WHEN I attended high school, to my knowledge only the ‘A Graded’ schools in Berbice offered Physical Education at the time. I am sure the numbers have increased from then to now but I cannot stress enough on how important sports synthesising with academia is for children and young adults. I have been influenced by sports all my life. I might not be the ‘fittest’ or the best athlete you know but I cannot imagine what or who I’d be without sports or being inspired by people and their stories who are true athletes. I must agree, my experience with sports was mostly influenced by my father. He leads the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club, his aim is to use sports to help young people better their lives in any way possible. His role in the club opened me to the fact that sports can be a way of supporting persons financially. It also helps to keep you physically fit and active- but, what about the focal point of this column; Education?

Firstly, sports opens up a door for scholarships. In Guyana, scholarships like these are offered but there’s more that can be done. Personally, there’s no such thing as too much education and I urge National Clubs and sports entities of Guyana to accentuate sporting scholarships even more in our country. Sports can also be used as a stress outlet for students. Studying, studying and more studying can lead to burn out and stress for students. Students can participate in sports to help with their stress from academics and even from life on a whole.

Preya Singh is a student who enjoys sports and Physical Education. She shared her thoughts by saying, “I’ve been taught that physical activity increases the flow of blood to the brain which leads to increased concentration, body coordination, better memory and enhanced problem-solving skills. Each sport requires a lot of energy, time and commitment and persons often think that it’s a major distraction to students (athletes) from schoolwork. As an experienced Berbice U-19 cricketer (2017-2018), I disagree. Each sport requires communication, memorisation, repetition, teamwork and skill learning which closely relates to class work. This helps students to gain experience with peers and as such, it benefits them in class when they are assigned various tasks. I’ve been an A grade student throughout my school life; one who plays sports regularly and believes in the famous saying ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’ and vice versa. I’ve also had experience with several classmates who took part in sports and they were often very competitive in class as well as in their sport. This is because sports stimulate goal setting and determination as it motivates you to WIN. Nobody ever wants to lose, right? My advice for young people that play sports or want to play sports is that it DOES NOT cause you to lose focus from academics; unless you cannot balance, then you should focus on just one. Sometimes you’d find that you’ll have to make sacrifices for one or the other. Sports are very beneficial in the development of our body; especially our brain, so I’d 100 percent encourage you to partake in them and it will help you educationally. The key to enjoying your leisure time without feeling guilty is to give your books the equal amount of attention that you give to your favourite sports. The balance is everything.”

While I took an entirely divergent path from sports in life, it was and still is a major influence on me. Similar to the arts, there is a major misconception that these extra-curricular activities such as sports will mislead you and your studies. My take on that is, without the arts and to an extent, sports—I would not have been as academically successful in both high school and primary school. From playing for my high school’s female cricket team to enjoying Physical Education classes and always representing the Eagle’s House at inter-house athletics championships; sports has always been useful for both my mental and physical health scales. Being physically and mentally healthy automatically make you more inclined to perform better in school. If used in the right way and for the right purpose, sports can be a useful tool for your education. If policymakers take sports out of the education curriculum, I wouldn’t be surprised if students’ grades decrease immensely.