When our soccer players compete under the lights at Harvard Stadium, it’s a big stage. For some, it might be the largest crowd they play in front of in their athletic careers. For others, it is a preview of what is to come. Either way, they’ll feel the butterflies and sense the magnitude of the moment.
Yet, as Belmont Day middle school athletes, they will also be prepared to represent their community and play their hearts out. Because as much as a pre-kindergarten physical education class might look like an attempt to herd cats to the casual observer, we are planting seeds early that will help them find their athletic identity and flourish on the fields, courts, and trails.
It begins with joy. Our goal is to expose our students at an early age to as many sports as possible, and to show them that the athletic lifestyle exists under a large and dynamic umbrella. Crossing a field of hot lava requires not only great courage and determination, but also the agility and balance one later uses to leave a few defenders in their dust.
It is also about responsibility. How can we exhibit the core values at high speeds? Learning to be a good teammate and a respectful competitor can start with a hula hoop rock, paper, scissors showdown. It can happen when you offer someone a stepping stone to navigate the lava. Or by giving someone a fist bump at the end of a game and walking with them to the water fountain to breathlessly recount the activity’s highlights.
In first-grade PE, students engage in the Athletic Identity Project, reflecting on what it means to say, “Every student is an athlete.” They emerge with a very rare (and no doubt priceless) trading card featuring themselves in an athletic stance of their choosing.
As our students progress in the PE curriculum, they engage in scrimmages where we turn on the scoreboard to give them the feeling of real competition. These can lead to epic, intense, frustrating, and delightful moments, but we build in time at the end to debrief and give shout-outs to the opposing team. The only awards are sweat trophies.
Other big events, like the fourth grade Greek Olympics or the fifth grade cross country run, invite spectators and have real stakes, but within the framework of “coopetition.”
In fifth grade, the curriculum again focuses on exposure. Our students engage in the full scope of athletic offerings during PE, so that they can make an informed selection as middle school athletes. Throughout their time representing the Blue and Gold, our middle schoolers have opportunities to lead, whether as captains, voices on committees shaping the athletic experience, recipients of Core Value nominations, or teammates who understand that as one goes, we all go. Otherwise, we’re just herding cats.
Friday Night Lights is an incredible seasonal example of this trajectory, though it is just a small part of that journey. We feel blessed to have front-row seats for this ride. Go Blue and Gold!