After disappointing results, student athletes try to identify areas for improvement.
By: Asek Wheeler
Schools around the world pride themselves on their athletic abilities and sports form an important part of the culture in these establishments. While sports are obviously valued at BIS, our results pale in comparison to other Central Asian schools and are completely eclipsed by multi-million dollar schools in America. This was displayed during the CAFA tournament where BIS sadly did not win a single game.
Now, the reasons for all these losses could be that our school is comparatively smaller than others – meaning we had fewer players and more skilled players were fielded for much longer periods of time. However, other reasons are also clear – our teams do not have enough practice time each week leading to less team chemistry and skill development. Other times, Sports teams don’t have any ECA time at all. For example, the basketball ECA may be cancelled due to the Anniversary Show rehearsals. The Show is a really important event for our school and students, no doubt, however, decreasing our already slim amount of practice time might affect our athletes in the future. Our school participates in BISA Tournaments and other important competitions abroad. Students and teachers resiliently prepare for this. What kind of results does our school anticipate, and do they have any right to have expectations from students, when student athletes have so little time to practice?
Another reason may be that BIS does not promote sports enough, so athletic students may not want to go to BIS. Balls, courts, and other sports equipment may need some upgrades to help develop skills. Coaching and player discipline also need to be improved as many players do not think it is necessary to attend practices and coaches do not do drills very often due to lack of time.
Most of these problems have fairly simple solutions like investing more time and money into one of the most pivotal parts of BIS school. The future of sports in BIS is bright but without the time, dedication, and support of the administration and students our teams will keep losing. The potential of our athletes is yet waiting to be discovered.
“You dream. You plan. You reach. There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work, with belief, with confidence and trust in yourself and those around you, there are no limits.”
—Michael Phelps