Innovative idea for baseball in elementary schools.
Physical education lesson with balls, bats and baseball gloves. And nobody asks the teacher if the soccer and basketball balls have gone missing. Sounds exotic in the Polish reality, and a bit like an American movie. However, for a dozen or so Lower Silesian elementary schools, this is quite normal. For today's lesson, we are playing BASEBALL.
In May 2017, when the Baseball Wrocław Sports Club announced its initiative to introduce baseball to primary schools, many people would consider this idea with a grain of salt. It was not a project made on a large scale, and to a large extent it was dependent on available funds provided by the Local Government of the Lower Silesian Voivodship.
The assumption was simple - first find 6 willing schools from the Dolny Śląsk which would be willing to take part in the PLAY Ball pilot program. Next retrofit the respective schools with baseball equipment and and provide know-how to the PhysEd teachers so they knew how to run lessons and use the gear. At the end, organize a tournament, which was supposed to have as a goal encouragement and motivation for students to put more effort into the school-based baseball classes. In addition, it was also a "small test," thanks to which not only the students, but also the organizers could see how it all works during this type of sports competition.
Surely, this type of process is quite obvious and it may have already been introduced in various schools in a similar way. However, the sustainability of such initiatives has always been short-term in the vast majority of cases. Therefore, the organizers of the PLAY BALL project were wondering how they could strengthen the final effects and how to avoid leaving teachers with little baseball training to handle things on their own. As such, the project was organized to include three elements which would provide additional support for the teachers working with their students.
The first was the creation of a web page (www.play-ball.pl), on which were posted videos with suggestions for various baseball exercises. This was to give teachers the opportunity to have access to baseball knowledge in one place. The films could not be longer than one minute, so that they could be watched even during the break between lessons. The second element to help teachers is organizing demonstrations in their schools and running joint classes with experienced club trainers. In most cases, such a presentation was combined with the transfer of baseball equipment and the inauguration of the project at the school. The third element was a brochure with the rules of play. PLAY BALL has simplified rules of baseball play. For example, batters hit from a tee, and there is no pitcher. Also, the player who runs past a red line between the bases must continue to run (i.e., is forced) to the next
base - such a change eliminates eternal consternation and allows for the rule of getting runners out by touching either the base or the player, thereby increasing safety by limiting contact. There are bound to be opponents of such simplification, but the organizers decided that this approach makes sense and tested it during the final PLAY BALL tournament.
The final PLAY BALL tournament is actually the crowning achievement of the entire project. On the 16th of December, 2017, in Wrocław, teams came from Lwówka Śląskiego, Przemkowa, Szczawna Zdroju, Wołowa, and also two Wrocław schools (SP 109 and SP 44). The event went smoothly, and the final match with the participation of schools from Przemków and SP 44 from Wrocław provided amazing emotions. In the end, the team from Wroclaw raised the cup, but all participants could be proud of themselves, because their work was visible in the period of several months before the tournament. During the distribution of prizes, a representative of the American Embassy - Scott Whitmore - was also present. The idea of the passing-of-the-cup was also introduced, a bit like in American schools.
After the tournament, it was time for summarizing and benchmarking for the next edition. This was not about determining if it was a success or a failure. That would not help. Constructive insights were needed to eliminate what was unnecessary and to pay attention to what made PLAY BALL quite well accepted in schools.
It is possible to plan things differently, or have more or less funds for the project. However, in the organizers' opinion, the most important issue here was the human factor. Teachers, teachers and yet more teachers! Looking at the entire project, teachers were the most important from the very beginning - they registered their schools in the program, came to the training, conducted classes in schools, organized a school team and bravely supported their pupils during the tournament. Also, how the second edition of PLAY BALL will look depends on them, because they decided about their school's further willingness to cooperate. Here, you have to admit the program worked. However, in schools where there was no strong leader, a good organizer and a motivating person for children and youth, the project turned out to be only one-year undertaking. Fortunately, there was only a single school where this was the case.
Between the first and the second years of the program, the Baseball Wrocław club sourced equipment for the next four primary schools in Wrocław. This was possible thanks to the subsidy of the Wrocław Gmina.
PLAY BALL brings each year new challenges and the need to think in advance. Starting with the most important issues, like the system of play for 13 (and not just the original 6) schools. Remembering to facilitate the schools, e.g., by helping cover the transportation costs for schools in the final tournament, since the travel to the qualifying and the final tournaments probably costs too much for the participating schools. Finalizing with a focus on details, which are likely to have a strong affect on the realization of the project.
How will the II edition of PLAY BALL look, which is already being implemented, with the grand finale scheduled for December 15, 2018? Time will show, but let's celebrate that the next few hundred children and young people will be able to try baseball and softball in practice.
More information on PLAY BALL can be found via the links below:
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http://www.play-ball.pl http://www.facebook.pl/baseballdlaszkol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZEmm4KHs-I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkEdke74JFw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSNT1Aj-nd8
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