Sporticus
On the first day in my current school I sat down next to a colleague and began to introduce myself as the new Teacher of PE. She kindly smiled at me, pointed to the opposite side of the common room, and said sweetly ‘I know. The shallow side is over there.’ I’ve been drowning ever since.
Articles by Sporticus
What experience are you delivering as a coach and what legacy are you leaving for young people? PE Teacher and blogger, Sporticus reflects on his own practice and evolution as a coach, outlining the importance of creating environments for children that go beyond just playing sport. ‘If teaching is to have meaning beyond the facilitation of learning, if it is essential rather than accidental to learning, then it has to come with the notion of “transcendence.” it has to be understood as something that comes from the outside and brings something radically new.’…
A Constraints Led Approach is a coaching methodology that Player Development Project actively promotes. Top PDP contributor, PE Teacher and blogger, Sporticus shares his excellent reflections from a coach education event in late 2017 in Sheffield, England attended by researchers and thought leaders in coaching. Over half term I had the pleasure to attend a seminar on Research and Practice Design in Elite and Development Team Games Programmes at Sheffield Hallam University. The three presenters Vanda Correria, Mark O’Sullivan and Danny Newcombe shared their current research and practice which…
Game-based learning has enormous benefits in terms of decision-making and skill acquisition. PE Teacher, blogger and regular PDP contributor, Sporticus shares his fantastic article on the advantages of manipulating games and the environment and how coaches can adjust conditions in order to help young players improve their skills. At the heart of a games based approach to teaching is the challenge to the centrality of learning isolated and decontextualised techniques that will ‘allow’ the child to play. Instead of starting with the practice…
Game sense, how do we develop it? PE Teacher & regular PDP contributor, Sporticus shares his innovative approach to PE and helping his students develop skill and game understanding in cricket through realistic scenarios, interactions and guided discovery. As a department we have over timed moved away from ‘sport as sports technique’ method of teaching sports within our curriculum to ‘sport as tactical concepts’. This is in the belief that: The game sets the context of learning and gives that learning some meaning. Play is…
Coaching can be a balancing act. When should coaches step in and help and what approach to teaching should you use? PE Teacher & Blogger, Sporticus discusses complexity thinking, the value of uncertainty and examines various methodologies and processes that a coach can go through to truly help their players. In Complexity Thinking in PE, Richard Tinning and Anthony Rossi write ‘In the face of messy, unruly, boisterous classes of school children and the expectation to deliver predictable, explicit, educational outcomes, teachers of physical education…
PE Teacher & blogger, Sporticus examines the subject of participation in youth sport, sharing a story about an inspiring young man who took his role of team reserve in the best possible way. But what damage can our own ego and a results driven focus do to young players? Whilst coaching my school football team today a reserve from the opposition side caught my eye. He was a tall lad, who clearly hadn’t grown accustomed to his new height. A bundle of raw energy, he…
A handshake? How important is it in sport? Sporticus is a PE Teacher, blogger and advocate for positive player development. In this contribution, he discusses the role of the coach to go beyond the game and ensure that values and rituals are respected in the quest to develop better people, and better players. Today’s game turned sour due to a handshake. Or to be more exact, the lack of a handshake. My team had been beaten well in all areas of the game and the opposition had…