During the two weeks I have spent at my placement, I have become extremely comfortable in overseeing groups and also with the other members of staff. My mentor has been emailing me weekly to keep me up to date with all of the activities that will take place in the upcoming week. This means I know what to expect, and I can help with the preparation process prior to the sessions beginning. In my previous blog I stated that I would be working with a range of age groups. This has provided me with experience with kids of different of abilities, which has meant some activities have had to be adapted in order to suit everyone.
One of the games that was completed by the 3-5-year-old age group was the traffic light game. Each child was provided with a small hula hoop which they used as a steering wheel. While they were pretending to drive their car, a coach would be standing with a red, orange and green coloured matt. This would relate to the traffic lights; if a coach showed the red matt all kids had to stop what they were doing, if the orange matt was raised all kids had to run on the spot and if the green light showed all kids were able to drive freely. This meant the kids had to be observant not only of the change but of each other while running.
During the first week of my placement I attended a dodgeball class which was something that was completely different to anything I have done before. The team take part in competitions and so it was intriguing to see how they played when going up against their own team-mates during practice. It was clear that the kids were very competitive and excited, so at times it proved difficult to try and keep their attention. However, after a bit of time the kids started to calm down and were able to take my instructions very well. The other coaches and I picked two team captains and allowed them to choose their own teammates for the first game which was prison dodgeball. Prison ball is played much like the original dodgeball game, except when a player is hit, he gets put in “prison” behind the opposing team. In order to get out of prison they must catch a ball that is thrown to them by their teammate at the opposite end of the court. This helps to promote teamwork, as the team who has the most players in the game has a much higher chance of winning.
I am learning a lot during my time at coach my sport, and it is giving me a lot to think about when it comes to my future career.
The traffic light game sounds good fun! Glad you are enjoying it!
Shannon