Fresh from his triple triumph at the Beijing Olympics, Usain Bolt appeared on The David Letterman Show in America.  At one point, Letterman asked Bolt whether running had always been his first love and, to the audience’s surprise, Bolt replied that cricket was the first sport that had interested him.  His position on the team had been as the fast bowler and it was only when his teacher noticed his speed that Bolt turned to athletics.  Had his teacher simply continued to develop Bolt as a cricketer, the world champion may not have ever had an opportunity to celebrate in the characteristic way he does.

Nurturing and developing talent

The point is that for school sports to progress, to be able to spot talent while it is still able to be developed, skill-sets should be the key focus of every school.  It’s lucky that Bolt’s skill as a runner was noticed in a completely different field; otherwise he may well have slipped under the radar as is the case with many school children today.  The unattractive elitism of school sports lies in the isolation and exclusion of not being on a school team.  Where the members of the football team may be getting the attention and nurturing they require, others with potential may not be receiving the right support to boost their confidence and show them what they are capable of.

The future: Skill-sets

By centring school sports on the ethos of building up skill-sets, schools can develop the essential building blocks to participate in different sports and make it easier to spot strengths.  Take, for example, a shy online pharmacy prescription eleven year old boy who failed to make the tennis team in try-outs due to his lack of confidence.  However, in a skills-based session that centres on how many times you can hit a ball against a target on a wall with a racket, it becomes clear that this boy could have something special.  Instead of relegating people to traditional team sports and creating an atmosphere of exclusivity, skills-based sessions put all participants on a level playing field and school sports will no longer be about whether you are in the team or not.

Returning to Usain Bolt, another interesting aspect of his sporting life is the fact that, for a long time, he displayed an unfocused, unprofessional attitude.  His first coach was often frustrated by Bolt’s lack of dedication to training and a predilection for practical jokes.  In fact, Bolt almost jeopardised his career through his mischief when was detained by the local police for hiding in the back of a van  while he was supposed to be preparing for the 200m CARIFTA Trials.

These kind of young people are almost certainly the ones that slip through the net in school sports and skills-based sessions are one way to ensure that they feel included and don’t just end up passing off school sports as a past time exclusively reserved for ‘jocks’.  Virtual competition software such as Active that focuses on delivering skill-set sessions has anticipated this need give all students the chance to shine. Who knows, maybe the student you see as the lazy joker of the class could be identified as talent through skill-set based sessions: perhaps you’ll find the new Usain Bolt right under your nose.