ST. EUSTATIUS--Basketball coach Cory McGee from the Cayman Islands spent ten days improving game skills of pupils from the Gwendoline Van Putten and primary schools on the island. According to Angel B. Tromp, teacher at the GVP School, this initiative not only boosts motivation in the sports hall, it is also helping to promote learning skills in the classroom.
“It is all about reinforcing values, discipline and a positive attitude,” Tromp says. This coaching was only open to all pupils by way of reward for good grades.
Sports education is extremely broad in its ability to enhance personal development. To succeed in sport, pupils are encouraged to accept rules and regulations, know their abilities and work as a team.
Tromp points out that members of the team that competed in the Netherlands and elsewhere were also included in the coaching.
“We are grateful to coach McGee for offering to invest his free time on those pupils that would benefit from personal attention. It is a mind and body experience to train the brain and ensure a strategy that leads to an appreciation for the broader things in life.”
“Only after a few days, you notice that the enthusiasm of the local guys and three girls has become enormous!” McGee remarks. “I firmly believe in the principle of transferable skills. The students are now playing the game with a difference – not against each other but for each other.”
Tromp agrees and hopes to expand the program to embrace other sports and encourage a more holistic approach to learning.
“Basketball court lines offer a positive match symbol for achievement. When these sports pupils travel abroad, they will take and wear the pride of their island. They will also develop a broader mind for other cultures. Ambition can make for a fine feeling and a new start in life and in learning.”
