborhood Soccer Championshipan event that in 2020 was recognized by FIFA as the largest football tournament in the world.

“If in Ecuador there are about 25,000 primary and secondary educational institutions, with a population of almost 4,300,000 students, imagine the joy that children, adolescents and young people practice this sport”, since he maintains that a large part of the national teams (current ) were born in the Interneighbourhood, “thanks to overcrowding; If we review the squad of the previous World Cups, 70-80% were from the Interneighbourhood”.

With these bases, continues Dau, it seems opportune to suggest that in the curricular mesh of the country’s primary schools, the optional subjects of soccer, chess and athletics are created.

It is true that there will be many institutions that do not have sports infrastructure, but that is salvageable, says the sports trainer, if a sectoral calendar so that all students have access to training spaces for the different disciplines. “That is going to give jobs in the country to thousands of teachers in the three areas.”

As for chess, Dau remembers that Grand Masters like Evelyn Moncayo and Martha Fierro participated in interneighborhood chess tournaments. We must work with young people, the professor insists, because they are “the only route” to have a solid society and a solid family, “and that is transmitted by sport.”

Teach chess from early childhood

In Ecuador, the appreciation for the sporting value of large-scale chess has been lost among children and youth, is the opinion of Giovanny Miranda, director of the Ayllu Chess Club, in Tumbaco, Quito. “Technology has invaded us.”

Despite the difficulties, the Ayllu Club works to rescue the practice of chess among young people, with students from 4 years of age to teenagers. Can a young child be interested in the game? The ideal age to introduce the child to sport-science is from 3 years old, as long as there is a pedagogical approach, as Miranda explains. “We started with games, songs, puppets and other resources to encourage children (of preschool age)”.

Among adolescent students, on the other hand, positive changes in behavior. “That’s what chess does, it trains in a host of values, social skills, self-control and creativity is generated.” Through cooperative work between academies and other entities, more enthusiasts could be reached.

Who are looking to learn chess? A good percentage, Miranda points out, are children with recommendations from their tutors, due to the need for them to find options that keep them away from electronic devices. “We have had very good results.”

“Chess goes beyond being a board game; It is the authentic gym of the mind, it promotes the ability to concentrate and strategic thinking, in addition to the fun it means”, says the coach. “It’s an opportunity for personal development.”

But the impact sought is not only individual, but family and cultural. “That the ambition arises in educational entities that children begin to have values ​​like those that chess gives.”

Why practicing combined sports can be the best idea

Between the 6 and 12 years old development of any skill is very important. “I could say that it is the golden age, when we learn different behaviors and abilities that will serve us throughout life,” he says. Andrés Molina, technical director of football for minor and professional divisions and teacher of the Sports Department of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito.

In the opinion of the educator, it is recommended that the teachings of soccer and athletics go together, since the first is a collective practice, while the second is individual and covers several disciplines, including races (with varied tests), walking, jumping and throwing . The difference between the rules and the requirements of playing alone or in a team make a great contribution to the development of the child.

The ideal would be to always combine a collective sport with an individual one, and that children are exposed to as many disciplines as possible, football and athletics, volleyball and tennis, basketball and table tennis. The evolutionary process of children benefits when they learn the different movements of each sport.

“Varying is important, so that the guy at the age of 10-11 years can choose”, Following the same pattern, a collective option plus an individual one, adds Molina. In youth he will decide if he follows them in an amateur or professional way.

Let the child choose, not the parent. In other words, that sport is at the service of the child, not the other way around.

DT Andres Molina

In Molina’s opinion, currently Adequate time for sports instruction is not met, “because to avoid a sedentary lifestyle, you need at least 150 minutes of relaxed activity per week”; in the case of vigorous activity, such as football, there is talk of 75 minutes per week, not in a single day, but spread over 25 minutes over three days; “Working only one day a week is not convenient.”

How do you include guys who are not athletically inclined or have had a bad start? Sport should be presented from an early age as a gamebut not as a competition, says the teacher, who, when restrictions are lifted due to the pandemic, is resuming activities with a school club, with a playful approach, not yet competitive.

“Many times, the mistake is to try to make them the best, always win, put pressure on them, and that makes them give up physical activity.” Molina proposes starting with a 10-minute walk through the field and gradually increasing the challenges; “Maybe later that child will be an athlete, as long as he chooses for himself.” (F)