It has certainly been a frenetic term and a real eye opener for me in terms of how much our pupils can cram into their sports time here. The fact that this term we have girls' netball and football as our main team games, and boys' hockey, football with a bit of sevens on the side definitely means there are some tired legs out there. I am thankful to my sports staff (sports mentors) who behind the scenes are making sure that our pupils don't overdo it and that ultimately they are always drawn back to their academic work time – we are a school and not a sports academy after all!
Once a year, Directors of Sport gather (somewhere in a nice hotel on the outskirts of Oxford!) from all over the country to talk through current issues in sport and to collectively develop ideas that ultimately benefit our pupils in our schools and across the UK. There is also a lot of chat about who played when and where, which quickly diminishes when big Danny Grewcock walks in! I am always trying to learn as a coach and as someone responsible for the health and well being of our pupils, and I have to say I found the data and research undertaken by Dr Richard Bailey (PhD in Sports Science), which was delivered at this conference, fascinating. It helped me to reflect on what we do well and I considered myself really lucky to know that a massive majority of our pupils love our sports programme. However, there is always room for improvement and that is what I am striving for.
It has been a tough term for some, especially football where I cannot remember a term so badly effected by the weather. My usual Tuesday morning catch ups with our Director of Football Chris Heayns, have not been easy when each week we have looked at the pitches and the forecast and shaken our heads at each other. He has taken it incredibly well considering his passion for the game! Anyone who would like to donate a £750,000 3G pitch please feel free to call me!!
