Students learn more than athletics with football drills
Cheers and words of encouragement were aplenty among students gathered in the northeast field of Whitesides Elementary.
“You got this,” a Layton High School football player yelled as a fifth-grade student dug deep and ran a little faster.
He and members of his team were on hand to run drills with the fifth-grade students. Smiles beamed from both sets of students as the older boys demonstrated the purpose of each station and then cheered on the younger students.
The activity was the culmination of about a month of recess “trainings.” The idea of the trainings began with Elementary Counselor RubyRae Horne, who was looking for a way to decrease behavior issues, especially during recess.
Watching a set of students at recess, she noticed many lacked a knowledge of the skills used in football. The idea of football trainings began.
“You can’t play games if you don’t know how,” Horne said.
Horne turned to Chris Carpenter, a special education teacher at the school, to see if he’d help teach the students about football during recess. He went a step further, creating behavior contracts for participants, setting up flag football teams, and choosing team captains.
“When I started playing football, it gave me a sense of purpose,” Carpenter said. “It taught me focus and taught me how to regulate my emotions.”
Carpenter said the team captains are learning leadership and mentoring skills. He specifically looked at students who needed that nudge to shine. Teams are made up of a mix of skilled students and those who have other strengths.
Horne said almost the entire fifth-grade chose to participate. Each participant agreed to a contract where two strikes for unsportsman-like conduct meant the privilege was lost for that student. So far, she said, no one has broken that contract.
“They are working together to create a goal and they can do it respectfully,” Horne said.
The teams run a practice in the morning to “warm up.” During lunch recess, teams pair up in a game, playing against each team during the week.
Behavior has improved overall, Horne said. Carpenter said it’s given the students a sense of purpose. He’s been pleasantly surprised as he’s watched more athletic students mentor those who don’t naturally have the skills.
Horne said the activity gave students the platform they needed to see that put downs and disrespect are destructive behaviors.
“We have given these kids an opportunity to have a chance to learn how to interact positively, instead of negatively like they were doing,” Horne said.
Principal Diane Roberts saw the success of the activity and suggested the partnership with Layton High. Coach Fotu Katoa was on board and is already planning other outreach activities with the students in the fall.
Horne said the plan is to continue the program in the fall with the current group of students and then bring in a new group in the spring.
“It was absolutely phenomenal, the way their team interacted with our students,” she said. “Our kids are still talking about it. They just loved every minute of that.”