“You want to be the role model that suggests anyone is welcome,” says Mohit Verma, a member of the sports leadership team, “ultimately, we just want more of our students to get involved in activities and healthy lifestyles.”
Sports leadership at Carihi is one of the newest groups that any student has the possibility of joining.
Taught by John Jepson, the course touches on many aspects of fitness and lifestyle. Some of those include reaching out to a wider community via coaching outside of Carihi and a variety of sports events.
An element of the course very special to the students is the work with the Special Olympics community.
Many find this work to be incredibly rewarding.
One of the main goals that the group has set is to make fitness more fun and less of a chore in the most appealing way possible, while still conveying a safe and caring environment.
Sports leadership organizes many of the intramural games, where any student can choose a sport that they like and play it with an arranged group during lunch hours in the gym.
All students are encouraged to play regardless of experience and ability. Some include softball, soccer and badminton, plus many other sports that house 60-80 students each time.
“We believe that the intramurals are a good way to get those who don’t typically play sports to come out and have a go,” Jepson says.
The class also has the responsibility of organising the Annual Sports Banquet.
Last year they saw over 200 people attend the celebration with most of the crowd dressed in a Canadian theme for the evening.
One of the main goals that Sports Leadership is trying to achieve is to get more people involved and active, and to live an overall healthier lifestyle.
They reach out to students at Carihi but also to people in the community by coaching at feeder schools and hosting and helping at events like the Fun Olympics or the District Track Meet.
This four-credit course has been a fantastic way to show leadership qualities and learn how to work as a team for two years now, and has been a fantastic way for the students to develop leadership qualities and learn how to work as a team.
When they see new people in the gym laughing and having fun, the Sports Leadership team knows its been successful.