Let’s begin with a hearty “Mazel tov” to Coach Jared Goldman and the MJGDS Lady Marlins Volleyball team on their historic first match this past week at Hendricks Middle School! (Check out this article in our local news here!)
Our school turns fifty years old this year and this was the very first athletic adventure we have ever embarked on. The final score mattered not a whit (and, yes, we did score points as well) – the excitement from the student-athletes, their parents, alumni, and supporters who packed the tiny parking lot and bleacher seats was palpable and meaningful. Our girls did their best and will only perform better as they grow more experienced and practiced in their sport. [Local plug: First home game in MJGDS history takes place in the gym on Tuesday, September 27th at 4:30 PM. Wear your Marlins gear and come out to support our team!]
So as one of my favorite sports shows would ask, is launching middle school athletics at our K-8 Schechter Day School a “big deal, little deal, or no deal at all?”
Big deal!
First let’s look at it from the perspective of the participants. Let me quote (liberally) from “Co-Curricular Physical Activity and Sport Programs for Middle School Students: A Position Statement by the National Association for Sporty and Physical Education’s (NASPE) Middle and Secondary School Physical Education Council (MASSPEC).” [That is a mouthful! You can read the entire position statement here.]:
“All students should be encouraged to participate in such after-school programs regardless of their ability and prior experience with organized sports. The primary purposes of these programs are to provide opportunities for students to:
- improve self-esteem and feelings of competence through positive interactions with their peers and adults
- acquire new skills and refine those previously learned
- learn to function effectively as members of a team or group
- improve personal health and fitness levels
- to have fun and enjoy physical activity”
Those all sound like things we would like to see for our middle school students, no?
But beyond the benefits to the participants there are significant benefits to our school and our community worth mentioning.
Athletics are vitally important to our ability to maintain and grow a healthy middle school. They demonstrate to ourselves and our parents that we are capable of providing the kinds of experiences one ought to find at the middle school level. And that includes the opportunity to play, cheer and support athletics. (I thought our alumni were as, or more, excited about the volleyball game than the players or their parents!)
Jewish Day Schools – especially the small or midsize ones – have a lot to get done. We have to offer 100% the secular academic programs of local independent and/or suburban public schools. We have to offer the highest-quality Jewish studies program available. We have to offer all the resources of well-rounded schools – Art, Music, Library, 21st Century Learning, P.E., etc. AND we also have to offer athletics, the school play, the yearbook, TV production, and all the other extracurriculars.
Fair?
Doesn’t matter. It isn’t a choice. Non-orthodox day schools heading into middle (and high) school face enormous attrition challenges. We have to find the “torah” of volleyball as we do the “torah” of math (not to mention the “torah” of the actual Torah). We, at our school, have dipped our first toe in the water. It certainly isn’t easy finding sports we have a critical mass to compete in, but based on the energy it has brought to our school and our community it was well worth it.
We may not be hanging any championship banners from our gym any time soon. But we will be adding great spirit and community-building to our school when we host the first home game in the school’s 50 year history next week.
Go Marlins!
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